Surprising Space and Astronomy Facts

Venus rotates so slowly that its day is longer than its year.

A day on the planet Mercury lasts about 59 Earth days.

Neutron stars are so dense that a sugar-cube-sized amount of material would weigh about as much as all of humanity.

There are more trees on Earth than stars in the Milky Way galaxy.

Saturn could float in water because it is mostly made of gas and is less dense than water.

Jupiter's Great Red Spot is a storm larger than Earth that has been raging for at least three centuries.

If two pieces of the same type of metal touch in space, they will bond together permanently — this is called cold welding.

The Sun is 400 times larger than the Moon but also 400 times farther away, making them appear the same size in the sky.

The footprints left by Apollo astronauts on the Moon could stay there for millions of years since there is no wind or water to erase them.