Solar system

I’m working on a science project for school and we had to choose one planet to focus on. I chose Venus. My project requires me to answer certain questions about my planet, and one of them is “How... more

Copernican elements (circular orbital elements) are not very accurate. But Copernicus simplified our understanding a great deal by placing the Sun at the center of the system. Im astonished by the... more

Sol exhibits a magnetic field, most of the planets in orbit around Sol exhibit a magnetic field - strong and weak both. Does the solar system as a whole exhibit a magnetic field? Does the paradigm... more

Can any telescope, such as a 8" reflector, that is normally used at night to look at planets be used or adapted for solar observing?What kind of adapters or filters are required or is it better to... more

How is the atmospheric composition of astronomical objects, for example Triton, a moon of Neptune, determined?

How is the [Plane of the Solar System](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecliptic) oriented to the Sun's motion through space: parallel, perpendicular, or some other angle?

The ancients observed that the Sun and the 'fixed' stars rotated about the Earth. They were also aware that the Earth was spherical. They performed many astronomical measurements on the planets -... more

Is it by pure random chance that Mars and the Earth have nearly the same day duration (Mars day is barely 40 minutes longer, which is just 3% difference), or there is some causal relationship... more