Category Astronomy

The Chinese made the first ‘rockets’ about 1,000 years ago, but they were more like fireworks than today’s space rockets. They were flaming arrows that were fired from a basket using gunpowder.

Amazing! You don’t need to be a rocket scientist to build rockets. Lots of people make mini rockets as a hobby. There is even a yearly contest, when people show off their latest creations!

Is it true? Thrust SSC is a rocket-powered car.

No. Thrust SSC, the fastest car, has two jet engines. A jet engine could not power a space mission, because it needs air and there’s no air in space.

When did the first liquid-fuel rocket fly?

In 1926, American Robert Goddard launched a 3.5 metre long rocket. It flew about as high as a two-storey house, nowhere near outer space, and landed 56 metres away. The flight lasted just two-and-a-half seconds.

Who built a rocket for war?

Wernher von Braun invented the V2, a rocket missile used by the Germans in World War II. After the war, von Braun moved to the United States, to help with the new American space programme.

Picture Credit : Google

Rockets are important for space travel. They are the only machines powerful enough to launch things into space, such as satellites, probes and people. All the parts needed to build space stations have been carried up by rockets.

Amazing! The European Ariane rocket could carry a fully-grown elephant. Ariane’s biggest payload (cargo) so far was a satellite which weighed 4.6 tonnes.

How fast can a rocket go?

To escape from Earth’s gravity, a rocket has to reach 40,000 kph – almost 20 times faster than supersonic Concorde. Once it is out in space, the rocket drops down to around 29,000 kph to stay in orbit.

Is it true? Saturn 5 rockets were as tall as a 30-storey building.

Yes.  At 111 meters high, the Saturn 5 was the tallest rocket ever made. Most of the rocket fell away once it had done its job.

Why do rockets fall to pieces?

Rockets are made in stages, or pieces. Usually, there are three stages, made up of the fuel and rocket engines. Each stage drops off when its job is done. It takes a huge amount of power to push a heavy rocket into space.

Pluto is the coldest planet of all, which is not surprising, because it is usually the farthest from the Sun. Inside, it is made up of ice and rock, and the planet has a thick layer of ice over the top.

Is it true? Pluto was named after a cartoon dog.

No. Pluto was the name of the Greek god of the underworld. Also, the first two letters of Pluto, ‘P’ and ‘L’ are the initials of Percival Lowell, who first predicted a planet beyond Neptune.

Who found Pluto’s moon?

An American called Jim Christy discovered Pluto’s moon in 1978. He called it Charon, which was his wife’s name, and also the name of the man who ferried people to the underworld in Ancient Greek mythology.

Is Pluto always farthest from the Sun?

Pluto is so far away from the Sun that it takes 248 years just to orbit it once! But Pluto’s orbit is a funny shape. For 20 years of its orbit, Pluto dips in closer to the Sun than Neptune. When this happens, Neptune is the farthest planet in the Solar System.

Amazing! Pluto is smaller than a country. Pluto is a tiny planet – the smallest in the Solar System. At 2,360 km across, it is smaller than the United States or Russia!

Astronomers knew Neptune must be there before they saw it! They could tell something big was pulling Uranus and they were able to predict exactly where Neptune was – almost 4.5 billion kilometres away from the Sun.

 What’s the weather like on Neptune?

Very, very windy! Winds rip across the planet all the time, much faster than any winds on Earth. There are also lots of storms on Neptune, which show up as dark spots. This means Neptune’s appearance is constantly changing.

Is it true? Triton is Neptune’s only moon.

No. Neptune has seven other moons, but Triton and Nereid are the main ones. Triton is the biggest. It is 2,706 km across – about four-fifths the size of our Moon.

Where would you find pink snow?

When the gas nitrogen freezes, it looks like pink snow! There is frozen nitrogen at Neptune’s north and south poles, and at the poles of its largest moon, Triton. So far from the Sun, Neptune and its moons are bitterly cold places.

Amazing! Triton is one of the coldest places ever recorded! The temperature on the ice-covered moon is minus 236°C. That’s just 37°C away from being the lowest possible temperature in the entire Universe!

Picture Credit : Google

Uranus was discovered in 1781. The man, who found it, William Herschel, was not expecting to find a planet at all. He thought he was pointing his homemade telescope at a distant star.

How many moons does Uranus have?

Uranus has at least 17 moons – but there could be more to discover. They are all named after characters from English literature. The main ones are Oberon, Titania, Umbriel, Ariel

and Miranda. Ophelia and Cordelia are the closest.

Amazing! The poles on Uranus are warmer than the equator. Because Uranus is tilted on its side, the poles are the warmest places on the planet. Summer at the South Pole lasts 42 years!

Why is Uranus blue?

The bluish-green is the colour of methane, a stinky gas that makes up part of Uranus’s atmosphere. The other gases in the air there are hydrogen and helium – the gas we use to fill party balloons.

Is it true? Uranus was nearly called George.

Yes. When Herschel discovered the new planet, he wanted to name it after the English king at the time, George III. In the end, it was called Uranus, after the Greek god of the sky.

Picture Credit : Google

Mars was named after the Roman god of war, because of its blood-red colour. The planet looks rusty red because its surface is covered with iron-rich soil and rock. There are no seas on Mars, and it is very cold.

Do Mars have ice at its poles?

Yes. Its south pole is mostly ‘dry ice’, which is frozen carbon dioxide gas. At the North Pole there may be frozen water, mixed with the frozen carbon dioxide. There may be frozen water underground on Mars, too.

Is it true? There is life on Mars.

No. Or at least, there’s no sure sign of any. But long ago, Mars had flowing rivers of water, so there could have been life once, and there may be fossils buried underground.

What are Mars’s   moons like?

Mars’s two tiny moons, Deimos and Phobos, are not round like our Moon. They look more like baked potatoes! They might have been asteroids (space rocks) that Mars captured with its gravity.

Amazing! There’s a record-breaking volcano on Mars. Olympus Mons is about 600 km across and towers over 25 km high. It’s the Solar System’s biggest volcano. Long ago it spurted out runny rivers of black lava.

Picture Credit : Google