Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and is named after the Roman god of war. It is known as the Red Planet due to its red colour. Mars is further away from the Sun than Earth. As such, this means that it takes longer to complete one orbit. Mars takes 687 days toContinue reading “Mars – The Red Planet”
Category Archives: Planets
Earth – Our Home
Earth is the third planet from the Sun and is also our home. It is the only planet in the universe that we know to have life. The Earth is quite the contrast to the other planets in our Solar System. It is a watery world with an oxygen rich atmosphere. The Earth orbits theContinue reading “Earth – Our Home”
Venus
Venus has been hard to miss in the evening sky over the last few months. It is named Venus after the Roman goddess of love or beauty. You can see why when you see Venus blazing away in the sky. The reason Venus is so bright in the sky, is that it has a veryContinue reading “Venus”
Mercury
Mercury is the closest planet to the Sun. You could be forgiven for confusing a picture of Mercury with a picture of the Moon. It is a grey world and is heavily marked by craters from meteor impacts. As Mercury is closer to the Sun than the Earth, it orbits the Sun quicker than theContinue reading “Mercury”
The Solar System
The Solar System is our home and in this series, I plan to discuss the Solar System in detail. In this post, I’m going to start with a general overview of the structure of the Solar System and then follow with a more detailed post about the Sun, each of the planets, minor planets andContinue reading “The Solar System”
What is That Bright Star in the West After Sunset?
The last few weeks have brought some fantastic weather where I live. If you go outside in the evening after sunset you will see a very bright star shining through the twilight in the west. What is it? It turns out, it is the planet Venus. It is often mistaken for a UFO given it’sContinue reading “What is That Bright Star in the West After Sunset?”
The Science Shed 