Universe is full of wonders, powerful forces and very interesting astronomy facts. Some of them are strange indeed remarkable and unknown fascinating astronomy facts.
Strange Fascinating Astronomy Facts
- Scientists believe that we can only see about 5% of the matter in the Universe. The rest is made up of invisible
matter (called Dark Matter) and a mysterious form of energy known as Dark Energy. - When you look at the Andromeda galaxy (which is 2.3 million light years away), the light you are seeing took 2.3 million years to reach.
- Light from the sun takes 8 minutes to reach you, thus you see the sun as it was 8 minutes ago.
- When Galileo viewed Saturn for the first time through a telescope, he described the planet as having “ears”. It was not until 1655 that Christian Huygens suggested the crazy theory that they might be an enormous set
of rings around the planet. If you could put Saturn in an enormous bathtub, it would float. The planet is less dense than water. - Jupiter is heavier than all the other planets put together.
- The tallest mountain in the solar system is Olympus Mons, on Mars at a height of about 15 miles, three times the height of Mount Everest. It covers an area about half the size of Spain.
- If you could travel at the speed of light (186,000 miles per second) it would take 100,000 years to cross
our galaxy! - Only one side of the moon ever faces Earth. The moons period of rotation is exactly the same as it’s period of orbit.
- Betelgeuse, the bright star on Orion’s top-left shoulder, is so big that if it was placed where the sun is, it would swallow up Earth, Mars, and Jupiter!
- The atmosphere on Earth is proportionately thinner than the skin on an apple.
- It is estimated that the number of stars in the universe is greater than the number of grains of sand on all the beaches in the world! On a clear night, we can see the equivalent of a handful of sand.
- Every year the sun evaporates 100,000 cubic miles of water from Earth (that weighs 400 trillion tonnes!)
- Astronomers believe that space is not a complete vacuum- there are three atoms per cubic metre.
- Saturn is not the only planet with rings- Neptune has its own ring system.
- Saturn would float if you would put it in water.
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