Explore Solar System Discoveries
![](/images/icons/systemdiscovery_mercury.jpg)
Mercury's orbit is so close to the Sun that it is difficult to see from the ground. This explains ...
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![](/images/icons/systemdiscovery_venus.jpg)
Venus is one of the brightest objects in the sky, so it is clearly visible to the naked eye. ...
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![](/images/icons/systemdiscovery_mars.jpg)
Mars is much like Venus-- it's very bright and therefore easily spotted in the night sky. ...
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![](/images/icons/systemdiscovery_jupiter.jpg)
Jupiter is the largest planet in our solar system. It is also one of the brighter objects ...
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![](/images/icons/systemdiscovery_saturn.jpg)
Like the inner planets and Jupiter, Saturn is clearly visible in the night sky. The ancient ...
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![](/images/icons/systemdiscovery_uranus.jpg)
Astronomer William Herschel is credited with the discovery of Uranus in 1781. He was using ...
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![](/images/icons/systemdiscovery_neptune.jpg)
If you had a quiz question in school that asked what year Neptune was discovered, you'd probably ...
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![](/images/icons/systemdiscovery_pluto.gif)
After the discovery of Neptune in 1846, mathematics suggested that there still might be a ...
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![](/images/icons/systemdiscovery_ceres.jpg)
Ceres is the largest asteroid in the main asteroid belt. It was classified as a "dwarf ...
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![](/images/icons/systemdiscovery_haumea.jpg)
Haumea is a dwarf planet in our Solar System. Haumea is officially the fifth dwarf planet. ...
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More about Solar System Discoveries
Did you know?
Did you know that the physics of a spinning dancer and the
formation of the solar system have something in common?
Did you know that there may be 200 or so dwarf planets in the solar system, out to the Kuiper Belt?
Earth and Space Science Concept of the Day
Do you know what this word or phrase means?
CirquexCirque : A semicircular basin excavated by glaciers in mountain top regions; may contain a lake
Click on the word to find out!
Research Highlights
Without meaning to, airplanes can cause certain types of clouds to produce snow or rain. When the aircraft climb or descend through mid-level clouds, if the atmospheric conditions are right then the planes...
Read more![](/olpa/images/holepunchcloud_small.jpg)