Can You Answer These Basic Questions About the Solar System?

In 1979, NASA's Voyager 1 spacecraft discovered Jupiter's rings. The rings are made of small, dark particles, which makes them difficult to see without the sun back-lighting them.

Jupiter has more than twice the mass of all the other planets in our solar system combined. It also has 79 known moons.

At approximately 1,400 miles wide, Pluto is half the width of the United States. Its atmosphere is made of carbon monoxide, methane, and nitrogen.

Currently, the Milky Way and the Andromeda Galaxy are moving toward each other at 250,000 miles. In about four billion years, the two galaxies will collide.

The sun's temperature varies. On the surface, the temperature is approximately 10,000 degrees Fahrenheit. In the core, the temperature is over 28 million degrees Fahrenheit.

In 2017, Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 celebrated 40 years in space. Both Voyagers carry a 12-inch gold-plated copper disk with sounds and images from Earth.

Mercury has a metallic core that is between 2,200 to 2,400 miles wide. The core makes up approximately 75 percent of Mercury's diameter, making it the second densest planet in the solar system.

Venus' surface temperature can reach over 880 degrees Fahrenheit. Venus is so hot because its thick atmosphere makes it difficult for heat to escape.

Sunlight takes three minutes to reach Mercury. For comparison, it takes approximately 5.3 hours to reach Pluto.

The eight planets are Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. The International Astronomical Union also recognizes five dwarf plants.

Ceres is the closest dwarf planet to Earth. It is located in the Kuiper belt, where it is the largest object.

Spirit and Opportunity left Earth in 2004. Once in Mars' atmosphere, Opportunity landed at Meridiani Planum, while Spirit landed at Gustav Crater.

The sun is referred to as a yellow dwarf. However, this is imprecise. Technically, the sun is classified as a G-type main-sequence star.

Halley's comet is named after astronomer Edmond Halley. The most recent siting of Halley's comet occurred in 1986.

The asteroid belt contains millions of asteroids. Most of these asteroids are made of rock and stone.

The winds in Jupiter's Great Red Spot peak at around 400 mph. NASA reports that the storm has been shrinking for a century and a half and could possibly disappear.

Saturn is a gas giant. It's made mostly of hydrogen and helium. It also has the lowest density of all planets in our solar system.

Despite their shared classification, Uranus and Neptune are not believed to have much solid ice. However, NASA thinks there is a massive liquid ocean beneath the planets' clouds.

The moon's average distance from Earth is 238,855 miles. It's closest distance is 225,700 miles. It's furthest is 252,000 miles.

Short-period comets start from the Kuiper Belt. These comets take less than 200 years to orbit the sun.

Not only does gravity keep the moon orbiting around Earth, but it also keeps the Earth and other planets in orbit around the sun. However, gravity gets weaker the more distance there is between objects.

Titan is the only other body in the solar system that has standing bodies of liquid. In a process much like Earth's water cycle, Titan also has liquids rain from clouds, flow across the surface, and evaporate back into the sky.

Meteoroids form when a small piece of asteroid breaks off. When a meteoroid survives a journey through the Earth's atmosphere, it becomes a meteorite. Meteors are meteoroids that vaporized in the Earth's atmosphere.

A total solar eclipse happens approximately every year and a half. However, it is not visible everywhere. A partial solar eclipse occurs at least twice a year.

Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars are the terrestrial planets. They are also the four smallest in the solar system.

The Sun is by far the most massive object in the solar system. It contains 99.86 percent of the known mass.

Olympus Mons is a large volcano on Mars. It is the largest in the Tharsis Montes region.

Jupiter has 67 moons. The largest are Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto.

Venus has the most volcanoes in our solar systems. It has more than 1,600 known volcanoes.

The Earth completes an orbit approximately every 365.5 days. Every four years, an extra day is added to account for the discrepancy .

Scientists study black holes by examining how strong gravity affects objects around them. If a star and a black hole are close to each other, high-energy light is emitted.

Mercury orbits the sun every 88 Earth days. It takes 59 Earth days to rotate on its axis.

In 1927, Georges Lemaitre suggested that the universe started as a single point. His theory was that the universe expanded in size and could continue to do so. Edwin Hubble discovered the same thing two years later.

Mercury, Venus, Mars, Saturn, and Jupiter were named after Roman gods. Uranus was named after the Greek god of the sky.

Scientists believe that Venus initially spun in the same direction as the other planets in our solar system. At some point, Venus' axis flipped 180 degrees, which would explain why its rotation appears reversed.