16 Space Facts You’ve Always Wanted To Know
Diamond planet
There is a planet that may be made entirely out of diamonds.
Light year
Lightyear is a measure of distance, not time. It is the distance that light travels during one Earth year ( The speed of light is 300,000km/s, which means that this is a very, tremendously, amazingly huge distance of over 9.5 trillion km).
Steps are forever
If you ever stepped on the moon, your footprints would remain there forever.
Galaxies can collide
Galaxies can collide. In fact, our own milky way is due to a collision with Andromeda galaxy. Not to worry though, this is going to happen in over 4 billion years from now, and even when it happens, galactic distances are so vast that the chances of a star or a planet hitting each other are almost non-existent.
Every day
Astronauts on the International Space Station witness around 15 sunrises and 15 sunsets every day.
Inside scratcher
Inside an astronaut’s helmet, there is a velcro patch that serves as a scratcher.
A joke
On April Fool’s day in 1976, BBC convinced many listeners that a special alignment of the planets would temporarily decrease gravity on Earth. Phone lines were flooded with callers who claimed they felt the effects.
If they
Russians take guns into space to protect themselves against bears if they land off-course.
Special training
Astronauts in space can’t tell if their bladders are full. They are trained to relieve themselves every two hours.
Astronaut vs Cosmonauts
“Astronauts” come from America. Space explorers from Russia are called “cosmonauts.”
Felicette
In 1963, a cat called “Felicette” became the first feline in space.
China pollution
The Great Wall of China is not visible from space, but China’s air pollution is.
Saturn’s rings
Saturn’s rings are not solid. They are made up of bits of ice, dust and rock.
Wow! signal
In 1977, we received a signal from deep space that lasted 72 seconds. We still don’t know how or where it came from.
International Space Station
The International Space Station is the most expensive object ever built, at US$150 billion.
Space smells like..
According to astronauts, space smells like seared steak, hot metal and welding fumes.