10 interesting facts about celestial bodies

There is nothing more exciting than space. Despite all its vastness, the space is still expanding. Human possibilities in space exploration are still very small. There are billions of galaxies, stars, planets that we will never know about.

Here are some interesting facts about celestial bodies, space, the universe, the solar system that you might not know.

10 About 50 new stars appear in the galaxy every year.

Stars are the most widely recognized astronomical objects and are the fundamental building blocks of galaxies. The age, distribution, and composition of stars in a galaxy trace the history, dynamics, and evolution of that galaxy.

In addition, stars are responsible for the production and distribution of heavy elements such as carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen, and their characteristics are closely related to those of the planetary systems that may coalesce around them.

Consequently, the study of the birth, life, and death of stars is central to the field of astronomy. About 25-50 supernovae are detected every year in other galaxies, but most of them are too far away to be seen without a telescope.

9. Earth, Venus and Titan have the densest atmospheres in the solar system.

Venus has the most massive atmosphere among the terrestrial planetswhich includes Mercury, Earth and Mars. Its gaseous shell consists of more than 96% carbon dioxide and 3,5% molecular nitrogen, and the atmospheric pressure on the planet’s surface varies depending on the height of the surface.

On Earth, even at altitudes of 1000 km and above, the atmosphere is still present. Earth’s atmosphere is a layer of gases that surround planet Earth and are held together by Earth’s gravity. It contains approximately 78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen, 0,97% argon, 0,04% carbon dioxide, and trace amounts of gases other than water vapour.

Titan is the largest moon of Saturn, the second largest in the solar system (after Jupiter Ganymede). It was discovered by Christian Huygens in 1655. It is the only moon in the solar system known to have clouds and a thick, planet-like atmosphere.

8. Geysers erupt on the surface of large comets

The comet’s surface is dramatically shaped by sunlight. The ice melts as they orbit closer to our star, causing comets emit large bursts that can look like material flows. It was believed that these flashes spew geysers.

7. Proxima Centauri is the closest star to us, except for the Sun.

The closest stars to Earth are the three stars in the Alpha Centauri system. The two main stars are Alpha Centauri A and Alpha Centauri B, which form a double pair. They are on average 4,3 light-years from Earth.

The third star is Proxima Centauri. It is located at a distance of about 4,22 light years from Earth and is the closest star other than the Sun..

Proxima Centauri is about one fifth of a light year or 13 AU. from two other stars, a distance that makes some astronomers wonder if it should be considered part of the same system.

6. Titan has its own seas, rivers and lakes

Saturn’s largest moon Titan is an extraordinary and exceptional world. Of the more than 150 known moons in our solar system, Titan is the only one with a substantial atmosphere.

And from all places in the solar system Titan is the only place other than Earth known to have liquids on its surface in the form of rivers, lakes and seas..

Titan has clouds, rain, rivers, lakes, and seas of liquid hydrocarbons such as methane and ethane. The largest seas are hundreds of feet deep and hundreds of miles wide. Beneath a thick layer of water ice, Titan has a more liquid ocean, mostly water rather than methane.

5. Mars is the most studied planet

Mars is the most studied planet in the solar system after Earth. Back in 2015, there were 3 ships and rovers on the surface of Mars (Phoenix, Opportunity and Curiosity) and 5 functional spacecraft in orbit (Mars Odyssey, Mars Express, MRO, MOM and MAVEN).

These spacecraft sent back incredibly detailed images of the surface of Mars and helped discover that liquid water once existed in Mars’ ancient history.

In addition, they confirmed that Mars and Earth share many of the same characteristics, such as polar ice caps, seasonal fluctuations, an atmosphere, and the presence of flowing water. They also showed that organic life can and most likely once lived on Mars.

4. The solar system revolves around the center of the galaxy

Our entire solar system – our Sun with its family of planets, moons, asteroids and comets – revolves around the center of the Milky Way galaxy.. The solar system and its objects move at about 500 miles per hour (000 km/h) in this huge orbit. So, for example, in 800 seconds we will all move in orbit around the center of the galaxy for 000 miles (90 km).

3. Pallas is the largest asteroid in the solar system.

Pallas has an ellipsoidal shape with radial dimensions of 275 × 258 × 238 km, which is equivalent to a sphere with a diameter of 513 km, i.e. about 15 percent of the moon’s diameter.

The asteroid is on the list of discovered objects for consideration as a dwarf planet (along with Sedna, Orcus, Quaoar, 2002 TX 300, 2002 AW 197, Varuna, Ixion, Vesta, and Hygia), but it is currently still considered an asteroid.

2. Io’s surface is dotted with volcanoes

Io’s surface is dotted with hundreds of active volcanoes., despite the small size of this moon and its location in the orbit of Jupiter, much farther from the Sun than Earth, in a much colder part of the solar system.

New research shows that Io is, in fact, constantly erupting, and also reveals some new mysteries. In other words, nearly 40 years after the momentous discovery of Voyager 1, Io’s volcanoes aren’t behaving quite the way scientists expected.

For example, there are volcanoes in the “wrong” places, the largest eruptions of which are mostly limited to one hemisphere on Io. And Loki Patera – an 8-square-mile caldera filled with lava and Io’s most active volcano – is a mystery in itself.

1. Ganymede is the largest moon in the solar system

Ganymede is the largest moon in the solar system. It is larger than Mercury and Pluto, and only slightly smaller than Mars, and could easily be classified as a planet if it orbited the Sun rather than Jupiter.

The moon likely has a salty ocean beneath its icy surface, making it a potential place for life. The European Space Agency is planning a mission to Jupiter’s icy moons, which is scheduled to arrive in 2030 and focus on observing Ganymede.

Ganymede was discovered by Galileo Galilei on January 7, 1610. The discovery, along with three other moons of Jupiter, was the first discovery of a moon orbiting a planet other than Earth. Galileo’s discovery eventually led to the understanding that the planets revolve around the Sun, and not our solar system revolves around the Earth.

Galileo named this moon Jupiter III. When the numerical naming system was abandoned in the mid-1800s, the moon was named after Ganymede, a Trojan prince in Greek mythology.