Explore Planets
![](/images/icons/systemplanet_whatis.jpg)
Do you know what a planet is? If so, you are doing better than professional astronomers! Right ...
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![](/images/icons/systemplanet_mercury.jpg)
Mercury, the planet nearest the Sun, is the second smallest planet in the solar system. Only ...
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![](/images/icons/systemplanet_venus.jpg)
Fair but inhospitable Venus, a "Sister" planet to the Earth that is very different from our ...
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![](/images/icons/systemplanet_earth.jpg)
Earth, our home planet, is a beautiful blue and white ball when seen from space. ...
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![](/images/icons/systemplanet_mars.jpg)
Mars, Earth's outer neighbor, is the fourth planet from the Sun. Mars' bright appearance and ...
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![](/images/icons/systemplanet_jupiter.jpg)
Jupiter is the largest planet in the solar system. When approached from afar, its fantastic ...
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![](/images/icons/systemplanet_saturn.jpg)
Saturn, the sixth planet from the Sun, has the most spectacular set of rings in the solar system. ...
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![](/images/icons/systemplanet_uranus.jpg)
Uranus, the seventh planet from the Sun, has its spin axis almost in the plane of its orbit ...
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![](/images/icons/systemplanet_neptune.jpg)
Neptune, the eighth and furthest planet from the Sun, is a very cold place. Its bluish color ...
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![](/images/icons/systemplanet_pluto.jpg)
In 2006 the International Astronomical Union (IAU) approved a new classification scheme for ...
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Did you know?
Did you know that the
Maya and the
Aztecs were early observers of
Venus?
Did you know that the Phoenix Mars Lander landed on Mars on 25 May, 2008?
Earth and Space Science Concept of the Day
Do you know what this word or phrase means?
AesthenospherexAesthenosphere : The asthenosphere is the ductile part of the earth just below the lithosphere, including the lower mantle.
Click on the word to find out!
Research Highlights
Geologists have learned that a magnitude-8.1 earthquake and tsunami that killed 192 people on September 29, 2009 in Samoa, American Samoa and Tonga was in fact a triple-whammy. The 8.1 "great earthquake"...
Read more![](/olpa/images/tonga_quake_small.jpg)