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Ask us about space exploration, Earth, the solar system, stars, and galaxies. Here are answers to questions other kids have asked us.
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Could a human survive on Jupiter? Why or why not?
Jupiter would not be a nice place for a vacation, pretty though it is. One reason is that there's no place to stand, because it's a gas planet. If you go deep enough into the gas, you'd eventually find a solid surface, but only after you were crushed by the pressure on your body from the atmosphere. also, it's very windy there--around 250 mph in the storm that is the "Red Spot," for example. and the radiation is terrible. Find out more about this interesting planet from Dr. Marc.
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If someone yelled in space or banged something to make a big noise, would it travel far?
Here is one (of many) science fact that science fiction movies often get wrong. if a spaceship explodes or collides with an asteroid, you won't hear a loud blast like you do in the movies. You will hear nothing, because no sound waves can travel through the vacuum of space. Radio waves can though.
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What is the other planet like object (10th planet?)they found out by Pluto?. Are there more out there?
Until recently, Pluto was the ninth planet from the Sun. It was also the smallest planet. Astronomers have already named three other objects in the solar system that are about the same small size as Pluto. They are Ceres, Makemake, and Eris. These objects, along with Pluto, are much smaller than the "other" planets. Find out more about Pluto and the other objects astronomers now call "dwarf planets."
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What are the factors that effect gravity
Gravitational pull depends only on the mass of an object and your distance from it, not how large or small the object is. Dr. Marc explains gravity clearly when he talks about black holes.
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What is the life span of the Sun?
Our star is already 5 billion years old, and still has about 5 billion years to go. It could end up a white dwarf surrounded by a colorful cloud of glowing gas, like the Helix Nebula. See this poster and learn about star life cycles. .
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How big is the Universe?
This is a very hard question. We look up at the blackness of space and wonder whether it goes on forever. Lots of smart people have wondered the same thing. Listen to Dr. Marc talk about what they thought and what they figured out.
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How many exoplanets have been discovered so far?
Over 500 have been discovered so far. More NASA missions than ever are looking for extrasolar planets, especially Earth-like ones. Here's a story about a girl who dreams of finding another Earth.
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Could Earth ever be swallowed up by a black hole?
Not likely! There are no black holes in our neighborhood. And the Sun isn’t massive enough to ever become a black hole.
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Why is the sun hot?
The Sun is hot because, like all stars, it is constantly producing energy though nuclear fusion. Want to know about the Sun, other stars, and how they work?
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Where did the Moon come from? and why do we have only one when Jupiter and Saturn have many?
Our moon seems to have formed by a different process from all the other moons in the solar system. The best theory is that the young Earth was hit by a Mars-size object, which knocked out a big chunk of Earth that eventually became the Moon.
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What does the ozone layer have to do with global warming? what is ozone anyways?
We can not only answer these questions, but also give you a very cool game to play too. You will understand ozone once and for all.
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Are Jupiter and Saturn really just made of gas?
No. These planets are so big and massive that their centers experience tremendous pressures and very high temperatures. Materials under these conditions can get very strange. Hydrogen turns to a liquid and the liquid turns to a metal.
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How can there be such a thing as solar wind when there's no air out in space?
The Sun is is always blasting out huge amounts of particles.. These particles travel through space at very high speed. Although there's no air in space, these fast-moving particles make the solar wind. Solar wind, or space weather, can have a big affect on Earth. .
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What's the difference between a photon and a proton (besides the second letter)?
These similar sounding words have very different meanings, although they are both tiny. A proton is part of the nucleus of an atom. A photon is a tiny packet of light energy. Play Photon Pileup and you will always remember photons!
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Why does the moon have phases?
What people sometimes call "moonlight" is really sunlight reflecting off the Moon's surface. Get the whole story from Dr. Marc at The Space Place.
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Could the human race survive if the Sun were to burn out.
The Sun has another 5 billion years or so of fuel left, so maybe we'll have figured out how to get off the planet by then. Find out all about the life of stars like our Sun.
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What is an Exoplanet?
Exoplanet is short for extra-solar planet--that is, a planet outside our own solar system. Astronomers have discovered over 300 exoplanets so far. See some artist concepts of recently discovered exoplanets at The Space Place.
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What is the biggest star in the Milky Way galaxy?
It's hard to say for certain, but one of the biggest is Betelguese, a red giant star in the constellation Orion. Another good question is what is the brightest star? Read more on both these topics, plus other fascinating questions about stars.
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Is there any life in outer space?
We don't know for sure yet. But NASA's latest space telescopes may help us come closer to the answer. Read about one of these and how a little girl followed her dream to answer this same question.
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What does "phases of the moon" mean?
The Moon has no light of its own. It reflects the sunlight shining on its surface as it orbits Earth. From Earth, we don't always see the whole sunlit side of the Moon.
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