What’s so fascinating about the silent, pitch-black life outside Earth that man longs to explore? Well, I’m no astronaut, but knowing these facts might help you potentially start a conversation with one or at least check off some of your lingering questions. Let’s blast off to Mars.
1. Mars has the most giant volcanoes in our solar system: But that doesn’t make it the hottest planet. Venus bags that title, not Mercury — despite its proximity to the sun — like you might have thought. The atmosphere in Venus has so much carbon dioxide. Mmhmm! The air we breathe out is also a greenhouse gas and the one that keeps Venus hot. Venus also has clouds of sulfuric acid that make it feel like a fiery furnace right from its surface.
2. Speaking of heat, it is the deadliest weather condition: No hands up, please! The benefits of both weather conditions (not extremes of either) form a worthwhile debate. Still, there are more speculations of life on Mars than on Venus — the Earth’s twin in size and structure — but the hottest planet. Mic drops!
3. You can fit all the planets in the Milky Way between the Earth and the Moon with some space left over: Well, this only happens at “apogee,” when the Moon is farthest from the Earth (~406,700km away), but neither at “perigee,” — when the Moon is closest to the Earth — or at its mean lunar distance! The diameters of the planets Mercury through Pluto add up to ~390,311 km. So, you do the math (at apogee) and let me know in the comments. You may raise your hands 😅
4. In space, metal can weld on its own: Yup! You read that right! Still, I’ll restate, “Metal can weld without heating in space.” Scientifically regarded as cold welding, this occurs due to the absence of oxygen in space. Hence, metals lose their oxide layer while their atoms, remaining in motion, can invariably fuse (only if the pieces are of the same type) with a little force. If that isn’t energy-saving, what is?
5. Planets have sound: Sounds quirky, right? Space is a vacuum, and sound cannot travel in a vacuum, but… Constantly moving charged particles within the solar wind could emit simple magnetic waves from the foreshock, which sound like low musical notes when converted to audio waves. ♫ The first 3 notes just happen to be: do-re-mi ♫
6. Pluto hasn’t made a complete orbit around the sun since its discovery in 1930: Well, it takes Pluto ~248 years to complete a single orbit around the sun. Objection accepted if reading this article by 2178, which is roughly a decade generations after William Tombaugh — the American astronomer who had discovered this dwarf planet. Until then, this remains a remarkable fact.
7. Saturn can float on water: Despite its large size — literally ranking as the 2nd Largest Planet in our solar system — Saturn is almost entirely made up of gas. Since it’s less dense than water, who’s to say it can’t float on water? Hasn’t it got magnificent swimming floaties too?
Really enlightening….Thanks a lot😃