Space Facts for Kids
Out-of-this-world facts about the universe
On Saturn's moon Titan, liquid methane falls as rain from orange clouds, flows along river channels, and collects in lakes — just as water does on Earth.
The closest star to our Sun is Proxima Centauri, about 4.24 light-years away. Even travelling at today's fastest spacecraft speeds, it would take over 18,000 years to reach it.
Some astronomers believe a mysterious 'Planet Nine' may exist far beyond Neptune, its presence suggested by the unusual orbits of distant icy objects — but it has never been directly observed.
Sunspots are temporary dark patches on the Sun's surface caused by magnetic activity. They are cooler than the surrounding surface — yet still around 3,500 degrees Celsius.
Astronauts on the International Space Station recycle about 90% of all moisture — including sweat and urine — back into clean drinking water through a sophisticated filtration system.
Mars has seasons like Earth because it is tilted on its axis at a similar angle of 25 degrees. However, each Martian season lasts about twice as long as on Earth.
When a massive star explodes as a supernova, it can briefly outshine its entire galaxy of hundreds of billions of stars — releasing more energy in seconds than our Sun will in its entire lifetime.
Every atom in your body heavier than hydrogen and helium — including the calcium in your bones and the iron in your blood — was forged inside a star that exploded before our Sun was born.
Einstein's theory of general relativity predicted that gravity bends light, and this was confirmed in 1919 when astronomers photographed stars near the Sun during a solar eclipse and found them shifted.
The first spacewalk was performed by Soviet cosmonaut Alexei Leonov in 1965. It lasted just 12 minutes, during which his spacesuit inflated so much he nearly couldn't get back inside.