The definition of Space includes the entire Universe, from planets, moons, stars and galaxies and our knowledge is continually growing.
So here are some interesting facts that you may not have heard before…
- The Universe was born in a Big Bang about 13.7 billion years ago.
- Space begins 100km (62 miles) above the Earth.
- There are 8 planets, 5 dwarf planets and 165 known moons in our solar system.
- The Sun is orbited by billions of asteroids, comets and Kuiper Belt objects.
- A black hole is a region of space where gravity is so strong that nothing can escape.
- There are more stars in the Universe than there are grains of sand on all of the beaches on Earth.
- The temperature at the centre of the Sun is 15,000,000 oC, (27,000,000 oF).
- When a dying star explodes, it releases as much energy as the Sun emits in a lifetime.
- The colour of a star is a guide of the surface temperature; blue and white are the hottest, and orange and red are the coolest.
- There are A teaspoon of material from a neuron star would weigh 10 billions tonnes on Earth.
- About 500 people have flown in Space since 1961.
- The first artificial satellite, Spudnick, was launched by the Soviet Union in 1957.
And here’s a funny but clever fact to end, if you want to remember the sequence of the planets, try this sentence:
My Very Educated Mother Just Served Us Noodles.
Which is really… My-Mercury, Very -Venus, Educated-Earth, Mother-Mars, Just-Jupiter, Served-Saturn, Us-Uranus, Noodles-Neptune.
Clever eh?