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The International Space Station orbits Earth every 92 min... | funfact.wiki | funfact.wiki
The International Space Station orbits Earth every 92 minutes, so its crew sees 16 sunrises and sunsets daily. A 45-minute day-night cycle would wreck their sleep — so astronauts keep window shades closed and run the station on Greenwich time, regardless of the light outside.
  • International Space Station
  • Earth
  • Astronaut
  • Sleep
  • Time
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You can't directly smell anything in space. But astronauts report a distinctive odor when returning to the spacecraft after spacewalks—described as 'gunpowder,' 'brake pads,' 'seared steak,' 'ozone,' and 'walnuts.'
  • Space
  • Odor
  • Ozone
  • Astronaut
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Earth has 365 days in a year, but actually rotates 366 times. The extra rotation comes from its orbit around the Sun — an example of the coin rotation paradox.
  • Earth
  • Sun
  • Rotation
  • Astronomy
  • Coin rotation paradox
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The Moon's orbit doesn't spiral around Earth as most people imagine. Because the Earth-Moon distance is tiny compared to the Earth-Sun distance, the Moon's actual path through space is nearly circular, traveling alongside Earth around the Sun.
  • Moon
  • Earth
  • Sun
  • Astronomy
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AM stands for Ante Meridiem ("before noon" in Latin) and PM for Post Meridiem ("after noon"). Since 12:00 noon is noon itself—neither before nor after—the expressions "12 AM" and "12 PM" are inherently contradictory.
  • Time
  • Etymology
  • Latin language
  • Language
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Earth's closest planet on average isn't Venus but Mercury. Bigger orbits spend longer on the far side of the Sun, so average distance grows. Mercury's tiny orbit keeps it near every planet. Earth–Mercury averages 1.04 AU, Earth–Venus 1.14 AU. The "Whirly Dirly Corollary."
  • Mercury
  • Venus
  • Earth
  • Planet
  • Solar System
  • Astronomy
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