Science
Earth vs Other Planets
It rains diamonds on Neptune. Venus days last longer than its years. Earth is weirder than you think.
It rains diamonds on Neptune. Venus days last longer than its years. Earth is weirder than you think.
Venus has a day longer than its year — rotating so slowly that the Sun rises in the west and sets in the east, taking 243 Earth days to complete a single rotation while orbiting the Sun in just 225 days. This quiz covers 50 surprising comparisons between Earth and the other planets of our solar system.
You'll discover where it rains diamonds, which planet has the strongest winds in the solar system, why Earth's Moon is unusually large, the tallest mountain and deepest canyon beyond Earth, and the surprising ways our planet is both ordinary and extraordinary.
Neptune and Uranus are believed to rain diamonds. Extreme pressure deep in their atmospheres compresses methane gas, breaking carbon atoms free which then crystallize into diamonds as they fall toward the core. This has been replicated in laboratory conditions.
No planet in our solar system is habitable without extensive technology. Mars is the most promising candidate for future colonization, but it lacks a breathable atmosphere, has extreme cold, and offers little protection from radiation. Terraforming Mars would take centuries.
Earth is the only known planet with liquid water on its surface, active plate tectonics, a significant oxygen atmosphere, and a strong magnetosphere. Our unusually large Moon stabilizes Earth's axial tilt, giving us relatively stable seasons.
Last updated: March 2026