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Planet Nine is a hypothetical ninth planet in the outer region of the Solar System. [4] [2] Its gravitational effects could explain the peculiar clustering of orbits for a group of extreme trans-Neptunian objects (ETNOs), bodies beyond Neptune that orbit the Sun at distances averaging more than 250 times that of the Earth i.e. over 250 astronomical units (AU).
The brightest planets in the sky have been named from ancient times. The scientific names are taken from the names given by the Romans: Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn. Our own planet is usually named in English as Earth, or the equivalent in the language being spoken (for instance, two astronomers speaking French would call it la ...
Unlike most planetary moons, which are named from antiquity, all the moons of Uranus are named after characters from the works of Shakespeare and Alexander Pope's work The Rape of the Lock. Neptune has 16 known moons; the largest, Triton, accounts for more than 99.5 percent of all the mass orbiting the planet. Triton is large enough to have ...
Every human language has its own word for the Earth's Moon, and these words are the ones normally used in astronomical contexts.However, a number of fanciful or mythological names for the Moon have been used in the context of astronomy (an even larger number of lunar epithets have been used in non-astronomical contexts).
There are 293 confirmed moons in our cosmic neighborhood. By studying these worlds, astronomers hope to learn about ancient asteroid collisions, space volcanoes, and the origins of life itself.
The timeline of discovery of Solar System planets and their natural satellites charts the progress of the discovery of new bodies over history. Each object is listed in chronological order of its discovery (multiple dates occur when the moments of imaging, observation, and publication differ), identified through its various designations (including temporary and permanent schemes), and the ...
The number of known planets in our solar system has risen and fallen over time. Astronomers, seeing odd irregularities in the orbits of the outer planets suspect another, unknown, planet may orbit ...
Active volcanoes on Io are named after fire, sun or thunder gods or heroes. Catenae Crater chains are named after Sun gods. Fluctūs Names of fluctūs are derived from a nearby named feature, fire, sun, thunder or volcano gods, goddesses and heroes or mythical blacksmiths. Mensae, Montes, Plana, Regiones and Tholi