Solar System Exploration: Solar System 101: Homework Helper

HOMEWORK HELPER

The Hottest Planet
Venus is a dim world of intense heat and volcanic activity. Similar in structure and size to Earth, Venus' thick, toxic atmosphere traps heat in a runaway 'greenhouse effect.' The scorched world has temperatures hot enough to melt lead. Glimpses below the clouds reveal volcanoes and deformed mountains. Venus spins slowly in the opposite direction of most planets.

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Planets Aligning in the Sunset Sky
The sunset of May 26th will be extra special. On that date, Venus, Jupiter and Mercury will gather in the fading twilight to form a bright triangle only three degrees wide.

Solar System Exploration @ 50: What the Experts Picked

Research... at a Glance

Solar System Exploration @ 50: What the Experts Picked
Here is what the experts had to say about their favorite moments last 50 years of planetary robotic exploration.

State of the Solar System
As the president prepares to give his annual State of the Union Address, we offer our own update from the ongoing exploration of our cosmic neighborhood.

Earth at Perihelion
In January, our planet made its annual closest approach to the sun. But don't expect things to warm up.

ISS Transit of Venus
High above Earth, astronaut Don Pettit is preparing to photograph the June 5th Transit of Venus from space itself. The Expedition 31 crew will be the first people in history to see a Venus transit from space.

Venus, a Planetary Portrait of Inner Beauty
A Venus transit across the face of the sun is a relatively rare event -- occurring in pairs with more than a century separating each pair. There have been all of 53 transits of Venus across the sun between 2000 B.C. and the last one in 2004.

Raindrops in Rock
A new study published in Nature from NASA's Exobiology and Evoluationary Biology program investigators and their colleagues looks at fossilized raindrops and what they indicate about conditions on the early Earth.

50 Years of Robotic Planetary Exploration: David Grinspoon (Curator of Astrobiology at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science)
We asked them and here is what the experts had to say about the last 50 years of planetary robotic exploration.

An Alignment of Planets in the Sunset Sky
The brightest planets in the night sky are aligning for a must-see show in late February and March 2012. You can start looking tonight.

The Night After Christmas Sky Show
On Dec. 26th, Venus and the crescent Moon will gather together for a beautiful night-after-Christmas sky show.

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1 2

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Research... at a Glance

Solar System Exploration @ 50: What the Experts Picked
Here is what the experts had to say about their favorite moments last 50 years of planetary robotic exploration.

State of the Solar System
As the president prepares to give his annual State of the Union Address, we offer our own update from the ongoing exploration of our cosmic neighborhood.

Earth at Perihelion
In January, our planet made its annual closest approach to the sun. But don't expect things to warm up.

An Alignment of Planets in the Sunset Sky
The brightest planets in the night sky are aligning for a must-see show in late February and March 2012. You can start looking tonight.

The Night After Christmas Sky Show
On Dec. 26th, Venus and the crescent Moon will gather together for a beautiful night-after-Christmas sky show.

1 2

Show All