Europa, the fourth largest of Jupiter’s 95 moons, holds a special place in our solar system. It is the sixth closest moon to Jupiter and, along with Io, Ganymede, and Callisto, was among the first moons discovered beyond Earth. These moons, known as the Galilean moons, were first observed by the Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei,…
This high-resolution image of Io, Jupiter’s fifth moon, taken by NASA’s Galileo spacecraft was published on December 18, 1997. Io’s surface is dotted with hundreds of volcanoes, some of which spew sulfurous plumes hundreds of miles high.
Lightning is not the only thing on Earth. Lightning has also been seen on other planets. Why lightning has been seen even on the planets in our solar system In 1979, NASA’s probe Voyager 1 went close to the planet Jupiter, and then it photographed the powerful lightning that occurs on Jupiter. It…
Jupiter is the largest planet in the Solar System. About 1325 Earths can fit on Jupiter very easily. Suppose you decided to land on Jupiter to learn more about the mysterious planet Jupiter. What will happen? Jupiter is a gas giant with no ‘soil’ to trample on. Will you go straight down there? What do…
Can you imagine living on a planet (Rains Precious Gems) with precious gems instead of water? Scientists have now discovered these new features in an exoplanet that previously discovered clouds made of metal, rain and gems. Called ‘WASP-121b’, the gas giant orbits a star about 855 light-years from Earth. This is according to a study…
The Dwarf Planet was named after the famous Indian musician Pandit Jasraj by the International Astronomical Union. Pandit Jasraj is a 2006 dwarf planet orbiting Mars and Jupiter named VP32. This is the first time an Indian object has been named after a space object. There are space objects named after Mozart and Beethoven. According…
Mariner was the first spacecraft to be launched to study Mercury on November 3, 1973Launched by NASA, this robotic spacecraft was the first spacecraft to fly over multiple planets. What is a fly-by or gravity assist? This is a technique used to increase the speed of an exploration vehicle when it is sent into space….
Wide enough to contain Earth, the Great Red Spot is the most dominant atmospheric feature in the planet’s southern hemisphere.
