ASTRONOMY FACTS

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THE FIVE CLOSEST STARS TO THE EARTH

Traveling at a speed of 25,000 miles per hour (which is faster than any human has ever traveled), it would take you a little over 110,000 years to reach Earth's closest star, excluding the Sun. The five closest stars are:

1. Proxima Centauri - 25 million miles
2. Alpha Centauri - 25.5 million miles
3. Barnard's Star - 35 million miles
4. Wolf 359 - 45.5 million miles
5. Lalande 21185 - 48 million miles

Throughout the history of the Earth, it has been literally pounded by meteorites. In the U.S. alone about 1,200 meteorites have been recorded to reach the surface. The ten largest meteorites have been found in the following states:

• Arizona - 3
• California - 2
• Kansas - 2
• Oregon - 1
• Nevada - 1
• Georgia - 1