Mostly Empty Space: Despite the impression we get from diagrams, the solar system is mostly empty space. The distances between planets and other celestial bodies are so vast that if the Sun were the size of a basketball, Earth would be about 25 meters away, and Pluto would be over half a kilometer away.
Image Credit: National Space Centre
Two-Thirds Hydrogen: The Sun is primarily composed of hydrogen, which makes up about 74% of its mass. Helium is the second most abundant element, accounting for roughly 24% of the Sun's mass.
Image Credit: Shortpedia
Olympus Mons - Largest Volcano: Mars hosts Olympus Mons, the largest volcano in the solar system. It's roughly three times the height of Mount Everest and has a base about the size of the state of Arizona.
Image Credit: Space.com
Liquid Water on Enceladus: Saturn's moon Enceladus is home to a subsurface ocean beneath its icy crust. This ocean is in contact with the moon's rocky core and is kept warm by tidal forces from Saturn and other moons, potentially creating conditions suitable for life.
Image Credit: NASA solar system Exploration
Diamond Rain on Neptune and Uranus: These ice giant planets are thought to have an atmosphere rich in carbon. Under extreme pressure and temperature conditions, diamonds could form in their atmospheres and "rain" down toward the cores.
Image Credit: Space.com
Venus' Super-Rotation: Venus has an incredibly slow rotation on its axis (a day on Venus is longer than its year), but its atmosphere rotates much faster. This phenomenon is known as "super-rotation" and can cause hurricane-force winds in the upper atmosphere.
Image Credit: BIRA-IASB
Triton's Retrograde Orbit: Neptune's moon Triton orbits the planet in a retrograde motion, meaning it moves in the opposite direction of the planet's rotation. This suggests that Triton might have been a captured object from the Kuiper Belt.
Image Credit: Anastrogeek
The Great Red Spot's Age: Jupiter's Great Red Spot, a massive storm, has been raging for at least 350 years, making it one of the longest-lasting and most enigmatic features in the solar system.
Image Credit: Live Science
Io's Volcanic Activity: Jupiter's moon Io is the most volcanically active body in the solar system. Its intense tidal interactions with Jupiter and other moons cause immense internal heat and volcanic eruptions that create colorful and dynamic surface features.
Image Credit: NASA solar system Exploration
The Kuiper Belt: Beyond Neptune's orbit lies the Kuiper Belt, a region filled with icy bodies and dwarf planets like Pluto. This region provides insight into the early solar system's formation and evolution.
Image Credit: NASA solar system Exploration