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Merrillville Community Planetarium |
| Bringing the Universe to the Merrillville Schools and Northwest Indiana |
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Solar SystemFaroutScientists have found an object that is three times farther from the Sun than Pluto. It’s the farthest object discovered in our solar system so far. New Dwarf PlanetA new dwarf planet has been discovered called 2015 TG387, temporarily named Goblin. Goblin is about 200 miles (300 kilometers) in diameter. Trojan AsteroidsAn asteroid is a piece of rock in space. A trojan asteroid is a minor body, like an asteroid, moon, or minor planet, that shares the orbit of a planet. Haumea Has a RingThe dwarf planet Haumea is located in the Kuiper Belt and named after a Hawaiian goddess. It’s quite far away and little is known about it. Some interesting facts have been discovered recently. Raining DiamondsResearchers have simulated the conditions on Uranus and Neptune and have proven their point: it does rain solid diamonds on Uranus and Neptune! Distant Dwarf Planet?There may be a new dwarf planet discovered in the outskirts of the Kuiper Belt. It’s the second most distant object with a confirmed orbit in our solar system. Earth Gives Moon OxygenThe solar wind is a stream of electrically charged particles called ions flowing outward from the Sun in all directions. When it reaches Earth, certain things can happen. Ceres' Spots IdentifiedThe dwarf planet Ceres, located in the asteroid belt, was discovered to have a patchwork of bright spots inside the Occator Crater. New Dwarf PlanetNASA’s repurposed planet-hunting Kepler Space Telescope and archival data from ESA and NASA’s Infrared Herschel Space Observatory were instrumental in data-gathering for 2007 OR10. |