What is the biggest star we know? - NASA
Question: What is the biggest star we know? Answer: The largest known star (in terms of mass and brightness) is called the Pistol Star. It is believed to be 100 times as massive as our Sun, and …
StarChild: Eris - NASA
Eris is the largest known dwarf planet in our solar system. It is a little larger than Pluto. Eris is about 2400 kilometers wide. Eris was first found by a team of astronomers at Palomar Observatory in …
StarChild: The planet Neptune - NASA
The largest satellite is Triton. Due to Triton's retrograde orbit, its density, and its composition, astronomers theorize that Triton was not originally a satellite of Neptune. They theorize that Triton …
StarChild: The dwarf planet Ceres - NASA
Ceres was the largest known asteroid in the asteroid belt until 2006. In 2006, the International Astronomical Union formed a new class of solar system objects known as dwarf planets. By …
StarChild: The Sun - NASA
The diameter of our closest star, the Sun, is 1,392,000 kilometers. The Sun is thought to be 4.6 billion years old. The Sun is a medium size star known as a yellow dwarf. It is a star in the Milky Way …
StarChild: Makemake - NASA
After Pluto and Eris, Makemake is the third largest dwarf planet. It takes this dwarf planet 310 Earth years to make one orbit around the Sun. At this time, no moons have been discovered in orbit …
StarChild: The Universe - NASA
Return to the StarChild Main Page Go to Imagine the Universe! (A site for ages 14 and up.)
StarChild: The Sun - NASA
The Sun is our closest star. It is a member of the Milky Way galaxy. The Sun is a yellow dwarf star, which means it is a medium size star. It is believed to be over 4 billion years old. The Sun spins …
Olympus Mons - NASA
Olympus Mons is the tallest mountain in the solar system. Its peak is over 26 kilometers above its base. Olympus Mons is called a shield volcano because of its shape. The volcano is very tall, but it has a …
StarChild: The Dwarf Planet Makemake - NASA
After Eris and Pluto, Makemake is the third largest known dwarf planet. Along with fellow dwarf planets Pluto and Haumea, Makemake is located in the Kuiper Belt, a region outside the orbit of Neptune.