EXPLORE BEYOND EARTH
Look up. Our little corner of space is filled with enormous planets, blazing stars, icy worlds, and places so far away that their light can takes years to reach us.
There’s a whole universe waiting to be discovered.
OUR PLACE IN SPACE
Earth may feel enormous to us, but it’s just one small part of a much bigger universe.
Earth is one of eight planets orbiting the Sun. Together with dwarf planets, moons, asteroids, comets, and other objects, they make up our solar system.
But our solar system is only one tiny neighborhood inside the Milky Way galaxy, which contains hundreds of billions of stars.
And the Milky Way? It’s only one of billions of galaxies in the observable universe.
Planet OR NOT?
Think you know a planet when you see one? Our solar system has a few objects that might surprise you.
PLUTO - NOT A PLANET
Pluto was once called the ninth planet, but today it is classified as a dwarf planet. It orbits the Sun just like the planets do, but it hasn't cleared other objects from the neighborhood around its orbit. Image credit: NASA, ESA, and E. Karkoschka (University of Arizona)
SATURN - PLANET
Those famous rings make this one easy to recognize. Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun and a gas giant so enormous that more than 700 Earths could fit inside it by volume. Image Credit NASA, ESA and E. Karkoschka (University of Arizona)
TITAN - NOT A PLANET
Titan may look like a world of its own, but it's actually Saturn's largest moon. It has a thick atmosphere and lakes and seas on its surface, except they're made mostly of liquid methane and ethane instead of water. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona/University of Nantes
CERES - NOT A PLANET
Ceres is the largest object in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. Like Pluto, it's classified as a dwarf planet, and it's the only dwarf planet located in the inner solar system. Those bright spots aren't lights. They're deposits made mostly of salt left behind by salty liquid that once reached the surface. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLA/MPS/DLR/IDA
WORLDS GONE WILD
Space is filled with worlds that make Earth seem almost ordinary. From sideways planets to enormous storms and scorching-hot surfaces, our solar system gets weird fast.
VENUS: HOTTER THAN MERCURY
Mercury is closer to the Sun, but Venus is actually the hottest planet. Its thick atmosphere traps heat so effectively that surface temperatures reach about 900°F (475°C), hot enough to melt lead.
Image credit: NASA source: Venus From Mariner 10
URANUS: SPINNING SIDEWAYS
Most planets spin more or less upright, but Uranus rotates almost completely on its side. Scientists think a massive collision early in its history may have knocked the planet over.
Image credit: NASA and Erich Karkoschka, University of Arizona
JUPITER: A STORM BIGGER THAN EARTH
Jupiter's Great Red Spot is an enormous storm that has been raging for centuries. Even though the storm has been shrinking, it's still larger than Earth.
Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS; image processing: Kevin M. Gill.
MEET THE GIANT
JUPITER
Jupiter isn't just big. It's enormous.
Jupiter is the largest planet in our solar system. It's so massive that more than 1,300 Earths could fit inside it by volume.
But Jupiter doesn't have a solid surface like Earth. It's a gas giant made mostly of hydrogen and helium. Deeper inside, crushing pressure transforms those gases in ways we don't experience anywhere on our planet.
And Jupiter has an enormous family following along. Over 90 moons orbit the planet, including Ganymede, the largest moon in our solar system. Ganymede is even bigger than the planet Mercury.
KEEP THE DISCOVERY GOING
Space is full of surprises, and we’ve only scratched the surface
Little Known Truths Space Trivia Cards bring fascinating facts about planets, moons, stars, spacecraft, and more into kids’ hands with realistic imagery and bite-sized facts made for curious minds.
WHERE WILL YOU EXPLORE NEXT?
There's always something new to discover.
