Nearly every moon in our solar system rotates roughly in the same direction of the planet that it orbits. Because not every planet rotates in the same direction, neither does every moon. There are also extreme cases, such as Hyperion, one of Saturn’s moons, which rotates chaotically and in no set direction due to its eccentric orbit and the gravitational influence of Titan, Saturn’s largest moon.

The rate of rotation of a moon is most notably affected by the gravitational pull of the planet it orbits. A typical moon eventually becomes tidally locked, which means that it rotates at the same rate that it orbits, keeping the same face toward its planet at all times. Thus, factors such as differing planet sizes cause moons to have differing rates of rotation.

Several times a year the earth passes through meteor showers, which are believed to be remnants of dead comets. Some are famous, and people take time to see them.Check out this link here. The top three best times to see meteor showers are August 12, when the Perseid meteor shower appears, December 14, when the Geminids show up, and November 17, which is the time for the Leonids. Other meteor showers take weeks to come and go. The delta Aquarids, for example, can be seen from about mid-July to the end of August, and the Taurids can be seen throughout the fall.

Some showers are more intense in some years than in others. The Leonid meteor shower seems to peak every 33 years. The showers are named for the constellation they seem to radiate from. So, the Perseids seem to come from the constellation Perseus, the Geminids from Gemini, the Leonids from Leo, the delta Aquarids from Aquarius and the Taurids from the constellation Taurus.

Comets are made up of icy volatile gases and organic compounds. As the comet is exposed to solar radiation its volatile gases vaporize. It is thought that these vaporizing plumes of volatile gasses push the comet on a wobbling course.The nucleus of most comets is calculated to be somewhere between 100 meters and 40 kilometers across. That size is not sufficient to cause gravitational pull on other planets. Consider the example of Earth’s Moon. It is about 3500 kilometers in diameter, and it barely exerts gravity on the earth. It affects our tides and the length of our day, but that is all.

Some more recent studies emphasize the electrical capacity and attraction ability of comets. Even so, it has not been shown that they exert a gravitational pull on the planets.If you like what you see, keep going: Comet Elenin Poses No Threat to Earth, NASA Says

A sunspot is found on the surface of the sun, or the photosphere. They-re dark because they-re cooler than the area around them. Their magnetic field is also extremely strong, about 3,000 times stronger than the rest of the sun. They even have magnetic poles. Though they look tiny on the sun-s surface, they can be 40,000 miles across.

A sunspot has a dark center called the umbra, and a somewhat lighter region called the penumbra.Want more? Click here/tag They usually come in groups and each sunspot lasts for a few weeks. They can also be seen rotating around the photosphere. The number of sunspots increases and deceases over the eleven year period, and at the end of this period their magnetic poles reverse themselves. As the time comes for sunspots to increase, there-s usually an increase in solar flares. These are great eruptions on the sun that can actually reach earth and interfere with power lines and radio signals. These flares can have the energy of 10 million hydrogen bombs. When there are few solar flares, there are few sunspots as well.