Exploring the wonders of our solar system

Sheer vastness

Sheer vastness, Major gap, Eruptive, Canyons and valleys, An extreme planet, Watery worlds, Unexpected geology, The search for Planet Nine, Taller than the sky, Methane cycle, Rusty planet, Biggest storm

The solar system is, quite frankly, massive. NASA's Voyager 1 spacecraft (launched in 1977) became the first human-made object to enter interstellar space in 2012 by crossing the heliopause, which is the boundary of the solar system. It took more than three decades to travel the distance.

Major gap

Sheer vastness, Major gap, Eruptive, Canyons and valleys, An extreme planet, Watery worlds, Unexpected geology, The search for Planet Nine, Taller than the sky, Methane cycle, Rusty planet, Biggest storm

Shockingly, the distance between Earth and the Moon is large enough to fit all eight planets in a line. Although they vary in size (and the distance between us and the Moon also changes), the planets could all squeeze into the gap.

Eruptive

Sheer vastness, Major gap, Eruptive, Canyons and valleys, An extreme planet, Watery worlds, Unexpected geology, The search for Planet Nine, Taller than the sky, Methane cycle, Rusty planet, Biggest storm

Jupiter’s moon Io is the most volcanically active moon in the solar system, emitting sulfur plumes up to 190 miles (306 km) high due to intense gravitational forces from Jupiter. Scientists are still trying to fully understand how the phenomena works.

Canyons and valleys

Sheer vastness, Major gap, Eruptive, Canyons and valleys, An extreme planet, Watery worlds, Unexpected geology, The search for Planet Nine, Taller than the sky, Methane cycle, Rusty planet, Biggest storm

The Valles Marineris canyon system on Mars stretches 2,500 miles (4,024 km), which is 10 times as long as Earth's Grand Canyon. Its formation is mysterious, possibly linked to volcanic activity on the opposite side of the planet, creating cracks and erosion from water and glaciers.

An extreme planet

Sheer vastness, Major gap, Eruptive, Canyons and valleys, An extreme planet, Watery worlds, Unexpected geology, The search for Planet Nine, Taller than the sky, Methane cycle, Rusty planet, Biggest storm

Venus has a scorching, high-pressure surface, and its average wind speed reaches about 224 mph (360 km/h). A potential sign of life, phosphine, was detected in Venus’ atmosphere, but follow-up studies suggest the dry atmosphere makes life unlikely.

Watery worlds

Sheer vastness, Major gap, Eruptive, Canyons and valleys, An extreme planet, Watery worlds, Unexpected geology, The search for Planet Nine, Taller than the sky, Methane cycle, Rusty planet, Biggest storm

Earth is actually not the most water-rich world in the solar system. Our planet is only fifth on the list, while the rest are moons. Jupiter’s moon Ganymede is in first place, with 46% liquid water, followed by Titan, Callisto, and Europa.

Unexpected geology

Sheer vastness, Major gap, Eruptive, Canyons and valleys, An extreme planet, Watery worlds, Unexpected geology, The search for Planet Nine, Taller than the sky, Methane cycle, Rusty planet, Biggest storm

Pluto is a tiny world in the distant reaches of our solar system. In 2015, NASA’s New Horizons mission flew past the dwarf planet and took pictures of its dynamic surface, revealing icy mountains that are 11,000 feet (3,300 meters) high.

Image credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute/Lunar and Planetary Institute

The search for Planet Nine

Sheer vastness, Major gap, Eruptive, Canyons and valleys, An extreme planet, Watery worlds, Unexpected geology, The search for Planet Nine, Taller than the sky, Methane cycle, Rusty planet, Biggest storm

Mathematical models suggest the existence of a large planet beyond Neptune, which scientists have dubbed Planet Nine. Some astronomers speculate it could be a small black hole, while others argue that smaller objects collectively influence the outer solar system’s behavior.

Belts

Sheer vastness, Major gap, Eruptive, Canyons and valleys, An extreme planet, Watery worlds, Unexpected geology, The search for Planet Nine, Taller than the sky, Methane cycle, Rusty planet, Biggest storm

Earth is surrounded by energy particles known as the Van Allen radiation belts, which are created when the Earth captures solar wind from the Sun. The belts actually expand and contract with solar activity, and sometimes separate from one another.

Taller than the sky

Sheer vastness, Major gap, Eruptive, Canyons and valleys, An extreme planet, Watery worlds, Unexpected geology, The search for Planet Nine, Taller than the sky, Methane cycle, Rusty planet, Biggest storm

The highest mountain known to man is actually on an asteroid known as Vesta in the asteroid belt. It’s one of the biggest objects in the belt, with a mean diameter of 326 miles (525 km). Its mountain (pictured here at its south pole) is a whopping 14 miles (22 km) in height, which is three times taller than Everest.

Methane cycle

Sheer vastness, Major gap, Eruptive, Canyons and valleys, An extreme planet, Watery worlds, Unexpected geology, The search for Planet Nine, Taller than the sky, Methane cycle, Rusty planet, Biggest storm

Saturn’s moon Titan has an active methane cycle that is similar to Earth’s water cycle. Titan’s methane lakes and ethane-filled seas form a dynamic surface and atmosphere. Future missions could explore Titan’s depths to unlock the moon's intriguing secrets.

Rusty planet

Sheer vastness, Major gap, Eruptive, Canyons and valleys, An extreme planet, Watery worlds, Unexpected geology, The search for Planet Nine, Taller than the sky, Methane cycle, Rusty planet, Biggest storm

As strange as it may sound, Mars is basically a planet covered in rust. Earth’s neighbor has been called the Red Planet due to its distinctive coloring, which actually comes from a large amount of iron oxide. On Earth, iron oxide appears when metal begins to rust.

Biggest storm

Sheer vastness, Major gap, Eruptive, Canyons and valleys, An extreme planet, Watery worlds, Unexpected geology, The search for Planet Nine, Taller than the sky, Methane cycle, Rusty planet, Biggest storm

Jupiter’s Great Red Spot is actually an anticyclonic storm that has existed for more than 350 years. The storm rotates once every six days, but scientists believe that it is shrinking. The spot was once 20,000 miles (32,190 km) wide, yet it is now around 10,250 miles (16,500 km) across.

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