SPACE

Planets, stars, black holes and the wild edges of the universe - bigger and weirder than you'd ever guess.

54 facts

ZAP’S PICK

Saturn's rings are surprisingly young - the dinosaurs missed them.

Saturn's rings are surprisingly young - the dinosaurs missed them.

The famous rings may be only about 100 million years old - newer than the Tyrannosaurus rex.

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53 facts

A black hole has only three properties - mass, spin, and charge.

DID YOU KNOW? A black hole has only three properties - mass, spin, and charge. Physicists call this the "no-hair theorem" - black holes are the simplest objects in the universe. 2 min read

A dead star can spin 700 times a second.

DID YOU KNOW? A dead star can spin 700 times a second. Millisecond pulsars are city-sized stars that whirl faster than a kitchen blender. 2 min read

The universe started 13.8 billion years ago - in an instant.

DID YOU KNOW? The universe started 13.8 billion years ago - in an instant. Everything we see today expanded from a tiny, ultra-hot beginning. 2 min read

There are probably more planets in our galaxy than stars.

DID YOU KNOW? There are probably more planets in our galaxy than stars. Astronomers now estimate over a trillion planets orbiting Milky Way stars. 2 min read

The James Webb Telescope has spotted galaxies from 13.5 billion years ago.

DID YOU KNOW? The James Webb Telescope has spotted galaxies from 13.5 billion years ago. The light we're seeing left those galaxies almost as soon as the universe formed. 2 min read

Andromeda will collide with the Milky Way in 4 billion years.

DID YOU KNOW? Andromeda will collide with the Milky Way in 4 billion years. Two huge galaxies, both moving at 250,000 mph, are heading right for each other. 2 min read

Jupiter could fit 1,300 Earths inside it.

DID YOU KNOW? Jupiter could fit 1,300 Earths inside it. It's bigger than all the other planets in the solar system combined. 2 min read

The coldest known place in the universe is a star's dying breath.

DID YOU KNOW? The coldest known place in the universe is a star's dying breath. The Boomerang Nebula is just one degree above absolute zero. 2 min read

The biggest known star would swallow our entire inner solar system.

DID YOU KNOW? The biggest known star would swallow our entire inner solar system. Stephenson 2-18 is a red hypergiant about 2,150 times wider than the Sun - if it replaced the Sun, its surface would reach past Saturn. 2 min read

The Parker Solar Probe is the fastest object humans have ever made.

DID YOU KNOW? The Parker Solar Probe is the fastest object humans have ever made. At its closest approach to the Sun, it hits 430,000 mph. 2 min read

Space is completely silent.

DID YOU KNOW? Space is completely silent. Without air, sound waves have nothing to travel through. 2 min read

Astronauts can vote in elections from space.

DID YOU KNOW? Astronauts can vote in elections from space. Texas passed a special law in 1997 so its astronaut citizens could mail in ballots from orbit. 2 min read

We sent music for aliens to find - on a golden record glued to a spacecraft.

DID YOU KNOW? We sent music for aliens to find - on a golden record glued to a spacecraft. Voyager carries greetings in 55 languages, songs, whale calls, and our calling card. 2 min read

The James Webb Telescope can see back almost to the Big Bang.

DID YOU KNOW? The James Webb Telescope can see back almost to the Big Bang. It looks in infrared light - and shows us galaxies as they were 13 billion years ago. 2 min read

A modern spacesuit costs over $12 million.

DID YOU KNOW? A modern spacesuit costs over $12 million. It's essentially a personal one-person spaceship. 2 min read

A stray dog named Laika was the first creature to orbit Earth.

DID YOU KNOW? A stray dog named Laika was the first creature to orbit Earth. She was picked up off the streets of Moscow in 1957 and trained to ride a rocket. 2 min read

Moon dust smells like gunpowder.

DID YOU KNOW? Moon dust smells like gunpowder. Apollo astronauts tracked it inside their lander and noticed the strange scent. 2 min read

The Space Station orbits Earth every 90 minutes.

DID YOU KNOW? The Space Station orbits Earth every 90 minutes. Astronauts on board see 16 sunrises and 16 sunsets every day. 2 min read

Astronauts grow up to 2 inches taller in space.

DID YOU KNOW? Astronauts grow up to 2 inches taller in space. Without gravity squashing their spines, they stretch out - until they come back home. 2 min read

Twelve people have walked on the Moon - all between 1969 and 1972.

DID YOU KNOW? Twelve people have walked on the Moon - all between 1969 and 1972. Nobody's been back since. The footprints they left are still there. 2 min read

Voyager 1 is the farthest human-made object in space.

DID YOU KNOW? Voyager 1 is the farthest human-made object in space. Launched in 1977, it's now over 15 billion miles from Earth. 2 min read

The rocket that took astronauts to the Moon was 36 stories tall.

DID YOU KNOW? The rocket that took astronauts to the Moon was 36 stories tall. Saturn V is still the most powerful rocket ever flown. 2 min read

Some black holes have masses of billions of suns.

DID YOU KNOW? Some black holes have masses of billions of suns. They sit at the centers of galaxies and might be older than the galaxies themselves. 2 min read

Black holes slowly evaporate over trillions of years.

DID YOU KNOW? Black holes slowly evaporate over trillions of years. Stephen Hawking figured out they leak energy and eventually disappear. 2 min read

Most black holes form when massive stars die.

DID YOU KNOW? Most black holes form when massive stars die. A really big star runs out of fuel, collapses, and crushes itself into a singularity. 2 min read

Falling into a black hole would stretch you like spaghetti.

DID YOU KNOW? Falling into a black hole would stretch you like spaghetti. Astronomers actually call it "spaghettification." That's the technical term. 2 min read

The first photo of a black hole was taken in 2019.

DID YOU KNOW? The first photo of a black hole was taken in 2019. It took eight radio telescopes around the world working as one to capture the image. 2 min read

There's a giant black hole at the center of our galaxy.

DID YOU KNOW? There's a giant black hole at the center of our galaxy. It's 4 million times the mass of the Sun - and we live 26,000 light-years from it. 2 min read

Time literally slows down near a black hole.

DID YOU KNOW? Time literally slows down near a black hole. An hour spent close to one could be a year - or a thousand years - outside. 2 min read

Past a black hole's "event horizon," even light can't escape.

DID YOU KNOW? Past a black hole's "event horizon," even light can't escape. Cross that invisible line and you can never come back. Not even at the speed of light. 2 min read

The Sun makes up 99.8% of all the mass in our solar system.

DID YOU KNOW? The Sun makes up 99.8% of all the mass in our solar system. Everything else - all the planets, moons, asteroids - is just 0.2%. 2 min read

The Sun is a "yellow dwarf" - and that's actually a compliment.

DID YOU KNOW? The Sun is a "yellow dwarf" - and that's actually a compliment. It's middling in size and middling in age, but that's exactly why life could exist around it. 2 min read

Stars are born inside giant clouds of gas called nebulae.

DID YOU KNOW? Stars are born inside giant clouds of gas called nebulae. Some of the most beautiful images from space are stellar nurseries. 2 min read

Sirius is the brightest star in our night sky.

DID YOU KNOW? Sirius is the brightest star in our night sky. It's only 8.6 light-years away - practically next door, in space terms. 2 min read

Betelgeuse - the bright red star in Orion - is about to explode.

DID YOU KNOW? Betelgeuse - the bright red star in Orion - is about to explode. When it goes supernova, it will be bright enough to see during the day. 2 min read

The closest star to us (besides the Sun) is 4.2 light-years away.

DID YOU KNOW? The closest star to us (besides the Sun) is 4.2 light-years away. Even at the speed of light, getting there would take over four years. 2 min read

Most stars come in pairs - or even bigger groups.

DID YOU KNOW? Most stars come in pairs - or even bigger groups. Most sun-like and bigger stars have a companion - though the tiny red dwarf stars that make up most of the galaxy tend to be loners. 2 min read

The Sun is halfway through its life.

DID YOU KNOW? The Sun is halfway through its life. It's been around for 4.6 billion years - and has about 5 billion to go. 2 min read

The Sun loses 4 million tons of itself every second.

DID YOU KNOW? The Sun loses 4 million tons of itself every second. Sunlight isn't free - it's literally pieces of the Sun being thrown into space. 2 min read

Jupiter has more than 95 known moons.

DID YOU KNOW? Jupiter has more than 95 known moons. One of them, Ganymede, is bigger than the planet Mercury. 2 min read

Earth is the only place in the universe where we know life exists.

DID YOU KNOW? Earth is the only place in the universe where we know life exists. 8 billion people, billions of species, all on one tiny blue ball. 2 min read

Venus is hotter than Mercury - even though it's farther from the Sun.

DID YOU KNOW? Venus is hotter than Mercury - even though it's farther from the Sun. Its thick CO₂ atmosphere traps heat like a runaway greenhouse. 2 min read

Pluto isn't a planet anymore - and a lot of people are still mad about it.

DID YOU KNOW? Pluto isn't a planet anymore - and a lot of people are still mad about it. In 2006, astronomers reclassified Pluto as a "dwarf planet." 2 min read

Diamond rain falls on Neptune and Uranus.

DID YOU KNOW? Diamond rain falls on Neptune and Uranus. Pressure deep inside the ice giants squeezes carbon into sparkling diamond hail. 2 min read

Neptune's winds are faster than the speed of sound.

DID YOU KNOW? Neptune's winds are faster than the speed of sound. Storms there can reach 1,300 mph - and we still don't know why. 2 min read

Uranus rotates sideways - basically rolling around the Sun.

DID YOU KNOW? Uranus rotates sideways - basically rolling around the Sun. Its axis is tipped 98° from vertical, so each pole gets 42 years of sun then 42 years of darkness. 2 min read

Mars has a volcano three times taller than Mount Everest.

DID YOU KNOW? Mars has a volcano three times taller than Mount Everest. Olympus Mons is the tallest mountain in the entire solar system. 2 min read

Mercury swings from 800°F by day to -290°F by night.

DID YOU KNOW? Mercury swings from 800°F by day to -290°F by night. With almost no atmosphere, the closest planet to the Sun can't hold onto its heat. 2 min read

Jupiter has a storm bigger than Earth that has lasted 400 years.

DID YOU KNOW? Jupiter has a storm bigger than Earth that has lasted 400 years. The Great Red Spot is a hurricane wider than our entire planet. 2 min read

Saturn's rings are made almost entirely of ice.

DID YOU KNOW? Saturn's rings are made almost entirely of ice. They stretch 175,000 miles across but are only 30 feet thick in places. 2 min read

A teaspoon of neutron star would weigh a billion tons.

DID YOU KNOW? A teaspoon of neutron star would weigh a billion tons. Neutron-star material is so dense, a sugar cube of it would outweigh every car on Earth combined. 2 min read

A day on Venus is longer than its whole year.

DID YOU KNOW? A day on Venus is longer than its whole year. Venus rotates so slowly that it goes around the Sun before it finishes spinning once. 2 min read

There are more stars in the universe than grains of sand on Earth.

DID YOU KNOW? There are more stars in the universe than grains of sand on Earth. Astronomers estimate around 200 billion trillion stars - and the sand-versus-stars race isn't even close. 2 min read

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