221 Facts Tell Me What

St Elmo’s fire is an interesting phenomenon related to lightning. It appears like a faint light at the edge of a pointed object along the electric power lines, parts of a flying aircraft or over grass blades during stormy weather. The matter in the entire universe is composed of two kinds of particles: negative and […]

Sunspots are dark patches present on the surface of Sun. These patches appear dark because they are cooler than their surrounding area. Sunspots form due to strong magnetic field lines coming up from within the Sun through the solar surface. Sunspots can be as big as the Earth or very tiny. These spots can be

Asteroids are tiny planet-like bodies located mostly between Mars and Jupiter. They are also called minor planets. They are found rotating around the Sun. The first asteroid was discovered in 1801. It was named Ceres. Slowly, astronomers discovered other asteroids. Till date, at least 100,000 asteroids have been detected. As per certain theories, it is

Stars are hot balls of gases which shine due to their own energy. The energy of the star is concentrated in its core, but slowly rises towards the outer surface and starts getting released in space. This energy is in the form of heat radiation. Just like fire that gives light, similarly hot stars also

Saturn has the biggest and brightest rings. Galileo, an astronomer, was the first to notice these rings in 1610. These rings vary in size and are formed from ice and rocks. The Earth has only one moon, but Saturn has around 60. There are seven large rings of Saturn, but actually each large ring is

The corona is a Latin word which means ‘crown’. Corona is the outer atmosphere of the Sun. It is present over a vast area starting from the Sun to millions of kilometres into space. The corona of the Sun is much hotter than its visible surface. The corona appears as an uneven glow of light

Radiation is energy that is given out in the form of waves or particles from a source. Radiation can be in the form of heat, sound and light. For example, the heat from a hot stove or light bulb is heat radiation. Similarly, the warmth of the Sun felt while standing under it is due

A satellite is any object that revolves around a planet. A satellite can be natural or artificial. There are many natural satellites in our Solar system. The most commonly known natural satellite is the Earth’s moon. On the other hand, the artificial or man-made satellites are machines launched into space for a particular purpose. Some

UFOs are ‘Unidentified Flying Objects’. The term ‘UFO’ for Unidentified Flying Object was coined by the US Air Force officer Edward Ruppelt in 1952. Some people call them ‘flying saucers’, while some call them ‘alien ships’. Various theories exist about what UFOs might actually be, but these are just notions as basically no UFO has

The word ‘nebula’ is derived from the Latin word ‘nebulae’, which means mist. Nebula or nebulas cannot be observed with a telescope as they are faint misty places in the sky. There are two types of nebula present: galactic and extra-galactic. The first ones are found in the Milky Way. They are made up of

Comets are the tiny points of light found moving in the sky. A comet is a mixture of solid matter combined with gases; however, their origin is still a mystery. Comets upon coming in contact with the Sun, give rise to a tail. This tail is composed of fine particles and gases which are shot

Falling stars are small solid bodies that move in space and at times enter the Earth’s atmosphere. These falling stars are known as meteors. Some meteors are very small while some may weigh in tonnes. They travel in any path. At time, they appear as a dense group of stars travelling in the sky. When

The Milky Way is a galaxy. It has a vast collection of stars, planets and other heavenly bodies. It is made up of at least a 100 billion stars, as well as dust and gas. It is spiral in shape. Our solar system is a tiny part of this huge galaxy. Ancient people named it

A constellation is a group of stars arranged in a specific pattern. The pattern could resemble an animal, certain letters or some other familiar figure. The constellations were named long ago after animals, kings, queens. etc. Some of the examples are Hercules, Ursa Major, and the Great Bear. Till date, around 88 constellations have been

The Earth is a spherical planet whose surface is covered with hard rocks and soil. It is found that the Earth is composed of three layers. The outer layer is the crust. The middle layer of the Earth is mantle. It is composed of solid rock with certain portion of molten rocks called magma. The