Science facts: There are thousands of other planets out there and more

Science facts: There are thousands of other planets out there and more

science facts John Smith   03:58

Here are some amazing news and amazing science facts as there are thousands of other planets out there and more

1. There are thousands of other planets out there.

We have eight planets in our Solar System. However, outside of our Solar System there are thousands of other planets. The extra-solar planets or exo-planets are in orbit around another star. So far we have almost 1800 confirmed new worlds, with another 3000 awaiting confirmation. Astronomers are looking to a star’s goldilocks zone for planets that may be habitable, just like the Earth. The majority of planets discovered so far are hot gas giant planets.

There are thousands of planets out there! This artist’s impression shows what those multiple Solar Systems might look like. (Image Credit: NASA/ESA/ESO)

2. In space the skin on your feet peels off!

This is a pretty gross fact but in the micro-gravity environment, astronauts are not using their feet to walk. Therefore the skin on their feet starts to soften and flakes off. As laundry facilities do not exist in space, astronauts will wear the same underwear and socks for a few days. Those socks then need to be taken off very gently. If not those dead skin cells will float around in the weightless environment.

3. On Venus a day is longer than a year.

This is tricky one to get your head around but a year on Venus (that is the length of time it takes to complete one whole orbit around the Sun) is 224.7 Earth days. However it takes 243 Earth days to rotate on its axis just once.

4. The astronauts were placed in quarantine after returning from the moon.

There is a famous image of President Nixon talking to the Apollo 11 crew consisting of Michael Collins, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin. This continued until after the Apollo 14 crew returned safely. After this it was decided that the Moon did not contain any deadly diseases. The Apollo 13 crew, who had a malfunction and had to return to Earth, did not have to be quarantined after their re-entry as they didn’t actually walk on the moon. This is one of the most amazing facts ever.

5. One million Earths can fit inside the Sun.

Ancient astronomers once believed the Earth was at the centre of the Universe but now we know that the Sun is at the centre of our Solar System and our planets orbit the Sun. The Sun makes up 99.8% of the entire mass of the whole Solar System. One million Earths would be needed to be the same size as the Sun.

6.You become taller in Space.

Another change to the human body in micro-gravity is that spine straightens out, as gravity is not pushing you down. In fact you can be up to as much as 5cm taller in the Space Station.

7. Extreme weather warning!

Some times on the Earth, especially here in Northern Ireland the weather can be a bit rubbish! However our weather is awesome compared to some of the other planets. Jupiter has fast winds and the Great Red spot, a massive hurricane style storm, has raged there for the last 300 years. Mercury and Mars have extreme temperature changes in the same day. Venus is a scorching five times hotter than boiling water. Saturn and Uranus also have extremely fast winds. However Neptune has the fastest ever wind speeds reaching a staggering 1600mph!

Neptune the windiest planet as captured by Voyager 2 in 1989. (image Credit: Voyager 2, NASA)

8. Space is not that far away.

Space officially begins at the universal marker of the Karman Line. This invisible boundary is 100km above the Earth. In theory if you could drive your car upwards, you could be in space in less than hour.

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Top rainbow facts for kids

Top rainbow facts for kids

science facts John Smith   20:46

Some of the most rare and wonderful science facts from all over the world. Keep reading  to find out some facts about our amazing rainbow! A rainbow is a meteorological phenomenon that is caused by reflection, refraction and dispersion of light in water droplets resulting in a spectrum of light appearing in the sky. It takes the form of a multicoloured arc. Rainbows caused by sunlight always appear in the section of sky directly opposite the sun.

Fact #1

A rainbow is a multi-colored arc that forms in the sky.

Fact #2

How do rainbows form? Rainbows are created by both reflection and refraction (bending) of light in water droplets in the atmosphere, which results in a spectrum of light appearing.

Fact #3

The main rainbow colours in order are Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, and Violet (the acronym or name ROY G BIV is also a good way to remember these colors as well as their order). Sir Isaac Newton identified the 7 colors of the visible spectrum that together make up white light. And all of which are present in a rainbow in the order ). Legend has it that Newton included indigo because he felt that there should be seven rather than six coloursin a rainbow because of his strong religious beliefs.

Fact #4

These 7 colours in the rainbow are just the main ones. Actually, a rainbow is made up of an entire range of colours, any colour you have ever seen, even colours you haven’t seen! Nobody sees colors the same, our eyes react differently depending on how much light there is. Therefore, some people may see more colors than what you see. This is one of the most amazing factswe've heard. 

Fact #5

In fact, a rainbow is a full circle of light. However, because of most people viewing a rainbowon the ground, we can only see a semi-circle or arc of the rainbow.

Fact #6

A "double rainbow" is where a second, much fainter arc can be seen outside of the primary arc. This is caused by the light reflecting twice inside the water droplets. As a result of this double reflection the colors of the second arc are inverted with violet on the outer edge and red on the inner edge.

Fact #7

No two people see the same rainbow. If someone appears to be standing under a rainbowyou can see, they will see a different rainbow at the same angle but further away.

Fact #8

A rainbow is not an object so it can’t be approached or physically touched.

Fact #9

Rainbows can be seen not just in the rain but also in the mist, in the spray of water from the ocean, fog, and dew, whenever there are water drops in the air and light shining from behind at the right angle.

Fact #10

Rainbows can also be seen during night-time. Moonlight can produce enough light to create a rainbow at night. This is a “lunar rainbow” or “moonbow”. Moonbows are rare because moonlight is not very bright.

Fact #11

A rainbow is not situated at a specified distance, instead it will always be visible to a person at the precise angle freshwater droplets reflect the light which is 42 degrees in the opposite direction of the sun.

Fact #12

A "fogbow" is formed by cloud and fog droplets, they are almost white with very faint colors visible. Fogbows are quite large and much broader than a rainbow. Here're not jokes to be funny, it's the truth.

Fact #13

An old European belief is that anyone passing underneath a rainbow would be changed from a man into a woman or vice versa. The idea that a pot of gold can be found at the rainbow’s end originated in old Europe. In a place called Silesia it was said that the angels put the gold there and that only a nude man could obtain the prize. Unfortunately, scientists says this is impossible to do.

Fact #14

Rainbows are the universal symbol of peace and harmony.

Fact #15

Most rainbows we see will be a "primary rainbow" whereby the red colour can be seen on the outer edge through to violet on the inner edge.

Genetic similarity between humans and animals

Genetic similarity between humans and animals

similarity John Smith   02:15

I love to know and share science facts about genetic similarity between humans and animals:

It is very difficult to find reliable data comparing the human genome to animal genome. The principal reason is that few animals have had their full genome sequenced. Even those that have cannot be easily compared in terms of percentages because the genomic length and chromosomal division can vary greatly from one species to another.

Scouring the Web, here is what I have found so far.

- Genome-wide variation from one human being to another can be up to 0.5% (99.5% similarity)

- Chimpanzees are 96% to 98% similar to humans, depending on how it is calculated.

- Cats have 90% of homologous genes with humans, 82% with dogs, 80% with cows, 79% with chimpanzees, 69% with rats and 67% with mice. 

    See more amazing animal facts

- Cows (Bos taurus) are 80% genetically similar to humans.

- 75% of mouse genes have equivalents in humans (source), 90% of the mouse genome could be lined up with a region on the human genome (source) 99% of mouse genes turn out to have analogues in humans 

- The fruit fly (Drosophila) shares about 60% of its DNA with humans.

- About 60% of chicken genes correspond to a similar human gene.

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the incredible science facts about the world

the incredible science facts about the world

science facts John Smith   01:37

Impress your friends with these incredible science facts about the world around us.

1) There Are 8 Times As Many Atoms In A Teaspoonful Of Water As There Are Teaspoonfuls Of Water In The Atlantic Ocean.

2) If The Sun Were The Size Of A Beach Ball Then Jupiter Would Be The Size Of A Golf Ball And The Earth Would Be As Small As A Pea.

3) In 1251, Henry III Was Given A Polar Bear By The King Of Norway. He Kept It In The Tower Of London, On A Long Chain So That It Could Swim In The Thames.

4) Until The 1960′S, The Only Reliable Pregnancy Test Was To Inject A Woman’s Urine Into A Female African Clawed Frog. If The Woman Was Pregnant, The Frog Would Ovulate Within 12 Hours.

5) About 65 Billion Neutrinos Will Pass Through Your Fingernail In A Second

6) If All The LEGO Bricks Ever Manufactured Were Clipped On Top Of One Another, They Would Make A Tower Ten Times As High As The Distance To The Moon.

7) Light Would Take .13 Seconds To Travel Around The Earth.

8) If You Drilled A Tunnel Straight Through The Earth And Jumped In, It Would Take You Exactly 42 Minutes And 12 Seconds To Get To The Other Side.

9) A Medium-Sized Cumulus Cloud Weighs About The Same As 80 Elephants.

10) A Single Bolt Of Lightning Contains Enough Energy To Cook 100,000 Pieces Of Toast.

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