Explore Planets
![](/images/icons/systemplanet_whatis.jpg)
It may surprise you, but astronomers don't really have a good definition of a "planet". Because ...
Read more
![](/images/icons/systemplanet_mercury.jpg)
Mercury, the planet nearest the Sun, is also the smallest planet in the Solar System. Only ...
Read more
![](/images/icons/systemplanet_venus.jpg)
Fair but inhospitable Venus, a "Sister" planet to the Earth that is very different from our ...
Read more
![](/images/icons/systemplanet_earth.jpg)
Earth, our home planet, is a beautiful blue and white ball when seen from space. ...
Read more
![](/images/icons/systemplanet_mars.jpg)
Mars, Earth's outer neighbor, is the fourth planet from the Sun. Mars' bright appearance and ...
Read more
![](/images/icons/systemplanet_jupiter.jpg)
Jupiter is the largest planet in the solar system. When approached from afar, its fantastic ...
Read more
![](/images/icons/systemplanet_saturn.jpg)
Saturn, the sixth planet from the Sun, has the most spectacular set of rings in the solar system. ...
Read more
![](/images/icons/systemplanet_uranus.jpg)
Uranus, the seventh planet from the Sun, has its spin axis almost in the plane of its orbit ...
Read more
![](/images/icons/systemplanet_neptune.jpg)
Neptune, the eighth and furthest planet from the Sun, is a very cold place. Its bluish color ...
Read more
![](/images/icons/systemplanet_pluto.jpg)
In 2006 the International Astronomical Union (IAU) approved a new classification scheme for ...
Read more
Did you know?
Did you know that there is a
strange hexagon in the atmosphere at the northern pole of Saturn?
Did you know that Uranus is tilted so that its rotational axis is almost in the plane of the ecliptic?
Earth and Space Science Concept of the Day
Do you know what this word or phrase means?
ChinookxChinook : A dry down-slope wind which occurs on the downwind side of a mountain range. It is a rain shadow wind which results from the subsequent (adiabatic) warming of air which has dropped most of its moisture on windward slopes.
Click on the word to find out!
Research Highlights
Lake Tanganyika, the second-oldest and second-deepest lake in the world, could be in for some rough waters. Geologists have determined that the East African rift lake has experienced unprecedented warming...
Read more![](/olpa/tanganyika_small.jpg)