• Question: is there such a thing as a 360 degrees planet?

    Asked by ramz555 to Adam, Catherine, Karen, Leila, Nazim on 15 Mar 2012.
    • Photo: Adam Stevens

      Adam Stevens answered on 15 Mar 2012:

      Not sure what that question means!

    • Photo: Leila Battison

      Leila Battison answered on 15 Mar 2012:

      If you mean 360 degrees celsius, then yes, very much so! The surface of mercury gets up to over 450 degrees when it is facing the sun, and the thick atmosphere on Venus means that its even hotter, even though its further away from the sun…

      If you mean 360 degrees in angle, well, most planets are more or less spherical, because gravity pulls them into that shape. Though did you know the Earth isn’t a perfect sphere, but is squashed in at the north and south poles, and a bit thicker at the equator – because the spin of the planet makes the middle bulge out!

    • Photo: Karen Masters

      Karen Masters answered on 18 Mar 2012:

      I don’t know what you mean either. Can you help us and explain it a bit more in the comments?

Comments