The Largest Rock Known
There, that faint dot in the center -
that's the largest rock known.
It is larger than every known asteroid, moon, and
comet nucleus.
It is larger than any
other rocky planet.
(Nobody knows for sure what size rocks
lie at the cores of Jovian planets, or orbit other stars.)
The Voyager 1 spacecraft took this picture in 1990 from the outer
Solar System.
This rock is so large its gravity makes it nearly spherical,
and holds heavy gases near its surface.
Yesterday, this rock started another orbit around its
parent star,
for roughly the 5 billionth time,
spinning over 350 times during each trip.
Happy Gregorian Calendar
New Year to all the human inhabitants of
this rock we call
Earth.