Science: Inventions, science projects, animals, weather, space, transportation, human body, and the internet — FactMonster.com - Old Dominion University: Firefox 10 ESR. Home ● Cornell Astronomy. 5 Weirdest Facts About Venus | Transit of Venus. Venus, the second planet from the sun, is an oddity in many ways. With this week's ultra-rare transit of Venus, in which the planet will pass in front of the sun as seen from Earth on Tuesday (June 5), we here at SPACE.com think it's a great time to take a look at the peculiar quirks of one of our closest neighbors in the solar system.
Here are the top five ways we think Venus is weird: Volcanoes There are more volcanoes on Venus than on any other planet in the solar system. Astronomers know of more than 1,600 volcanoes on its surface, but there are likely many more too small for us to see. Scientists think most of these are dormant, though a handful may still be active. Longer day than year A day on Venus lasts 243 Earth days (that's how long it takes Venus to make one rotation), while a year on Venus (its revolution period around the sun) is shorter, at just 224.7 Earth days.
Planet Venus: Quiz Yourself on Venus Facts 0 of 10 questions complete Venus is scorching hot An extreme pressure planet. 10 Things You Didn't Know About the Moon | Moon Photos, Moon Facts | Space & Solar System Facts & Information. As the full moon approaches, its growing brightness tends to capture our attention. The full moon occurs when the moon is on the opposite side of Earth from the sun, so that its face is fully illuminated by the sun's light. [Photos: Our Changing Moon] But any day of the month, the moon has some secrets up her sleeve. Here are 10 surprising and strange facts about the moon that may surprise you: 1) There's actually four kinds of lunar months Our months correspond approximately to the length of time it takes our natural satellite to go through a full cycle of phases. 1. 2. 3. 4. Learn what makes a big full moon a true 'supermoon' in this SPACE.com infographic.Credit: Karl Tate/SPACE.com 2) We see slightly more than half of the moon from Earth Most reference books will note that because the moon rotates only once during each revolution about the Earth, we never see more than half of its total surface. 3) It would take hundreds of thousands of moons to equal the brightness of the sun Credit: NASA.
Meteor Showers and Shooting Stars: Facts and Discovery | Space Reference. Watching a meteor shower on a clear, dark night is an unforgettable experience. This cosmic show makes even the most hardened astronomer gaze in awe at the thousands of streaking light strobes that pierce the night sky for an impressive celestial display. Meteor showers occur when dust or particles from asteroids or comets, entering the Earth's atmosphere at very high speed. When they hit the atmosphere, meteors rub against air particles and create friction, heating the meteors to more than 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit. The heat vaporizes most meteors, creating what we call shooting stars (most become visible at around 60 miles up). Some large meteors splatter, causing a brighter flash called a fireball, which can often be heard up to 30 miles away.
What meteors are Most meteors are very small, some as tiny as a grain of sand, so they disintegrate in the air. Whether an object breaks apart depends on its composition, speed, and angle of entry. Facts about meteor showers.