See, I know More Than Just Biology

When I started this blog I had every intention of giving out facts from all fields of science and not just biology. I’m not doing so well with this…

So to fix that, I am going to tell you some fun facts about the plants in our solar system!

The Sun:
The sun is just about halfway through its lifetime. It is very stable right now. Before the sun dies (in a super long time), it will increase in size and eat up the inner planets (and Earth).

Mercury:
Mercury rotates very slowly around its own pole, but revolves around the sun faster than any other planet (in 88 days). Because of this there are actually 2 years in a day on Mercury.

Venus:
Unlike the other planets, Venus does not tilt on its axis as it revolves around the sun. No tilt means there no seasons on Venus. It is also the hottest planet, so it’s kind of like the planet is stuck in an endless summer.

Earth:
The Earth is gradually slowing down. Every few years an extra second is added to the amount of time it takes the Earth to rotate. In a few million years, a day on Earth will last approximately 27 hours.

Mars:
One of Mars’s moons, Phobos, orbits the planet 3 times a day. That is faster than Mars rotates.

Jupiter:
Jupiter is the largest planet in our solar system and has 63 moons. Even with its gigantic size, Jupiter spins faster than all of the other planets. It only takes 10 hours for Jupiter to make a full rotation. In fact, Jupiter is spinning so fast the equator of the planet bulges out a little.

Saturn:
Saturn is a gas giant and it has a density less than water. That means if you put Saturn in a tub of water big enough to fit it, it would float.

Uranus:
Uranus is the fun little plant that is tipped onto its side. It is the only planet that rotates on its side.

Neptune:
Besides being the coldest planet and the planet farthest from the sun (sorry Pluto, but you’re not a planet anymore), Neptune also has the strongest winds in our solar system. The freezing cold winds can blow up to 2,100 km/hr. Take that Chicago.

Pluto:
One of the main reasons Pluto is no longer considered a planet is because it has not cleared out its orbit around the sun. There is actually more mass in the way of Pluto’s orbit than in Pluto itself. Another fun thing to know about Pluto is that if it we closer to the sun, it would actually become a comet.