![]() ![]() Rogue planets, on the other hand, are not confined to drift around a star and roam wherever they want across space. Many planets, like Earth, are part of a solar system and orbit around a central star. Planetesimals may have also played a part in the formation of the Earth’s moon and some of the other moons in our solar system as well.ĭo you know the difference between a meteor, comet, and asteroid? rogue planetĪ rogue planet is a planet that doesn’t orbit a star. ![]() According to one theory, planetesimals may be the building blocks that combined together to form the early planets of the universe. The word nebula comes from Latin and means “mist,” “vapor,” or “cloud.” planetesimalĪ planetesimal is a small celestial object formed from dust, rocks, and other materials. While that may not sound terribly exciting, nebulae act as star nurseries as they have the perfect conditions that new stars need to form. As one last bit of trivia, the word facula is Latin for “little torch.” nebulaĪ nebula is a cloud of dust and gas in outer space. Both faculae and sunspots are caused by bubbles of hot gas and both are used to keep track of the solar cycle. A facula is smaller and harder to see than the more well known sunspots. faculaĪ facula (plural faculae) is an unusually bright spot on the surface of the sun. The Sun’s corona is very dense and, mysteriously, has a much higher temperature than the Sun itself. Because the Sun is so bright, you can only see the corona during a total solar eclipse. The outermost layer of the Sun’s atmosphere is called the corona. Just like the Earth, the Sun has an atmosphere surrounding it. The Big Dipper (part of Ursa Major) and Orion’s Belt (part of Orion) are two examples of commonly known asterisms. Asterisms are those other groups of stars that aren’t officially recognized but still have popular names. asterismĪsterism is a fancy word that means “a group of stars.” So, what makes an asterism different from a constellation? The 88 constellations in the sky have officially recognized names and shapes. The pulsar rotates as it shines light beams, which makes it appear to blink or pulse as it spins away from Earth and points its lights in other directions. In reality, a pulsar is a neutron star-a really dense object left over when a big star dies-that radiates beams of light in two directions. pulsarįrom Earth, a pulsar resembles a flickering star. But there is so much more out there for you to discover! Jump in our (word) rocket ship as we boldly discover some awesome intergalactic words. Studying the universe introduces us to some fascinating concepts in general: black holes, rogue planets, Oort clouds-and white holes, too? If you are a casual space explorer, you probably already know stellar objects like comets, asteroids, meteors, and galaxies. That’s a pretty cool concept and term, right? As the theory goes, dark energy (more on this later) is causing the universe to continually stretch itself. ![]() The planet that we live on.Our universe is unfathomably huge and getting bigger all of the time, according to the Big Bang model and the theory of universe expansion. Venus: the planet that is second in order of distance from the sun and has a diameter of about 7,500 miles (12,100 kilometers)Įarth: the planet that is thirds in distance from the sun. Mercury: the planet that is nearest the sun and has a diameter of about 3000 miles (4700 kilometers) Pluto: a celestial object that orbits the sun at an average distance of 3.7 million miles (5.9 million kilometers) and has a diameter of about 1500 miles (2300 kilometers) and is often considered one of the planetsĪny large heavenly body that orbits a star (as the sun) Makemake: a dwarf planet that orbits within the Kuiper belt with a mean distance from the sun of 46 astronomical units (6.85 billion kilometers) and a diameter of approximately 930 miles (1,500 kilometers) Haumea: a dwarf planet that orbits within the Kuiper belt with a mean distance from the sun of 43 astronomical units (6.45 billion kilometers) and a diameter of approximately 890 miles (1,430 kilometers) A heavenly body similar to a planet but too small to clear other objects from its orbitĬeres: a dwarf planet that orbits within the asteroid belt with a mean distance from the sun of 2.7 astronomical units (260 million miles) and a diameter of 590 miles (950 kilometers)Įris: a dwarf planet with a mean distance from the sun of 67 astronomical units (6.2 billion miles) and a diameter of 1500 miles (2400 kilometers) ![]()
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