Poles in Space
The areas around the North and South Poles of planets, moons, and even the Sun are often interesting and unusual places. We have discovered all sorts of unique behavior at these locations, while on some planets, the characteristics of the poles are similar to those of Earth. On some planets and moons, we still don't have observations from their poles so can only make educated guesses of what we expect to find there based on our scientific understanding of the celestial body. The links below provide an overview of what we know about the polar regions of many of the major bodies in the solar system. An important concept related to the poles of the planets is the amount of tilt of a planet's rotational axis relative to the plane of the ecliptic - the orbital plane in which the planets orbit the Sun. Planets with a large tilt have stronger seasonal behavior than planets without a tilt.
What's New on the Site?
When Nature Strikes - Earthquakes
When Nature Strikes - Volcanoes
When Nature Strikes: Tsunami Classroom Activity
When Nature Strikes: Wildfires - Why are they a challenge to stop?
Windows to the Universe Community | |
News | Opportunities |
Explore Poles in Space
The Sun's Poles
The North and South Poles of the Sun are different in several ways from the low-latitude regions ...Read more
Mercury's Poles
If Uranus is the "tilted planet", Mercury might be called the "upright planet". The spin axis ...Read more
The Poles of Venus
Would you expect to find ice caps and snow fields on Venus? Not likely! Venus is the hottest ...Read more
Earth's Polar Regions
Do you wonder what Earth's Polar Regions are like? Where do polar bears live? Where do penguins ...Read more
The Polar Regions of Mars
The North and South Poles on Mars are similar to the polar regions on Earth in many ways. They ...Read more
The Poles of Jupiter and Its Moons
Several interesting phenomena are found at the poles of Jupiter, the largest planet in our ...Read more
The Poles of Saturn and Its Moons
There's a lot of strange and interesting stuff going on at both the North and South Poles of ...Read more
The Poles of Uranus
Uranus is the tilted planet. Its spin axis, which defines the locations of its North and South ...Read more
The Poles of Neptune and Its Moons
The South Pole of the planet Neptune is unusual in several ways. Triton, Neptune's largest ...Read more
The Poles of the Dwarf Planets
As of June 2009 there are officially five dwarf planets: Pluto, Ceres, Eris, Haumea and Makemake. ...Read moreMore about Poles in Space
- Poles in Space Image Gallery
- Links to Other Polar Science Resources
Global locations of visitors using this page right now
Historical Events
Full Earth and Space Science History Calendar (Members only)
Teacher Opportunities
Full Teacher Events Calendar (Educator Members only)
Did you know?
Do you know the difference between meteors, meteoroids, and meteorites?Do you know how far away the Oort cloud is?
Earth and Space Science Concept of the Day
Do you know what this word or phrase means?Tallus slope
xTallus slope : An accumulation of broken rock fragments at the base of crags or mountain cliffs
Click on the word to find out!
Research Highlights
Gulf Oil Spill: Mississippi River Hydrology May Help Reduce Oil Onshore
The Gulf of Mexico: what role will the Mississippi River play in oil washing ashore and into delta wetlands? One of the spill's greatest environmental threats is to Louisiana's wetlands, scientists believe....Read more
Please log in
Science Blogs
Real Climate: climate science from climate scientists
Windows to the Universe, a project of the National Earth Science Teachers Association, is sponsored in part is sponsored in part through grants from federal agencies (NASA and NOAA), and partnerships with affiliated organizations, including the American Geophysical Union, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the Earth System Information Partnership, the American Meteorological Society, the National Center for Science Education, and TERC. The American Geophysical Union and the American Geosciences Institute are Windows to the Universe Founding Partners. NESTA welcomes new Institutional Affiliates in support of our ongoing programs, as well as collaborations on new projects. Contact NESTA for more information.
