Science & Nature

The orbit of the Earth is circular but it is not a perfectly round circle. The orbit is somewhat elliptical, with the Earth being closer to the Sun in January and furthest from it in July.

While the chance to view a complete solar eclipse in your region of the world is an exceedingly rare event, you are very likely to have an opportunity to see a partial eclipse many times in your...

The particular qualities of light given off by the Sun have shaped the way we see. Our eyes have evolved to take advantage of this form of energy. The sun's output, filtered by the Earth's...

The sea level in Earth's oceans rises and falls twice per day. These times of high and low water are referred to as high tides and low tides and are caused by the gravitational pull of the moon...

Solar radiation has positive and negative effects on the climate, ecosystem and health of organisms living on earth. The negative effects are often associated with man-made chemical radiations;...

Solar energy collectors have been in common use since the 1890s. A solar collector in a sunny spot has been used to heat water or make electricity. The limitation has always been times when the...

The nighttime sky has long fascinated man, leading to scientific discoveries of the eight planets (remember that Pluto was discovered to be a moon) that constitute Earth's solar system. While...

The Earth and the other planets revolve around the Sun to make up the Solar System. The nebular theory states that the solar system began as a huge cloud of dust and gas, which then condensed to...

Climate describes the overall tendencies over a long period of time with respect to the "average" weather in a given location. Weather, on the other hand, is what's happening around you. When it...

Teachers frequently assign their students projects that deal with the planets in the solar system throughout grade school and even into high school. One such project is to have the student write a...

While there are many artificial sources of ultraviolet light, there is only one important natural source: the sun. The ultraviolet light from the sun accounts for most of that type of radiation...

The periodic rise and fall of the Earth's oceans are known as tides. The major forces causing tides are the gravitational pull of the moon, the gravitational pull of the sun and the Earth's...

Planetary alignment can mean different things to different people. Some may view it as a row or close grouping of planets in the night sky, a purely visual phenomenon. A more precise definition...

Solar energy comes from the sun and travels through outer space to the earth. Solar energy comes in the form of light, and when the light comes to planet Earth, sometimes the solar energy is...

The sun provides a handy benchmark for describing other stars. The mass of this solar system's sun gives us a unit for measuring other stars' masses. Similarly, the sun's luminosity and surface...

Food chains track the progress of energy through organisms, and food webs show the interconnectedness between food chains. All food webs begin with the sun. Generally, plants take the energy from...

The moon circles Earth once every 29.5 days, which is known as the lunar cycle. One complete orbit of the moon around the sun is known as a lunation. The lunar phases refer to how the moon appears...

The autumnal equinox, a traditionally observed event, inaugurates the first day of fall. Since this event occurs when the Earth's north pole and south pole rest at an equal position from the sun,...

Mercury is the planet closest to the Sun and it completes about four orbits of the Sun by the time Earth finishes just one. For this reason, the ancient Romans named it after the swift messenger...

The search for alternative sources of power has increasingly focused on green sources. Nuclear power is only one of these technologies. Solar, wind, hydroelectric and geothermal power are viable...

Warmth, light, sunrise and sunset are things about the sun that we are likely to reflect on from our vantage point from Earth. But from the vantage point of space, our life-giving sun is just one...

I hear a lot of comments from non believers, my Husband being one. Why is the description of my sign not fitting for me? There are a lot of different factors to understanding your sign(s) and...

Those who have Virgo friends will recognize the sign's characteristics immediately: the fondness for details, the logical, somewhat detached mind and the need to be perfect in everything they do....

When people talk about tides, they usually mean the regular rise and fall of large bodies of water which occur periodically and at predictable times that revolve around 12 hour cycles. However,...

Most people already know the basic facts about the sun. It's a star. It's massive. And it is considered the center of the solar system galaxy. However, the sun is much more than just the...

As the Earth exerts gravitational force upon the moon, so does the moon's gravity affect the Earth. Although relatively weak by comparison, the force of the moon's pull is sufficient to influence...

When asked, most people can name their sun sign. Many might even know that it represents the sign of the zodiac that the sun was passing through on the day of their birth. But very few know what...

Mars is a rocky planet, smaller than Earth, measuring 4,221 miles in diameter, making it slightly more than half the size of Earth. An orbit occurs when one object travels around another object. ...

Science is humanity's quest to understand the universe in which we live. Science is constantly evolving. The Earth, after all, was once thought to be flat. It is highly unlikely, though, that...

An orbit is the path one object follows around another object. The object that is revolving in orbit is commonly known as a satellite. Smaller, less massive objects will orbit around larger, more...

Scientists have been trying to develop fusion energy for decades. However, we have access to the sun's fusion energy today. Photovoltaic cells convert photon energy from the sun into electricity....

Since the beginning of time, people have looked skyward and wondered what is up there. Many civilizations created stories based on what they observed, and these stories sometimes became the basis...

Of all nine (if you count Pluto) planets in our solar system, Mercury is the one closest to the Sun. It was named by the ancient Romans after their swift messenger, Mercury. Mercury measures 3,032...

The sun can be used as a source of energy for homes and businesses. It can be used to heat and cool buildings. The sun can also be a source of electrical power. More energy in the form of sunlight...

Jupiter, the great gas giant from beyond the asteroid belt, is the largest of the planets in our solar system, yet it rockets through space, ruled by the same power that flings our own tiny planet...

The Sun is the largest object in the solar system. Its gravitational pull keeps each of the planets in their orbits. The planets follow Kepler's laws, which dictate how they travel around the...

Moon phases vary slightly as the moon rotates around the earth and the appearance of the moon changes, although the moon itself remains the same. Whether you're an amateur stargazer or follow your...

Though a relatively straightforward scientific phenomenon, the phases of the moon have long been considered mysterious by human culture. As a result, confusion often still surrounds the causes and...

Everyone knows that the sun rises every morning and sets every night, but not as many people know just how important the sun is to us. It's actually a star--closer to Earth than any other star,...

The sun is our closest star, responsible for the light and heat which sustain all life on Earth. It's also the center of the solar system, providing the center around which all the planets turn....

The sun's core, the innermost layer of the sun, is plasma, a type of gas that is sensitive to magnetism. The sun's energy is derived from its core. Fusion reactions that occur in the core release...

The fusion reaction and energy transfer of the sun take place in its interior. Despite its high density, the interior of the sun is plasma, able to flow and transmit energy. There are three layers...

The chromosphere is one of the outer layers of the sun. It is directly above the photosphere, which is the layer that we see. The chromosphere gets its name from its color, which is a deep red....

When we look at the stars in the night sky, it is difficult to imagine that our blazing sun is also a star. It is the star nearest to the Earth. Although the sun is close to the Earth in cosmic...

In elementary school, you probably learned about how big, bright and hot the sun is. You may even know some interesting bits of trivia about it, and you probably have a healthy appreciation for it...

Information on the zodiac sign Aquarius. Find out all you need to know about the Aquarius and information on love compatibility.

Whether you are unsure about how long the sun will be beaming in your eyes, you have gone on a hike and don't know how much more time of light you have or you want to know how much longer you have...

Saturn's atmosphere is made up of mostly hydrogen and helium. It's the sixth planet from the Sun and the second largest planet in our solar system. Saturn has seven thin, flat rings around it,...

The surface of the sun, or photosphere, is a yellow-colored layer of thick, hot gases marked with dark spots, known as sunspots. It is the lowest visible layer of the sun.

The source of all solar energy on Earth comes from Sol (the sun), the star at the center of the solar system. The core temperature of the sun is approximately 27,000,000 degrees Fahrenheit. This...