Local Objects

April 2nd, 2011

This gallery contains a variety of images of objects contained in our solar system.

The Moon

The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite and the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System. It is the largest natural satellite of a planet in the Solar System relative to the size of its primary (though Charon, which orbits the dwarf planet Pluto, is proportionally larger), a quarter the diameter of Earth and 1⁄81 its mass.

12 Photos

Jupiter

Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the largest planet within the Solar System.

7 Photos

The International Space Station

The International Space Station (ISS) is an internationally developed research facility currently being assembled in Low Earth Orbit. On-orbit construction of the station began in 1998 and is scheduled to be complete by 2011, with operations continuing until at least 2015. The ISS orbits at an altitude of approximately 350 kilometres (220 mi) above the surface of the Earth, travelling at an average speed of 27,724 kilometres (17,227 mi) per hour, completing 15.7 orbits per day. The station can be seen from the Earth with the naked eye, and, as of 2009, is the largest artificial satellite in Earth orbit, with a mass larger than that of any previous space station.

2 Photos

Comet 103P/Hartley

A comet is an icy small Solar System body that, when close enough to the Sun, displays a visible coma (a thin, fuzzy, temporary atmosphere) and sometimes also a tail.

3 Photos

This page contains content from Wikipedia.

    CURRENT MOON