As young students, we all got our first introduction to the solar system through pictures that showed the planets orbiting the sun. Those pictures frequently showed equal distance between the planets and […]
Assuming you are a person of reasonable intelligence, (actually, since you are a reader of Commonplace Fun Facts, we assume you are a person of extraordinary intelligence), what would you make of […]
Who hasn’t wished to have a better memory? Whether you struggle with recalling the names of people whom you just met, have difficulty with how many “c”s and “m”s to include in […]
When it comes to recognizing those who dare to dream grand and lofty goals, don’t forget to include the man who proposed moving our entire solar system.
The name of the seventh planet in our solar system frequently evokes giggles and crude jokes during junior high science classes, but Uranus is actually an improvement over its original name. Just […]
If you think winter lasts too long where you live, be thankful that you don’t live on Uranus. The seventh planet in our solar system only has two seasons: winter and summer. […]
When the respected astronomer announced that gravity’s effects would be briefly suspended, it got everyone’s attention. People who are accustomed to taking action in response to severe thunderstorm warnings, approaching blizzards, or […]
Strangely reminiscent of the Planet Midnight in the BBC television program Doctor Who, this real life diamond planet orbits a star in the constellation Cancer. Composed largely of carbon, the surface temperature of […]
For the Voyager space exploration program, engineers plotted around 10,000 potential trajectories and then narrowed them down to find the optimal mission objectives. They chose trajectories that would reduce or eliminate planetary […]
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