It’s World Space Week! We’ve listed the best space facts so that you and your little one can enjoy looking up out into the galaxy!
1. Our solar system is over 4.5 billion years
Our solar system is over 4.5 billion years old and lives within the Milky Way. Scientists have discovered over 500 solar systems in our Milky Way. They have also said that there could be 100 million other solar systems in the entire galaxy. This means there could be a planet just like the Earth that we have yet to discover!
2. The Sun is the closest star to the Earth
The Sun is the closest star to the Earth. Although it may seem close as we can feel its warmth during the summer months, it is actually 150 million km away. If we were to travel in an aeroplane it would take 19 years to get there. Not sure it’s quite worth the trip!
3. The Sun shines by burning its own fuel, making it slowly lose power and size.
The Sun shines by burning its own fuel, making it slowly lose power and size. As the Sun’s size slowly decreases, it causes the Earth to very slowly slip away from the pull, gradually making us travel further away. Don’t worry though, we are moving at such a slow rate of 15cm per year we won’t be going anywhere anytime soon!
4. Venus is the hottest planet
Venus is hotter than Mercury, even though it’s further away from the Sun. This is because there are higher levels of carbon dioxide trapping the heat in Venus’ atmosphere. The temperature on Venus is 462°C! That’s what we mean when we say we want a hot holiday!
5. Venus is the 2nd brightest natural object in the night sky after the Moon.
Venus is the 2nd brightest natural object in the night sky after the Moon. It’s often visible during a clear night and sometimes even in the day! Download this super cool app that helps locate Venus in the sky, it’s called ‘Sky Map’.
6. The first person to walk on the moon was Neil Armstrong in July 1969.
The first person to walk on the moon was Neil Armstrong in July 1969. The footprints on the moon made by the astronauts’ boots will be there for 100 million years. This is because the moon has no atmosphere, so there’s no wind or water to sweep the footprints away!
There are more stars in the universe than grains of sand on all the beaches on the Earth.
There are more stars in the universe than grains of sand on all the beaches on the Earth. That’s at least a billion trillion! However, the human eye is only able to see 5000 stars in the sky. The largest star in the universe is 1,700 times bigger than our Sun. How crazy is that?It’s fair to say that outer space is incredibly big, with much of it yet to be explored! Scientists are discovering new things every day. It’s exciting to see what the next big discovery will be!
