What are the reasons for the patterns in the solar system? The Earth’s orbit and rotation, and the orbit of the moon around the Earth cause observable patterns. The solar system contains many varied objects held together by gravity. Solar system...
Is our solar system unique or rare explain? It turns out that our own solar system in some ways is very rare, and in others very ordinary. It is rare to have 8 planets, but the study shows that the Solar...
What is the contribution of Jupiter? Some astronomers believe that one reason Earth is habitable is that the gravity of Jupiter does help protect us from some comets. Long-period comets, in particular, enter the solar system from its outer reaches. How...
What is the evidence that planets orbit other stars? When we look to the other stars, we find that the amount of light a planet reflects is a depressingly tiny fraction of the light its star gives off. Furthermore, from a...
How is our solar system different from other known solar systems? Our planetary system is the only one officially called “solar system,” but astronomers have discovered more than 3,200 other stars with planets orbiting them in our galaxy. Our solar system...
What is the order of the universe smallest to largest? In order from smallest to largest, some important terms to remember are: planets and stars, solar systems, galaxies, the universe. Each term is a component of the next. (Aside from planets...
Are there other solar systems in the Milky Way galaxy? The Short Answer: Our planetary system is the only one officially called “solar system,” but astronomers have discovered more than 3,200 other stars with planets orbiting them in our galaxy. How...
Why couldn’t early astronomers tell the difference between single stars and entire galaxies? When ancient scholars gazed at the bright band of the Milky Way crossing the pitch-dark ancient sky, they had no idea what they were looking at. Without telescopes,...
How big is Milky Way compared to other galaxies? The Milky Way is an averagely large galaxy with a diameter of 100 000 light years and about 200 billion to 400 billion stars; but compared to larger galaxies like M100, M...
What is more bigger than the universe? No, the universe contains all solar systems, and galaxies. Our Sun is just one star among the hundreds of billions of stars in our Milky Way Galaxy, and the universe is made up of...