Planet/Dwarf Planet Cool Fact Quiz NASA

Neptune is the windiest of all the planets.

Because of dwarf planet Pluto’s elliptical orbit, Pluto is sometimes closer to the Sun (and us) than Neptune is.

Voyager 2 is the only spacecraft to have visited Neptune. No spacecraft has orbited this distant planet to study it at length and up close.

Neptune was discovered before Jupiter.

Voyager 2 is the only spacecraft to fly by Uranus. No spacecraft has orbited this distant planet to study it at length and up close.

Uranus has a core the size of Cincinnati

Like Venus, Uranus rotates east to west. But Uranus is unique in that it rotates on its side.

Uranus is named after the Roman Sky God.

Cassini orbited Saturn 294 times from 2004 to 2017

Storms on Saturn calm down once every two centuries.

About two tons of Saturn’s mass came from Earth—the Cassini spacecraft was intentionally vaporized in Saturn’s atmosphere in 2017.

Saturn cannot support life as we know it, but some of Saturn's moons have conditions that might support life.

The unoffical codename for Makemake when it was discovered was "Easter Bunny".

It is the only planet, Superior or Dwarf, to be named after a Polynesian God.

Makemake is an Oort Cloud Object

It is practically the same width as Tennessee at 444 miles wide.

Some of Jupiter's moons have oceans beneath their crusts that might support life.

Jupiter's Great Red Spot is a gigantic storm that’s about twice the size of Earth and has raged for over a century.

In 1979 the Voyager mission discovered Jupiter’s faint ring system.

Seven spacecraft have visited Jupiter.

Pluto's moon Charon got it demoted from a Superior Planet to a Dwarf Planet.

Pluto was named after the dog of Mickey Mouse.

Venetia Burney, just 11 years old at the time, suggested the name Pluto in 1930.

The only spacecraft to visit Pluto is NASA’s New Horizons, which passed close by in July 2015.

We now know Mars once supported life.

Mars is known as the Red Planet because iron minerals in the Martian soil oxidize, or rust, causing the soil and atmosphere to look red.

Mars has two moons named Phobos and Deimos.

Mars is a rocky planet. Its solid surface has been altered by volcanoes, impacts, winds, crustal movement and chemical reactions.

Our atmosphere protects us from incoming meteoroids, most of which break up in our atmosphere before they can strike the surface.

While we believe there may be various moons in our Solar system that may have at one time or may currently support life, Earth is the only known planet to support life.

Earth's atmosphere is 21 percent nitrogen, 78 percent oxygen and 1 percent other ingredients—the perfect balance to breathe and live.

Most of our planet is covered in water.

Venus spins backwards, with its sun rising in the west and setting in the east.

The planet’s surface temperature is about 900 degrees Fahrenheit (465 degrees Celsius)—hot enough to melt lead

Venus currently has oceans covering its surface.

The winds on Venus blow at hurricane force, sending clouds completely around the planet every five days.

NASA's Mariner 10 was the first mission to explore Mercury.

Has the shortest day with 9.9 hours of the Superior Planets.

Atoms that are blasted off the surface by the solar wind and micrometeoroid impacts create Mercury's exosphere.

Mercury has a perfectly circular orbit around the sun.

Eris's moon is named after the daughter of the Goddess Eris.

Like Uranus, Eris is another planet with a Greek name.

Voyager 1 was able to get detailed readings of Eris.

Eris is bigger than Earths's moon.

Ceres is named for the Roman goddess of grain crops and harvests.

Ceres was originally classified as a Superior Planet before it was demoted to a asteroid and then later brought back up to a dwarf planet.

Was the second dwarf planet visited by spacecraft.

Ceres was once on of Jupiter's moons.

Haumea is considered to be "egg shaped" or "football shaped".

Haumea, like Makemake was also named after a Polypensian God.

Its moons are named after the daughters of the goddess Haumea.

It is completely composed of ice.