Space Facts

Here are 47 Stellar Things You Didnt Know About Space:

1. Space has no sound. Because space is a vacuum with almost no molecules, sound waves cannot travel.
2. Space is extremely cold. The average temperature in deep space is about −270°C (−454°F).
3. Space begins roughly 100 km above Earth. This boundary is called the Kármán line.
4. Space is nearly empty. Even the emptiest areas between galaxies still contain about one atom per cubic meter.
5. The Sun contains over 99% of the solar systems mass.
6. The Sun is an average-sized star, yet about one million Earths could fit inside it.
7. Mercury is the fastest planet, orbiting the Sun at about 107,000 miles per hour.
8. A day on Venus is longer than its year. It takes 243 Earth days to rotate but 225 days to orbit the Sun.
9. Venus is the hottest planet, with temperatures around 850°F (450°C).
10. Uranus rotates on its side, making its seasons very unusual.
11. Mercury and Venus are the only planets without moons.
12. Jupiters Great Red Spot is a massive storm that has been raging for over 400 years.
13. Saturn is less dense than water, meaning it could theoretically float in a giant ocean.
14. Neptune has the fastest winds in the solar system, reaching 1,600 mph (2,600 km/h).
15. Astronaut footprints on the Moon can last millions of years because there is no wind or water to erase them.
16. Mars has the tallest volcano in the solar system, Olympus Mons, nearly three times taller than Mount Everest.
17. The universe is about 13.8 billion years old and has been expanding since the Big Bang.
18. The Milky Way galaxy contains about 100–400 billion stars.
19. There are roughly 2 trillion galaxies in the observable universe.
20. Neutron stars are incredibly dense. A teaspoon of one could weigh trillions of kilograms.
21. Black holes have gravity so strong that even light cannot escape them.
22. The International Space Station (ISS) is about the size of a soccer field and orbits Earth every 90 minutes.
23. Space smells unusual, often described by astronauts as seared steak or hot metal.
24. Dogs were sent to space before humans.
25. Scientists discovered a massive water vapor cloud in space containing 140 trillion times the water in Earths oceans.
26. Diamonds may rain on Neptune and Uranus because of extreme pressure and temperature.
27. Saturn currently has more than 250 known moons.
28. Plutos moon Charon is so large that Pluto and Charon orbit each other like a double system.
29. Only about 5% of the universe is visible matter—the rest is dark matter and dark energy.
30. The Milky Way is about 105,700 light-years wide.
31. Our galaxy will collide with the Andromeda galaxy in several billion years.
32. Stars are born in nebulae, giant clouds of gas and dust called stellar nurseries.
33. Shooting stars arent stars—they are tiny meteors burning up in Earths atmosphere.
34. Comets are icy leftovers from the formation of the solar system about 4.5 billion years ago.
35. The asteroid Vesta has a mountain about 22 km tall, nearly three times the height of Mount Everest.
36. Astronauts can grow up to about 2 inches taller in space because their spines stretch in microgravity.
37. Over 600 people have traveled to space.
38. Mars sunsets appear blue, the opposite of Earths red sunsets.
39. Gas giants like Jupiter and Saturn have no solid surface, so you couldnt stand on them.
40. There are hundreds of thousands of pieces of space debris orbiting Earth.
41. If two clean pieces of metal touch in space, they can stick together permanently due to cold welding.
42. Suction cups do not work in space because there is no air pressure.
43. Falling into a black hole could stretch you like spaghetti, a process called spaghettification.
44. Some black holes emit pressure waves that scientists have translated into sound.
45. Asteroids about the size of a car enter Earths atmosphere roughly once a year, but they burn up before reaching the ground.
46. Mars also has the largest canyon, Valles Marineris, which stretches 3,000 miles.
47. There are more stars in the universe than grains of sand on all Earths beaches.