Space Facts for Kids
Out-of-this-world facts about the universe
Earth has at least one Trojan asteroid — a space rock trapped in our orbit — called 2010 TK7. It shares Earth's path around the Sun but stays well ahead of our planet.
There are more than 27,000 pieces of tracked space debris orbiting Earth, including old satellites, rocket stages, and fragments — moving at speeds of up to 28,000 kilometres per hour.
The Moon experiences moonquakes caused by Earth's gravitational tidal forces. Apollo seismometers recorded moonquakes that lasted far longer than earthquakes because the Moon is cold, dry, and rigid.
Solar eclipses happen because, by an extraordinary coincidence, the Sun is 400 times wider than the Moon but also 400 times further away — making them appear the same size from Earth.
Jupiter's moon Ganymede is the only moon in the solar system known to have its own magnetic field, creating its own mini-auroras within Jupiter's much larger magnetosphere.
Olympus Mons on Mars is the tallest volcano in the solar system, at 22 kilometres high — nearly three times the height of Mount Everest — and covers an area the size of France.
The edge of our solar system is defined by the heliopause — where the Sun's solar wind is halted by interstellar gas — located about 18 billion kilometres from the Sun.
Both Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 carry a 'Golden Record' — a gold-plated copper disc containing sounds, music, and images from Earth, intended as a message to any extraterrestrial life that might find them.
Red dwarf stars are by far the most common type of star in our galaxy — making up about 70–75% of all stars — but they are too faint to be seen with the naked eye.
Beyond Neptune lies the Kuiper Belt — a ring of icy objects extending to 50 times Earth's distance from the Sun. Pluto is one of the largest known Kuiper Belt objects.