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 our solar system now has eight
planets and five
dwarf planets, according to the International Astronomical Union?
Do you know the difference between meteors, meteoroids, and meteorites?
Earth and Space Science Concept of the Day
Do you know what this word or phrase means?
S-wavexS-wave : An s-wave (for shear wave) is a seismic body wave that shakes the ground back and forth perpendicular to the direction the wave is moving
Click on the word to find out!
Research Highlights
A team of researchers from the Sea Education Association (SEA), Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), and the University of Hawaii (UH) has conducted a study of plastic debris in the ocean based...
Read more![](/olpa/images/plastic_small.jpg)