Astronaut Neil Armstrong first stepped on the moon with his left foot
Astronomers believe that the universe contains one atom for every 88 gallons of space.
At its center, the Sun has a density of over a hundred times that of water, and a temperature of 10-20 million degrees Celsius.
At the height of a hundred miles, are is only a billionth as dense as it is on Earth's surface. Even so, the total amount of air that is higher than the hundred-mile level comes to 6 million tons.
Jupiter, the largest planet in our solar system, weighs over twice as much as all of the other known planets combined.
Launched in Sputnik II, Laika, a female Samoyed, became the first animal in space on November 3, 1957. She died when her oxygen supply was exhausted, and her capsule incinerated on reentry to the earth's atmosphere.
Less than 50 percent of American adults understand that Earth orbits the Sun yearly, according to a basic science survey.
Light from the moon takes about a second and a half to reach Earth.
Light takes one-tenth of a second to travel from New York to London, 8 minutes to reach the Earth from the Sun, and 4.3 years to reach Earth from the nearest star.
LOX, in space lingo is liquid oxygen, a component of rocket fuel.
Maps showing the solar system published prior to 1979 need to be updated. The reason: Pluto is no longer the most distant planet from the sun; Neptune now is. In its 248.8 year orbital revolution around the Sun, Pluto crossed Neptune's orbit in December 1978. Neptune and Pluto resume their more familiar positions in March 1999 as Pluto journeys to its farthest point from the Sun, over 4.5 billion miles away.
Massachusetts astronomer Maria Mitchell discovered a comet on October 1, 1847, becoming the first woman to do so while using a telescope. King Frederick of Denmark awarded her a gold medal for her discovery, and the Republic of San Marino presented her with a copper medal. Later, Mitchell was made a professor of astronomy at Vassar. Her special studies focused on sunspots, nebulae, and satellites. Mitchell was a role model and icon for many women of that period; she was the first woman to be elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the American Philosophical Society. A crater on the moon was named after her.
Mercury has been known since about the third millennium B.C. The planet was given two names by the Greeks: Apollo, for its apparition as a morning star, and Hermes as an evening star. Greek astronomers knew, however, that the two names referred to the same body.
Millions of meteorites fall against the outer limits of the atmosphere every day and are burned to nothing by the friction.
Barnard's star is approaching the Sun at a speed of 87 miles/second. By the year 11,800, it will be the closest star to us.
Because it is pouring energy out into space so rapidly, the Sun is a weight equivalent to a million elephants to a million elephants every second.
Because of the speed at which Earth moves around the Sun, it is impossible for a solar eclipse to last more than 7 minutes and 58 seconds.
Because total absence of life on the moon had been satisfactorily determined, NASA did not bother to quarantine the Apollo 14 astronauts on their return to earth after the third moon mission.
Besides Earth, only Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune have known magnetic fields.
By the year 14000 A.D., the new North Star will be Vega.
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