Explore Planets
![](/images/icons/systemplanet_whatis.jpg)
It may surprise you, but astronomers don't really have a good definition of a "planet". Because ...
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![](/images/icons/systemplanet_mercury.jpg)
Mercury, the planet nearest the Sun, is also the smallest planet in the Solar System. Only ...
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![](/images/icons/systemplanet_venus.jpg)
Fair but inhospitable Venus, a "Sister" planet to the Earth that is very different from our ...
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![](/images/icons/systemplanet_earth.jpg)
Earth, our home planet, is a beautiful blue and white ball when seen from space. ...
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![](/images/icons/systemplanet_mars.jpg)
Mars, Earth's outer neighbor, is the fourth planet from the Sun. Mars' bright appearance and ...
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![](/images/icons/systemplanet_jupiter.jpg)
Jupiter is the largest planet in the solar system. When approached from afar, its fantastic ...
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![](/images/icons/systemplanet_saturn.jpg)
Saturn, the sixth planet from the Sun, has the most spectacular set of rings in the solar system. ...
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![](/images/icons/systemplanet_uranus.jpg)
Uranus, the seventh planet from the Sun, has its spin axis almost in the plane of its orbit ...
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![](/images/icons/systemplanet_neptune.jpg)
Neptune, the eighth and furthest planet from the Sun, is a very cold place. Its bluish color ...
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![](/images/icons/systemplanet_pluto.jpg)
In 2006 the International Astronomical Union (IAU) approved a new classification scheme for ...
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Did you know?
Did you know that the
Phoenix Mars Lander landed on
Mars on 25 May, 2008?
Did you know that Pluto is not always outside the orbit of Neptune?
Earth and Space Science Concept of the Day
Do you know what this word or phrase means?
AaxAa : Hawaiian name for a type of lava flow with a surface that is broken into rough angular fragments which develop during cooling and loss of gas from pahoehoe flows.
Click on the word to find out!
Research Highlights
A new study has found that a mixing of two different types of magma is the key to the historic eruptions of Mount Hood, Oregon's tallest mountain, and that eruptions often happen in a relatively short...
Read more![](/olpa/images/mthood_small.jpg)