• Question: what have you found out so far about the solar system?

    Asked by anon-226415 to joannabarstow, Sameed, Jose, Heidi, Freya, Chris on 11 Nov 2019. This question was also asked by anon-226185.
    • Photo: Joanna Barstow

      Joanna Barstow answered on 11 Nov 2019:

      Hi!

      Great question. Scientists in general know quite a lot about the Solar System. For example, we know it is 4.5 billion years old, and we know that it and the Sun formed out of a cloud of dust and gas like the ones shown in this picture:

      Personally, I have found out new things about the clouds on two of the planets in our Solar System, Venus and Saturn. Almost all the planets in the Solar System have clouds, but it turns out they are very different to clouds on Earth. Instead of being made of water, they are made of different chemicals. Venus’s clouds are made from sulphuric acid, and Saturn’s clouds are made from ammonia. I’ve looked at how the clouds on these planets change from place to place, and both are very different to the Earth. Even in the UK we sometimes get clear weather, like it is today in London where I work, but there is cloud on Venus everywhere, all the time!

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