PV Gap

Amber Said:

Visit the Planets..is it too dark to See?

We Answered:

> Most pictures we have seen of the planets in our solar system are simply computer drawings.

This is simply not true! Most images of the planets are made with webcams or CCD cameras and are accurate and detailed.

> Real images of planets past Mars are fuzzy and dark.

Not so. Many images of Jupiter and Saturn are sharp and bright.

> Certain Nebulae are so dark that we have to combine many photos of the nebula to get a visible image.

True, but many other nebulae are easily observed with amateur telescopes.

> Basically many nebulae are invisible to our naked eye or they are simply very hard to see

True. But others are readily visible to the naked eye and are very easy to see.

> If I were to fly to Jupiter or Saturn would I be able to see them with my naked eye or would I fly right into them and not see anything.

Certainly you would see them as large bright objects.

> Would the Great Red Spot rip me to shreds before I saw any red?

The Great Red Spot is actually a salmon pink. I don't understand how it would "rip you to shreds."

You have some _very_ strange ideas about the planets and nebulae, which show you've never looked at them through a typical amateur telescope. Visit a star party some time and get some real life experience!

Julie Said:

How come Venus is the only planet in our solar system to spin Clockwise?

We Answered:

The theory is that the planet was impacted by an asteriod so large that it changed the rotation of the planet.

Andre Said:

Question about planets orbit in our solar system?

We Answered:

The 1st one is correct.
The planets don't orbit all over the place, they are all on the same flat plane and orbit the sun in the same direction....this is because the sun is rotating and the planets formed from material that was spun out into a flat disc at the birth of our solar system.