How can I buy a star? - NASA
You can do this, but it is not official. Your name will not be listed in any file except the one the company who takes your money keeps. In fact, one of these companies was even issued a violation for deceptive advertising by the State of New York Department of Consumer Affairs.
Why did Herschel name his planet Uranus? - NASA
The name "Uranus" was first proposed by German astronomer Johann Elert Bode in order for it to be in conformity with the other planetary names - which are from classical mythology. Uranus is the ancient Greek deity of the Heavens, the earliest supreme god. This name did not achieve common use until 1850.
What causes a "falling star"? - NASA
Associating the shower name with the region of the sky they seem to come from just helps astronomers know where to look! The dust and rocks that cause meteor showers come primarily from the Earth passing through the debris stream left behind by a comet as it orbits the Sun. Usually, the Earth's orbit and the comet's orbit are slightly tilted ...
StarChild: Glossary - NASA
A low density cloud of gas and dust in which a star is born. O OORT CLOUD A huge cloud which is thought to surround our solar system and reach over halfway to the nearest star. Comets originate in the Oort Cloud. ORBIT A specific path followed by a planet, satellite, etc. P PARSEC One parsec equals 3.26 light-years. PAYLOAD BAY
88 Officially Recognized Constellations - NASA
Learn about the 88 officially recognized constellations and their significance in astronomy on NASA's webpage.
StarChild: Stars - NASA
The temperature in a supernova can reach 1,000,000,000 degrees Celsius. This high temperature can lead to the production of new elements which may appear in the new nebula that results after the supernova explosion. The core of a massive star that is 1.5 to 4 times as massive as our Sun ends up as a neutron star after the supernova.
Who figured out the Earth is round? - NASA
Pythagoras reasoned that if the Moon was round, then the Earth must be round as well. After that, sometime between 500 B.C. and 430 B.C., a fellow called Anaxagoras determined the true cause of solar and lunar eclipses - and then the shape of the Earth's shadow on the Moon during a lunar eclipse was also used as evidence that the Earth was round.
StarChild: Did you know... (Ceres)
Piazzi originally named Ceres after King Ferdinand III of Sicily and the goddess Ceres. The name Ceres Ferdinandea was not acceptable to the world's astronomers , so the name was dropped. Return to the StarChild Main Page
StarChild: The Dwarf Planet Pluto - NASA
Pluto was discovered in 1930 by astronomer Clyde Tombaugh. However, it was not until the year 2015 that we finally got a close-up look at the dwarf planet. After a nine-year journey, NASA's New Horizons spacecraft flew by Pluto, taking pictures and collecting data. We now know that the surface of the dwarf planet is a tannish-red color.
StarChild: Comets - NASA
The Oort Cloud is believed to surround our solar system and reach over halfway to the nearest star, Alpha Centauri, which is 150,000 astronomical units away. Scientists think that about 100 million comets orbit the Sun. A comet has a distinct center called a nucleus.