Secrets of the Solar Neighborhood
Go beyond basic planet names to discover the strange behaviors and extreme environments of our closest neighbors. Learn why some planets spin backward, where it rains diamonds, and how gravity reshapes the worlds around us.
Like Duolingo, but for Secrets of the Solar Neighborhood. Tomo turns the whole topic into a game you play five minutes a day, until it actually sticks.
A short one: 26 levels across 3 sections, about 52 minutes end to end, roughly 10 days at five minutes a day. It moves through Surviving the Extreme Neighborhoods, Spotting the Oddities and Outliers, and The Mechanics of Planetary Power. It assumes you already know the basics.
Free forever · No credit card · iPhone & Android
Key ideas in Secrets of the Solar Neighborhood
- Atmospheres act like blankets to hold onto daytime heat
- Without air to move heat around, the dark side of a planet loses all its energy to space
- Why Mercury's night side is colder than more distant planets
- An atmosphere traps heat and prevents it from escaping into the vacuum
- Air layers distribute warmth across the planet instead of letting it vanish
- The relationship between an 'air blanket' and temperature stability
- Mercury's surface absorbs intense heat because there is no air to block it
- The lack of an atmosphere means there is no 'lid' to stop heat from radiating away
- The process of rapid heat loss on an airless world
- Mercury lacks a thick atmosphere to hold onto the Sun's heat
- Venus has a thick blanket of clouds that prevents heat from escaping
- Sunlight can pass through the gas to reach the planet surface
- Heat energy gets trapped by the gas layers instead of radiating away
- Why Venus is hotter than Mercury despite the distance difference
- The mechanism of the one-way heat trap in the Venusian atmosphere
- Heat-trapping gases build up in the atmosphere
You've tried the other tabs
Thirty open tabs. Four facts you actually kept.
You watched. You nodded. By Sunday it was gone.
One answer, then back to scrolling.
Eight weeks. You meant to finish. You didn't.
Tomo gives Secrets of the Solar Neighborhood the Duolingo treatment: levels, streaks, and quick quizzes that test what you just learned. That game loop is what the tabs above never had, so it's the one you actually finish.
Here's what playing it feels like
A real question from this course. Take your best guess.
What happens to a planet's dark side if there is no air to move the warmth around?
Get it right to open this lesson and 25 more in the app.
How to learn Secrets of the Solar Neighborhood, step by step
Go in order. 26 short levels across 3 sections, about 52 minutes in all, five minutes a day.
- 1
Surviving the Extreme Neighborhoods
- The Scorching Shadow: Mercury’s Temperature Swings
- Venus: The Greenhouse Effect Gone Wrong
- Mars: Why the Red Planet is a Rusty Desert
- The Great Red Spot: A Storm Larger Than Earth
- 2
Spotting the Oddities and Outliers
- Retrograde Rotation: The Planet That Spins Backward
- Uranus: The World That Rolls on Its Side
- Supersonic Winds: The Blue Storms of Neptune
- Hexagon Clouds: The Geometric Mystery of Saturn
- Density Dilemma: The Planet That Could Float in Water
- The Vanishing Rings: Why Saturn is Losing Its Crown
- 3
The Mechanics of Planetary Power
- Gravity’s Grip: How Jupiter Protects the Inner Planets
- Magnetic Shields: Why Some Planets Have Them and Others Don't
- Internal Heat: The Hidden Engines of the Gas Giants
3 sections · 13 units · 26 levels. Built to play, not to enroll.
Questions about Secrets of the Solar Neighborhood
How do I learn Secrets of the Solar Neighborhood?
Go in order: start with Surviving the Extreme Neighborhoods, then Spotting the Oddities and Outliers, then The Mechanics of Planetary Power. On Tomo that's 26 short levels, about 52 minutes in all, played five minutes a day. Start free and play the first level in under a minute.
Is there a Duolingo-style app for Secrets of the Solar Neighborhood?
Yes. Tomo works like Duolingo: short daily lessons, streaks and quick quizzes. Secrets of the Solar Neighborhood is one of its free courses, and you can type any other topic to get a course of your own.
Is the Secrets of the Solar Neighborhood course free?
Yes. Secrets of the Solar Neighborhood is playable on Tomo's free plan, which doesn't expire. No credit card, no waitlist. Download the app and start your first lesson.
How long does it take to learn Secrets of the Solar Neighborhood?
26 levels across 3 sections, about 52 minutes of play in total. It's built for five minutes a day, so you finish it a little at a time instead of all at once.
Do I need any background to start Secrets of the Solar Neighborhood?
No. It's pitched at an intermediate level, so it starts where you are and builds up. If you can tap a phone, you can start.
Tomo is in ChatGPT
Tomo is also a ChatGPT plugin: the same playable courses, built and played inside your chat.
Add Tomo to ChatGPT- What to ask
- “Make me a Tomo course on black holes.” “Turn this chat into a Tomo course.”
- What you get
- Quick questions with instant feedback, hearts and stars, ready to play in about a minute.
- Where it goes
- No sign-up to start. Connect your Tomo account and your streak carries on in the app.
You pick the voice
Secrets of the Solar Neighborhood is taught in the Explain Like I'm 5 style: no big words. promise.. Want a different feel? In the app you can spin up the same topic in any of Tomo's teaching styles. Same facts, totally different vibe.
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The Mechanics of Space
Move beyond basic planet trivia to understand orbital dynamics, stellar engines, and the geometry of the cosmos. Discover how spacecraft navigate the void, how stars forge matter, and what drives cosmic expansion.
Start Secrets of the Solar Neighborhood today.
Download Tomo, search Secrets of the Solar Neighborhood, and play your first lesson in under a minute.