Why is Venus hotter than Mercury?

As the closest planet to us, people often wonder just how close Venus is. The truth is that in reality and in comparison to what we know on Earth, it’s still a very long way away. But in space terms, it’s actually pretty close; Venus is the brightest planet in our sky for a reason, … Read more

Many people assume that the planets get bigger and bigger the further they are from the Sun. Whilst it is true that the planets that are closer to the Sun (the terrestrial planets) are generally much smaller than those further out (the Jovian planets), it doesn’t always work that way. So with this being said, … Read more

Throughout the years, every planet has been depicted as a different color to what it truly is. Jupiter is often seen as red, and Saturn is often shown as being purple in comics and magazines. Another planet you’ve probably seen in a range of different colors in Venus, which I’ve seen represented by the colors … Read more

NASA says they’re going to make their way to Mars within the next decade (after re-visiting the moon again first), and Elon Musk has set his eyes on making the trip even sooner than that. One of the main reasons why Mars looks like a likely next target for most astronomers is that it’s within … Read more

The atmosphere of a planet can vary a lot, and it can make a massive difference to the weather on the planet. Take Venus for example; it’s the hottest planet in the solar system solely because it has a very thick atmosphere that retains all of the that it receives from the Sun. Mercury, in … Read more

Mars is often touted as the only possible alternative planet for humans to live on, and for the most part, this is definitely true. The potential sources of water and similar geographical landscapes suggest that Mars is actually pretty similar to Earth in a lot of ways. However, one of the biggest obstacles and differences … Read more

As one of the closest planets to us, Mars is often compared to Earth in many different ways, and it’s the only planet where humans could realistically even have a chance of living. Go in one direction and we’d roast away being too close to the Sun and getting caught up in the blazing atmosphere … Read more

We all know that Jupiter is the largest of the 8 planets in our solar system, but most people aren’t aware of just how far it would be for us to travel there. We’re constantly talking about going to Mars, and Jupiter is just the next planet along from there, right? Well, whilst it is … Read more

When it comes to the biggest planets, there’s none out there that can match Jupiter for scale. And although the further you go out from the Sun the colder the planets are on the outside, their inner core is extremely hot. This is definitely true for Jupiter, which we know it’s primarily made up of … Read more

Over the years, Jupiter has been depicted as many different colors. And like all of the other planets, it’s often been depicted as the completely wrong color to the reality of what it is. There’s definitely been depictions of the planet being red, brown, white, yellow and even blue depending on the circumstance. But what … Read more

We all know Jupiter is the largest planet in the solar system, and it’s the next planet you come to when you pass Mars. With all the talk and speculation about astronomers travelling to Mars within the next decade or so, people are often left wondering; why Mars? It’s smaller than our planet at the … Read more

All the talk in the media over the past few years has been about Mars, and historically, humans have only landed on the moon. Whilst we haven’t been further than this ourselves, the Voyager 1 and 2 spacecrafts have been past the Jovian planets, including Saturn. But just how long did it take them to … Read more

The amount of moons that the Jovian planets have can be difficult to keep count of. Obviously, our planet only has one moon, and the closest planet to us Mars only has two. But when you go past Mars, the amount of moons each planet has changes drastically. Jupiter and Saturn are often said to … Read more

The planet Saturn is known for being the second biggest of the planets in our solar system, as well as having the most moons too (it wasn’t always that way, but 20 new moons were discovered orbiting Saturn in recent years). But something that isn’t talked about as much is the composition of the planet, … Read more

When it comes to unknowns, the Jovian planets still have a lot about them that we’re not quite sure on. Saturn is one of the biggest planets in the solar system, though it’s not quite the biggest. Despite this, in comparison to Earth is so much bigger that it would be difficult to comprehend. So, … Read more

As one of the Jovian planets, Saturn isn’t quite as large as its bigger brother Jupiter. However, it is quite a way further out from Earth, which means it can be difficult to see in the night sky, even with a telescope. So, we know that Saturn is quite a way further out than Earth, … Read more

Both Uranus and Neptune remain to be fairly unknown in comparison to the nearer terrestrial planets, and we struggle to see them with a telescope. Whilst you may occasionally be able to spot Uranus in the night sky, it’s difficult as it’s so far away and it’s not the brightest planet either – and don’t … Read more

Uranus and Neptune are the two furthest planets from the Sun, and they’re often lumped in together with each other, much like Jupiter and Saturn are. And the main reasons for this is that there are a lot of similarities between the two planets, as they’re more alike than they are different. This is probably … Read more

As one of the furthest planets from the Sun, mysterious Uranus still has a lot of unanswered questions about it. Due to the large distance between us and the planet, it’s not exactly the most accessible for us to learn about. Fortunately, thanks to the Voyager 2 mission which passed Uranus in the mid 1980s, … Read more