The Saturn V rocket safely transported Apollo 11’s lunar module Eagle with Commander Michael Collins and Lunar Module Pilot Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin on board to the moon for their successful moon landing. Armstrong and Aldrin used Eagle’s ascent stage to rejoin Collins before departing lunar orbit and heading back towards Earth using Eagle’s ascent stage…
When asked to name the planet closest to earth in size, most will cite Venus. That is because Venus is the smallest of the rocky planets and passes close by Earth every time it orbits our Sun. But Mercury is actually our closest neighbor in terms of size – continue reading to discover why. Mercury…
People often wonder which planet in our Solar System is closest to Earth; however, the answer can change over time depending on where each planet sits in its orbital path. On average, Mercury overtakes Venus and Mars as our nearest planet neighbor; however, this order varies significantly over time. Venus Venus, our nearest planetary neighbor,…
Most people mistakenly assume Mercury to be Earth’s closest planet – however this is often not accurate; Venus actually tends to be closer. Our solar system contains eight planets – including Pluto which was recently demoted due to its eccentric orbit. Let’s cover each one in order, starting with Mercury. Mercury Mercury, our closest planet…
Scientists have long studied Mars by peering through telescopes, orbiting it with spacecraft and sending rovers onto its surface. Through their work they’ve discovered many similarities between our world and Mars’. Planet Venus shares similar dimensions, gravity and composition with Earth; yet has unique features of its own such as an oblate spheroid shape and…
Humanity longs to feel as if we can travel amongst the stars, yet this image of an astronaut looking back towards Earth illustrates just how far that goal really is. NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft is on its way to visit Bennu asteroid, taking this black-and-white image en route. Red Rectangle Astronomers have for more than three…
As opposed to temperature and rainfall changes that leave their imprint in sedimentary layers, tree rings, or ice cores, clouds have the ability to dissipate quickly – and when this happens, computer simulations indicate that climate tipping points could result in 8 additional degrees of warming globally over the course of one century – this…
Venus, our nearest solar neighbor, lies closest to Earth in terms of distance. Its orbit is nearly circular, keeping Venus close by always. Mercury follows Mars in the planetary lineup. But Jupiter stands out, reaching its closest approach in 59 years this evening and appearing larger than usual at rare planetary opposition as it rises…
Answer to this question varies with the season: Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn can be observed through naked eye at various points throughout the year. Careful daily observation will reveal each planet’s orbit around the sky; Mercury and Venus move at an especially rapid pace, while Mars and Jupiter tend to follow behind at…
