8 THINGS YOU (PROBABLY) DIDN T KNOW ABOUT SPACE

Mercury s Cometlike Tail

Many people know comets have tails, but Mercury also has a tail created by the solar wind pushing sodium atoms from its surface.

A Man Buried on the Moon

Eugene Shoemaker, co-discoverer of the Shoemaker-Levy 9 comet and founder of astrogeology, was supposed to be the first geologist on the Moon.

Diamond Planet 55 Cancri e

55 Cancri e, an exoplanet 40 light-years away, might be covered in diamonds. This carbon-rich planet, formed around a star with a high carbon-to-oxygen ratio, could have at least a third of its mass as diamond.

Saturn s Hexagonal Storm

Saturn s north pole features a unique hexagon-shaped storm, discovered by NASA's Voyager in 1981 and later studied by the Cassini spacecraft.

Water Cloud in Space

This cloud, covering hundreds of light-years, contains 140 trillion times more water than Earth's oceans, demonstrating the vastness and richness of space.

LEGO Figures Orbiting Jupiter

To engage kids in science, LEGO created minifigures of Galileo, Jupiter, and Juno for NASA's Juno space probe.

Neptune s Long Orbit

Discovered in 1846 using mathematics, Neptune is the outermost major planet. It has the longest orbital period of any major planet, taking 164.8 Earth years to complete one orbit.

Lost and Found Wedding Ring in Space

During the Apollo 16 lunar mission, astronaut Ken Mattingly lost his wedding ring. After searching the spacecraft, it was found floating outside during a spacewalk.