In To The Solar System
The Solar System
The solar system consists of
the sun and the eight planets, their satellites, asteroids, comets, meteors,
and at least 181 known moons (as of this writing, but the number is increasing
rapidly as more discoveries are made). the sun is at one of the two centers of
the solar system and the planets revolving around it in an elliptical orbit.
The sun
the sun is the primary source
of energy for life on earth, it is 150 million km away from the earth. the temperature of the sun's visible surface(Photosphere) is about 6000ºC,
the outer layer of the sun's (corona) atmosphere has an average temperature of
2 million ºC and The temperature of the core of the sun is
about 15 million ºC.
The planets
The planets of our solar system
are divided into two major types based on the density and the distance from the
sun they are
i) Terrestrial planets
ii)Jovian planets
Terrestrial planets
The small rocky bodies
revolving around the sun in an elliptical orbit. since these are heavy rick
bodies and mainly compose of metallic particles these are the denser planets.
Terrestrial planets are closer to the sun when compared to that of the Jovian
planets.
Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars are
terrestrial planets.
Jovian planets
The larger and the less dense
bodies revolving around the sun at a larger distance (more than mars). Jovian
planets are less dense because they are mainly composed of gases. The Jovian
planets contain a much greater abundance of lightweight, icy, and volatile
materials, compared to the terrestrial planets.
Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus,
and Neptune are Jovian planets
Mercury
Mercury is the closest planet
to the sun. since it is the closest to the sum the maximum temperature reaches
up to 430ºC and the lowest temperature here is -180ºC. it spins around its own axis very slowly that it needs
59 earth days to complete one spin around its own axis. it orbits around the sun the quickest.
Mercury doesn't have any significant atmosphere; its rotation period is usually
longer than its orbital revolution period. it doesn't have any natural
satellites. Mercury can be seen from the earth before sunrise and after sunset.
Venus
Venus is also known as earth's
twin. it spins slowly and spins in the opposite direction from the other
planets hence it has the longest rotation period of any other planet, its
rotation period is longer than its revolution period. it is the hottest planet
in our solar system temperature reaches up to 400ºC (due to the
greenhouse effect). the atmosphere of Venus has gases and chemicals including
sulphuric acid clouds. it is the second brightest natural object in the night
sky (after Moon). it Can be seen from the earth only before sunrise (Morning
Star) and after sunset (Evening Star). as mercury Venus doesn't have any natural
satellites.
Earth
the only planet in the solar
system that supports life (as for now). the only planet where water is
available in all three states of matter (i.e.; solid, liquid, and gases).
Earth's atmosphere consists of Ozone (protects Earth from the ultraviolet rays)
Nitrogen, Hydrogen, Oxygen, Carbon dioxide, etc. it takes 23hrs 56 min and 46
sec to complete one rotation around its own axis, and it takes 365.26 days
to revolve around the Sun. it has one natural satellite Moon.
Mars
Mars is the fourth planet from the sun and the second-smallest planet in
the solar system, also known as the ‘Red Planet’ due to the presence of
iron-rich red soil. it has lost most of its atmosphere which makes it cold. it
has two natural satellites namely Phobos and Deimos. scientists
have found polar ice caps and traces of sub-terrestrial liquid water here.
Mars has the largest known volcano (and second tallest mountain) in the
solar system – Mons Olympus.
Jupiter
Jupiter is the fifth planet
from the sun and the largest planet of the solar system. has two and a
half times the mass of all other planets put together. it is considered a gas
giant as its atmosphere primarily composed of hydrogen and helium with no
discernible solid surface. the entire planet is going through constant
tornadoes all the time. Has a giant storm (three times the diameter of the
earth) since 1831 called the ‘Great Red Spot’. Jupiter has the shortest
rotation period. it has 79 natural satellites (as of now).
Saturn
Saturn is the sixth planet from
the sun and the second largest planet of the solar system. its density is less
than the density of the water. it has a band of concentric circles revolving
around it, they are made up of tiny rocks and ice pieces of ice. it has 62
known natural satellites (as of now).
Uranus
Uranus is the seventh planet
from the sun and the third largest planet in the solar system. composed mainly
of gases such as Hydrogen, Helium, Water, Ammonia, Methane. It is slightly
tilted sideways so that its poles lie where most other planets have their
equators scientists believe that it is because of a collision that happened a
long time ago which distorted the movement of the planet. it has 27 known
natural satellites (as of now).
Neptune
It is the Farthest planet
from the Sun. mainly composed of hydrogen, helium, nitrogen, water,
ammonia, methane, due to the presence of methane as the primary substance its
blue in color. has a storm similar to Jupiter called as ‘Great
Dark Spot’. Has 14 known natural satellites (as of now).
The Dwarf Planet
Pluto was discovered in 1930 and it was
thought to be the ninth planet of the solar system bit in a conference in 2006
it is decided that it shouldn't be a planet hence we call it The Dwarf Planet
it has got the biggest orbit of any planet in the solar system. and it is too
cool that it reaches nearly -233ºC.
Asteroids
Asteroids
are small rocky bodies that orbit around the Sun. Most of the asteroids in the
solar system are found in the region between Mars & Jupiter,
this region is known as the "Asteroid belt" an asteroid
can be as small as 10m and it can be as big as 970km. it is believed that these
asteroids are the leftover pieces from when the solar system came into
existence, if we study them carefully, we can get a lot more information on how
the solar system formed. Asteroids aren’t all elliptical like planets.
They have jagged and irregular shapes. Most asteroids are made of
different kinds of rocks, but some have clays or metals, such as nickel and iron.
When two asteroids collide, they are broken into many small bodies sometimes
these small bodies come across the earth and fall into the earth's atmosphere,
that's when they become meteors or shooting stars. not all meteors reach the earth’s
surface some burn in the air due to air friction, the one that reaches the
earth's surface is called Meteorites
