The climate on Earth is just right to support a rich diversity of life on land and in the oceans. The abundance of water, the warmth and energy from the Sun, and interactions within Earth's atmosphere create weather systems, while the motion of Earth gives rise to seasons. We do, however, experience extremes. Death Valley in Arizona holds the record for the highest air temperature recorded, in 1913- a blistering 56.7°C (134.1°F) and in 1983, the air temperature in Vostok, Antarctica, dropped to -89.2°C (-128.6°F). But if you think that's extraordinary, it's nothing compared to the rest of the Solar System!
Mercury
Mercury is the smallest planet in the Solar System and the closest to the Sun. It spins almost upright on its axis and doesn't have any seasons. Continually blasted by solar emissions - the Sun's rays here are around seven times stronger than on Earth - it experiences the most extreme temperatures of all planets. Due to its tenuous atmosphere, called an exosphere, rocky Mercury does not have weather systems. Temperatures can reach a scorching 430°C (806°F) during the day and at night plummet very quickly to a painfully cold -180°C (-290°F). However, despite being the closest planet to the Sun, Mercury isn't the hottest.
Venus
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Could We Find Aliens by Looking for Their Solar Panels?- Designed to reflect ultraviolet and infrared, the panels have a unique fingerprint
Researchers searching for life beyond Earth spend a lot of time thinking about what telltale signs might be detectable astronomically. Forms of unambiguous evidence for the presence of life on another world are known as biosignatures. By extension, techno signatures are indicators of activity by intelligent, civilisation-building life.
Antimatter- In our continuing series, Govert Schilling looks at antimatter, the strange counterpart to most of the matter filling our Universe
Particles and corresponding antiparticles are very much alike, except they have opposite electrical charges. For instance, the antiparticle of the electron - known as the positron - has the same tiny mass, but while electrons carry a negative electrical charge, positrons are positively charged.
Where Have All The Milky Way's Early Stars Gone?- Our Galaxy has a curious lack of pristine stars
The Big Bang produced a Universe filled almost exclusively with hydrogen and helium; all other elements - what astronomers call metals - were produced by stars, supernovae and everything that happens later. So if you can pick out a pristine star with no metals polluting it from among the billions in the Milky Way, then you are likely to have a star dating from our Galaxy's earliest days.
Inside The Sky At Night - Two years ago, exoplanet scientist Hannah Wakeford received some of the first data from the JWST
Two years ago, exoplanet scientist Hannah Wakeford received some of the first data from the JWST. In July's Sky at Night, we discovered what she's learned since then.
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The new era of human spaceflight
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