What is the characteristic of all planets. Wonders of Space: interesting facts about the planets of the solar system
Planets of the solar system - a bit of history
Previously, a planet was considered to be any body that revolves around a star, glows with light reflected from it, and has a size larger than that of asteroids.
Also in Ancient Greece mentioned seven luminous bodies that move across the sky against the background of fixed stars. These cosmic bodies were: Sun, Mercury, Venus, Moon, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. Earth was not included in this list, since the ancient Greeks considered the Earth to be the center of all things.
And only in the XVI century Nicolaus Copernicus in his scientific work titled "On the Revolution of the Celestial Spheres" came to the conclusion that not the Earth, but the Sun should be in the center of the planetary system. Therefore, the Sun and the Moon were removed from the list, and the Earth was added to it. And after the advent of telescopes, Uranus and Neptune were added, in 1781 and 1846, respectively.
Last discovered planet solar system from 1930 until recently, Pluto was considered.
And now, almost 400 years after Galileo Galilei created the world's first telescope for observing stars, astronomers have come to the next definition of a planet.
Planet- this is a celestial body that must satisfy four conditions:
the body must revolve around a star (for example, around the Sun);
the body must have sufficient gravity to be spherical or close to it;
the body should not have other large bodies near its orbit;
the body does not have to be a star.
In its turn polar Star- This is a cosmic body that emits light and is a powerful source of energy. This is explained, firstly, by the thermonuclear reactions occurring in it, and secondly, by the processes of gravitational compression, as a result of which great amount energy.
Planets of the solar system today
solar system- This is a planetary system that consists of a central star - the Sun - and all natural space objects revolving around it.
So, today the solar system consists of of the eight planets: four inner, so-called planets terrestrial group, and the four outer planets, called the gas giants.
The terrestrial planets include Earth, Mercury, Venus and Mars. All of them consist mainly of silicates and metals.
outer planets are Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. The composition of gas giants consists mainly of hydrogen and helium.
The sizes of the planets in the solar system vary both within groups and between groups. So, the gas giants are much larger and more massive than the terrestrial planets.
Closest to the Sun is Mercury, then as far as the distance: Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune.
It would be wrong to consider the characteristics of the planets of the solar system without paying attention to its main component: the Sun itself. Therefore, we will start with it.
The sun planet is a star that gave rise to all life in the solar system. Planets revolve around it dwarf planets and their satellites, asteroids, comets, meteorites and cosmic dust.
The sun arose about 5 billion years ago, is a spherical, hot plasma ball and has a mass that is more than 300 thousand times the mass of the Earth. The surface temperature is over 5,000 degrees Kelvin, and the core temperature is over 13 million K.
The sun is one of the largest and most bright stars in our galaxy, which is called the Milky Way galaxy. The Sun is located at a distance of about 26 thousand light years from the center of the Galaxy and makes a complete revolution around it in about 230-250 million years! For comparison, the Earth makes a complete revolution around the Sun in 1 year.
Mercury planet
Mercury is the smallest planet in the system and is closest to the Sun. Mercury has no satellites.
The surface of the planet is covered with craters that arose about 3.5 billion years ago as a result of massive bombardments by meteorites. The diameter of the craters can range from a few meters to more than 1000 km.
The atmosphere of Mercury is highly rarefied, consists mainly of helium and is blown by the solar wind. Since the planet is located very close to the Sun and does not have an atmosphere that would keep warm at night, the temperature on the surface ranges from -180 to +440 degrees Celsius.
By earthly standards, Mercury makes a complete revolution around the Sun in 88 days. On the other hand, a Mercury day is equal to 176 Earth days.
Venus planet
Venus is the second closest planet to the Sun in the solar system. Venus is only slightly smaller than Earth, which is why it is sometimes referred to as "Earth's sister". Has no satellites.
The atmosphere is made up of carbon dioxide with impurities of nitrogen and oxygen. The air pressure on the planet is more than 90 atmospheres, which is 35 times more than the earth.
Carbon dioxide and, as a result, the greenhouse effect, a dense atmosphere, as well as proximity to the Sun, allow Venus to carry the title of "hottest planet". The temperature on its surface can reach 460°C.
Venus is one of the brightest objects in the Earth's sky after the Sun and Moon.
Planet Earth
Earth is the only known planet in the universe today that has life on it. The Earth has the largest size, mass and density among the so-called inner planets of the solar system.
The age of the Earth is about 4.5 billion years, and life appeared on the planet about 3.5 billion years ago. Moon - natural satellite, the largest of the satellites of the terrestrial planets.
The atmosphere of the Earth is fundamentally different from the atmospheres of other planets due to the presence of life. Most of the atmosphere is nitrogen, but it also contains oxygen, argon, carbon dioxide and water vapor. Ozone layer and the Earth's magnetic field, in turn, weaken the life-threatening effects of solar and cosmic radiation.
Due to the carbon dioxide contained in the atmosphere, the greenhouse effect also takes place on Earth. It does not appear as strongly as on Venus, but without it, the air temperature would be approximately 40 ° C lower. Without the atmosphere, temperature fluctuations would be very significant: according to scientists, from -100 ° C at night to + 160 ° C during the day.
About 71% of the Earth's surface is occupied by the oceans, the remaining 29% are continents and islands.
mars planet
Mars is the seventh largest planet in the solar system. The "Red Planet", as it is also called due to the presence of a large amount of iron oxide in the soil. Mars has two moons: Deimos and Phobos.
The atmosphere of Mars is highly rarefied, and the distance to the Sun is almost one and a half times greater than that of the Earth. Therefore, the average annual temperature on the planet is -60 ° C, and temperature drops in some places reach 40 degrees during the day.
Distinctive features of the surface of Mars are impact craters and volcanoes, valleys and deserts, ice polar caps like those on Earth. The highest mountain in the solar system is located on Mars: the extinct volcano Olympus, whose height is 27 km! As well as the largest canyon: the Marinera Valley, the depth of which reaches 11 km, and the length is 4500 km
Jupiter planet
Jupiter is the largest planet in the solar system. It is 318 times heavier than the Earth, and almost 2.5 times more massive than all the planets in our system combined. In its composition, Jupiter resembles the Sun - it consists mainly of helium and hydrogen - and radiates a huge amount of heat, equal to 4 * 1017 watts. However, in order to become a star like the Sun, Jupiter must be another 70-80 times heavier.
Jupiter has as many as 63 satellites, of which it makes sense to list only the largest ones - Callisto, Ganymede, Io and Europa. Ganymede is the largest moon in the solar system, larger than even Mercury.
Due to certain processes in the inner atmosphere of Jupiter, many vortex structures appear in its outer atmosphere, for example, stripes of clouds of brown-red shades, as well as the Great Red Spot, a giant storm known since the 17th century.
saturn planet
Saturn is the second largest planet in the solar system. Business card Saturn is, of course, its ring system, which consists mainly of ice particles of various sizes (from tenths of a millimeter to several meters), as well as rocks and dust.
Saturn has 62 moons, the largest of which are Titan and Enceladus.
In its composition, Saturn resembles Jupiter, but in density it is inferior even to ordinary water.
The outer atmosphere of the planet looks calm and homogeneous, which is explained by a very dense layer of fog. However, the wind speed in some places can reach 1800 km/h.
Uranus planet
Uranus is the first planet to be discovered with a telescope, and also the only planet in the solar system that wraps around the sun, "lying on its side."
Uranus has 27 moons named after Shakespearean heroes. The largest of them are Oberon, Titania and Umbriel.
The composition of the planet differs from the gas giants in the presence of a large number of high-temperature modifications of ice. Therefore, along with Neptune, scientists have identified Uranus in the category of "ice giants". And if Venus has the title of "hottest planet" in the solar system, then Uranus is the coldest planet with a minimum temperature of about -224 ° C.
Neptune planet
Neptune is the most distant planet from the center of the solar system. The history of its discovery is interesting: before observing the planet through a telescope, scientists calculated its position in the sky using mathematical calculations. This happened after the discovery of inexplicable changes in the movement of Uranus in its own orbit.
To date, 13 satellites of Neptune are known to science. The largest of them - Triton - is the only satellite that moves in the opposite direction to the rotation of the planet. The fastest winds in the solar system also blow against the rotation of the planet: their speed reaches 2200 km/h.
The composition of Neptune is very similar to Uranus, therefore it is the second "ice giant". However, like Jupiter and Saturn, Neptune has an internal source of heat and radiates 2.5 times more energy than it receives from the Sun.
Blue colour the planet is given traces of methane in the outer layers of the atmosphere.
Conclusion
Pluto, unfortunately, did not have time to get into our parade of planets in the solar system. But it is absolutely not worth worrying about this, because all the planets remain in their places, despite changes in scientific views and concepts.
So, we answered the question of how many planets are there in the solar system. There are only 8 .
Not so long ago, any educated person, when asked how many planets are in the solar system, would answer without hesitation - nine. And he would be right. If you do not particularly follow the events in the world of astronomy and are not a regular viewer of the Discovery Channel, then today you will answer the same question to the question posed. However, this time you will be wrong.
And here's the thing. In 2006, namely, on August 26, 2.5 thousand participants in the congress of the International Astronomical Union made a sensational decision and actually crossed out Pluto from the list of planets in the solar system, because 76 years after the discovery, it ceased to meet the requirements set by scientists for the planets.
Let's first understand what a planet is, and also how many planets in the solar system astronomers have left us, and consider each of them separately.
A bit of history
Previously, a planet was considered to be any body that revolves around a star, glows with light reflected from it, and has a size larger than that of asteroids.
Even in ancient Greece, seven luminous bodies were mentioned that move across the sky against the background of fixed stars. These cosmic bodies were: Sun, Mercury, Venus, Moon, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. Earth was not included in this list, since the ancient Greeks considered the Earth to be the center of all things. And only in the 16th century, Nicolaus Copernicus, in his scientific work entitled “On the Revolution of the Celestial Spheres,” came to the conclusion that not the Earth, but the Sun, should be in the center of the planetary system. Therefore, the Sun and the Moon were removed from the list, and the Earth was added to it. And after the advent of telescopes, Uranus and Neptune were added, in 1781 and 1846, respectively.
Pluto was considered the last discovered planet in the solar system from 1930 until recently.
And now, almost 400 years after Galileo Galilei created the world's first telescope for observing stars, astronomers have come to the next definition of a planet.
Planet- this is a celestial body that must satisfy four conditions:
the body must revolve around a star (for example, around the Sun);
the body must have sufficient gravity to be spherical or close to it;
the body should not have other large bodies near its orbit;
The body does not have to be a star.
In its turn star- This is a cosmic body that emits light and is a powerful source of energy. This is explained, firstly, by the thermonuclear reactions occurring in it, and secondly, by the processes of gravitational compression, as a result of which a huge amount of energy is released.
Planets of the solar system today
solar system- This is a planetary system that consists of a central star - the Sun - and all natural space objects revolving around it.
So, today the solar system consists of of the eight planets: four inner, so-called terrestrial planets, and four outer planets, called gas giants.
The terrestrial planets include Earth, Mercury, Venus and Mars. All of them consist mainly of silicates and metals.
The outer planets are Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. The composition of gas giants consists mainly of hydrogen and helium.
The sizes of the planets in the solar system vary both within groups and between groups. So, the gas giants are much larger and more massive than the terrestrial planets.
Closest to the Sun is Mercury, then as far as the distance: Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune.
It would be wrong to consider the characteristics of the planets of the solar system without paying attention to its main component: the Sun itself. Therefore, we will start with it.
Sun
The sun is the star that gave rise to all life in the solar system. Planets, dwarf planets and their satellites, asteroids, comets, meteorites and cosmic dust revolve around it.
The sun arose about 5 billion years ago, is a spherical, hot plasma ball and has a mass that is more than 300 thousand times the mass of the Earth. The surface temperature is over 5,000 degrees Kelvin, and the core temperature is over 13 million K.
The Sun is one of the largest and brightest stars in our galaxy, which is called the Milky Way Galaxy. The Sun is located at a distance of about 26 thousand light years from the center of the Galaxy and makes a complete revolution around it in about 230-250 million years! For comparison, the Earth makes a complete revolution around the Sun in 1 year.
Mercury
Mercury is the smallest planet in the system and is closest to the Sun. Mercury has no satellites.
The surface of the planet is covered with craters that arose about 3.5 billion years ago as a result of massive bombardments by meteorites. The diameter of the craters can range from a few meters to more than 1000 km.
The atmosphere of Mercury is highly rarefied, consists mainly of helium and is blown by the solar wind. Since the planet is located very close to the Sun and does not have an atmosphere that would keep warm at night, the temperature on the surface ranges from -180 to +440 degrees Celsius.
By earthly standards, Mercury makes a complete revolution around the Sun in 88 days. On the other hand, a Mercury day is equal to 176 Earth days.
Venus
Venus is the second closest planet to the Sun in the solar system. Venus is only slightly smaller than Earth, which is why it is sometimes referred to as "Earth's sister". Has no satellites.
The atmosphere consists of carbon dioxide mixed with nitrogen and oxygen. The air pressure on the planet is more than 90 atmospheres, which is 35 times more than the earth.
Carbon dioxide and, as a result, the greenhouse effect, a dense atmosphere, as well as proximity to the Sun, allow Venus to carry the title of "hottest planet". The temperature on its surface can reach 460°C.
Venus is one of the brightest objects in the Earth's sky after the Sun and Moon.
Earth
Earth is the only known planet in the universe today that has life on it. The Earth has the largest size, mass and density among the so-called inner planets of the solar system.
The age of the Earth is about 4.5 billion years, and life appeared on the planet about 3.5 billion years ago. The Moon is a natural satellite, the largest of the satellites of the terrestrial planets.
The atmosphere of the Earth is fundamentally different from the atmospheres of other planets due to the presence of life. Most of the atmosphere is nitrogen, but it also contains oxygen, argon, carbon dioxide and water vapor. The ozone layer and the Earth's magnetic field, in turn, weaken the life-threatening effects of solar and cosmic radiation.
Due to the carbon dioxide contained in the atmosphere, the greenhouse effect also takes place on Earth. It does not appear as strongly as on Venus, but without it, the air temperature would be approximately 40 ° C lower. Without the atmosphere, temperature fluctuations would be very significant: according to scientists, from -100 ° C at night to + 160 ° C during the day.
About 71% of the Earth's surface is occupied by the oceans, the remaining 29% are continents and islands.
Mars
Mars is the seventh largest planet in the solar system. The "Red Planet", as it is also called due to the presence of a large amount of iron oxide in the soil. Mars has two moons: Deimos and Phobos.
The atmosphere of Mars is highly rarefied, and the distance to the Sun is almost one and a half times greater than that of the Earth. Therefore, the average annual temperature on the planet is -60 ° C, and temperature drops in some places reach 40 degrees during the day.
Distinctive features of the surface of Mars are impact craters and volcanoes, valleys and deserts, ice polar caps like those on Earth. The highest mountain in the solar system is located on Mars: the extinct volcano Olympus, whose height is 27 km! As well as the largest canyon: the Valley of the Mariner, the depth of which reaches 11 km, and the length is 4500 km.
Jupiter
Jupiter is the largest planet in the solar system. It is 318 times heavier than the Earth, and almost 2.5 times more massive than all the planets in our system combined. In its composition, Jupiter resembles the Sun - it consists mainly of helium and hydrogen - and radiates a huge amount of heat, equal to 4 * 1017 watts. However, in order to become a star like the Sun, Jupiter must be another 70-80 times heavier.
Jupiter has as many as 63 satellites, of which it makes sense to list only the largest ones - Callisto, Ganymede, Io and Europa. Ganymede is the largest moon in the solar system, larger than even Mercury.
Due to certain processes in the inner atmosphere of Jupiter, many vortex structures appear in its outer atmosphere, for example, stripes of clouds of brown-red shades, as well as the Great Red Spot, a giant storm known since the 17th century.
Saturn
Saturn is the second largest planet in the solar system. The hallmark of Saturn is, of course, its ring system, which consists mainly of ice particles of various sizes (from tenths of a millimeter to several meters), as well as rocks and dust.
Saturn has 62 moons, the largest of which are Titan and Enceladus.
In its composition, Saturn resembles Jupiter, but in density it is inferior even to ordinary water.
The outer atmosphere of the planet looks calm and homogeneous, which is explained by a very dense layer of fog. However, the wind speed in some places can reach 1800 km/h.
Uranus
Uranus is the first planet to be discovered with a telescope, and also the only planet in the solar system that wraps around the sun, "lying on its side."
Uranus has 27 moons named after Shakespearean heroes. The largest of them are Oberon, Titania and Umbriel.
The composition of the planet differs from the gas giants in the presence of a large number of high-temperature modifications of ice. Therefore, along with Neptune, scientists have identified Uranus in the category of "ice giants". And if Venus has the title of "hottest planet" in the solar system, then Uranus is the coldest planet with a minimum temperature of about -224 ° C.
Neptune
Neptune is the most distant planet from the center of the solar system. The history of its discovery is interesting: before observing the planet through a telescope, scientists calculated its position in the sky using mathematical calculations. This happened after the discovery of inexplicable changes in the movement of Uranus in its own orbit.
To date, 13 satellites of Neptune are known to science. The largest of them - Triton - is the only satellite that moves in the opposite direction to the rotation of the planet. The fastest winds in the solar system also blow against the rotation of the planet: their speed reaches 2200 km/h.
The composition of Neptune is very similar to Uranus, therefore it is the second "ice giant". However, like Jupiter and Saturn, Neptune has an internal source of heat and radiates 2.5 times more energy than it receives from the Sun.
The planet's blue color comes from traces of methane in the outer atmosphere.
Conclusion
Pluto, unfortunately, did not have time to get into our parade of planets in the solar system. But it is absolutely not worth worrying about this, because all the planets remain in their places, despite changes in scientific views and concepts.
So, we answered the question of how many planets are there in the solar system. There are only 8 .
Previously, a planet was called any cosmic body revolving around a star, emitting light, which reflects this star, and is larger than the asteroid. Even in ancient Greece, they spoke of 7 planets as luminous bodies that move across the sky against the background of stars. These are Mercury, Sun, Venus, Mars, Moon, Jupiter, Saturn. Note that the Sun, which is a star, and the Moon, a satellite of our Earth, are indicated here. The earth is not included in this list because the Greeks considered it to be the center of everything.
In the 15th century, Copernicus figured out that the center of the system was the sun, not the earth. He laid out his statements in the work "On the Revolution of the Celestial Spheres". The moon and the sun were removed from the list, and the planet Earth was included. When telescopes were invented, three more planets were discovered. Uranus in 1781, Neptune in 1846, Pluto in 1930, which, by the way, is no longer considered a planet.
At the moment, researchers are giving a new meaning to the word "planet", namely: it is a celestial body that satisfies 4 conditions:
- The body must revolve around the star.
- Have a spherical or approximate shape, that is, the body must have sufficient gravity.
- It doesn't have to be a star.
- The celestial body should not have other large bodies in the vicinity of the orbit.
A star is a body that emits light and has a powerful source of energy.
Planets in the solar system
The solar system includes the planets and other objects that revolve around the sun. 4.5 billion years ago, clumps of stellar matter clouds began to form in the Galaxy. The gases heated up and radiated heat. As a result of the increase in temperature and density, nuclear reactions began, hydrogen turned into helium. So there was a powerful source of energy - the Sun. This process took tens of millions of years. Planets with satellites were created. The entire formation of the solar system ended about 4 billion years ago.
To date, the solar system includes 8 planets, which are divided into two groups. The first is the terrestrial group, the second is the gas giants. The terrestrial planets - Venus, Mercury, Mars and Earth - are composed of silicates and metals. The gas giants - Saturn, Jupiter, Neptune and Uranus - are made up of hydrogen and helium. The planets have different sizes both in comparison between the two groups and among themselves. Accordingly, the giants are much larger and more massive than the terrestrial planets.
Mercury is closest to the Sun, next is Neptune. Before characterizing the planets of the solar system, you need to talk about its main object - the Sun. This is a star, thanks to which all living and non-living things in the system began to exist. The Sun is a spherical, plasma, hot ball. A large number of space objects revolve around it - satellites, planets, meteorites, asteroids and cosmic dust. This star appeared about 5 billion years ago. Its mass is 300 thousand times greater than the mass of our planet. The temperature of the core is 13 million degrees Kelvin, and on the surface - 5 thousand degrees Kelvin (4727 degrees Celsius). In the Milky Way galaxy, the Sun is one of the largest and brightest stars. The distance from the Sun to the center of the Galaxy is 26,000 light years. The sun makes a complete revolution around the galactic center in 230-250 million years.
Mercury
It is closest to the Sun and is the smallest planet in the solar system. The planet has no satellites. On the surface of Mercury there are many craters that were formed by many meteorites that fell on the planet more than 3 billion years ago. Their diameter is varied - from a couple of meters to 1000 kilometers. The planet's atmosphere is mostly helium and blown by the Sun's wind. The temperature can reach +440 degrees Celsius. The planet makes a revolution around the Sun in 88 Earth days. A day on the planet equals 176 Earth hours.
Venus
Venus is the second planet from the Sun. Its dimensions are close to the dimensions of the Earth. The planet has no satellites. The atmosphere is carbon dioxide mixed with nitrogen and oxygen. Air pressure is 90 atmospheres, which is 35 times greater than on Earth. Venus is called the hottest planet because the dense atmosphere, carbon dioxide, the proximity of the Sun and the greenhouse effect create very high temperatures on the planet's surface. It can reach 460 degrees Celsius. Venus can be seen from the Earth's surface. It is the brightest space object after the Moon and the Sun.
Earth
The only planet adapted for life. Maybe it exists on other planets, but so far no one can say with certainty. In its group, it is the largest in terms of mass, density and size. Its age is over 4 billion years. Life here originated more than 3 billion years ago. The Earth's satellite is the Moon. The atmosphere on the planet is fundamentally different from others. Most of it is made up of nitrogen. It also includes carbon dioxide, oxygen, water vapor and argon. The ozone layer and the magnetic field reduce the level of solar and cosmic radiation. Due to the content of carbon dioxide in the Earth's atmosphere, a greenhouse effect is formed on the planet. Without it, the temperature on the Earth's surface would be 40 degrees less. Islands and continents occupy 29% of the planet's surface, and the rest is the oceans.
Mars
It is also called the "red planet" due to the presence of a large amount of iron oxide in the soil. Mars is the seventh largest planet in the solar system. Two satellites fly near the planet - Deimos and Phobos. Due to the too rarefied atmosphere and the far distance from the Sun, the average annual temperature of the planet is minus 60 degrees. At some points during the day, temperature drops can reach 40 degrees. The presence of volcanoes and craters, deserts and valleys, ice polar caps distinguishes Mars from other planets of the solar system. Also here is the highest mountain - the extinct volcano Olympus, which has reached a height of 27 kilometers. The Mariner Valley is the largest canyon among the planets. Its length is 4500 km and the depth is 11 m.
Jupiter
It is the largest planet in the solar system. Jupiter is 318 times heavier than Earth and 2.5 times more massive than other planets. The main constituents of the planet are helium and hydrogen. Jupiter radiates a lot of heat - 4 * 1017 W. To become a star like the Sun, it must reach a mass 70 times greater than the current one. The planet has the largest number of satellites - 63. Europa, Callisto, Ganymede and Io are the largest of them. Ganymede is also the largest moon in the entire solar system and is even larger than Mercury. There are many eddies in Jupiter's atmosphere that have a brown-red color band of clouds, or a giant storm, known as the Great Red Spot since the 17th century.
Saturn
Like Jupiter, it is a large planet that follows Jupiter in size. The ring system, which consists of ice particles of various sizes, rocks and dust, distinguishes this planet from others. It has one fewer satellites than Jupiter. The largest are Enceladus and Titan. In composition, Saturn resembles Jupiter, but in density it is inferior to the simplest water. The atmosphere looks quite uniform and calm, which can be explained by a dense layer of fog. Saturn has a huge wind speed, it can reach 1800 km per hour.
Uranus
This planet was the first to be discovered using a telescope. Uranus is the only planet in the solar system that lies on its side and revolves around the sun. Uranus has 27 satellites, which are named after the heroes of Shakespeare's plays. The largest among them are Titania, Oberon and Umbriel. Uranus contains a large number of high-temperature modifications of ice. It is also the coldest planet. The temperature here is minus 224 degrees Celsius.
Neptune
It is the most distant planet from the Sun, although until 2006 this title belonged to Pluto. This planet was discovered without the help of a telescope, but by mathematical calculations. The existence of Neptune was suggested to scientists by Uranus, on which strange changes were discovered while moving in its own orbit. The planet has 13 satellites. The largest among them is Triton. Its peculiarity is that it moves opposite to the planet. The strongest winds in the solar system blow in the same direction, reaching speeds of up to 2200 km per hour. The compositions of Neptune and Uranus are similar, but it is also similar in composition to Jupiter and Saturn. The planet has an internal heat source, from which it receives 2.5 times more energy than from the Sun. The outer layers of the atmosphere contain methane, which gives the planet a blue tint.
That's how mysterious the world of space is. Many satellites and planets have their own characteristics. Scientists are making changes to this world, for example, excluding Pluto from the list of planets.
Explore the planets on the portal site - it's very interesting.
The rotation of the planets
All planets, in addition to their orbit, also rotate around their axis. The period for which they make a complete revolution is defined as the epoch. Most of the planets in the solar system rotate in the same direction on their axis as they do around the sun, but Uranus and Venus rotate in the opposite direction. Scientists observe a large difference in the length of the day on the planets - Venus takes 243 Earth days to complete one rotation around its axis, while the planets of the gas giant group need only a couple of hours. The rotation period of exoplanets is not known, but their close location to the stars means that eternal day reigns on one side, and eternal night reigns on the other.
Why are all planets so different? Due to the high temperature closer to the star, the ice and gas evaporated very quickly. The giant planets could not form, but there was an accumulation of metal particles. Thus, Mercury was formed, which contains the largest amount of metals. The farther we are from the center, the lower the temperature. Appeared celestial bodies, where a significant percentage was made up of rocks. The four planets that are closer to the center of the solar system are called the inner planets. With the discovery of new systems, more and more questions arise. New research will help answer them.
Scientists claim that our system is unique. All planets are built in a strict order. The largest is closer to the Sun, respectively, the smallest is farther. Our system has a more complex structure, because the planets are not lined up by their mass. The sun makes up more than 99 percent of all objects in the system.
Our own solar system seems too big, stretching over 4 trillion miles from the sun. But it is just one of the billions of other stars that make up our Milky Way galaxy.
General characteristics of the planets of the solar system
The usual picture of the solar system is as follows: 9 planets revolve in their oval orbits around the constant, always blazing Sun.
But the characteristics of the planets of the solar system are much more complicated and interesting. In addition to themselves, there are many of their satellites, as well as thousands of asteroids. Far beyond the orbit of Pluto, which has been recognized as a dwarf planet, there are tens of thousands of comets and other frozen worlds. Tethered by gravity to the Sun, they revolve around it at great distances. The solar system is chaotic, constantly changing, sometimes even abruptly. The forces of gravity cause neighboring planets to influence each other, changing their orbits over time. Hard collisions with asteroids can give the planets new angles of inclination. The characteristic of the planets of the solar system is interesting in that they sometimes change climatic conditions, because their atmospheres develop and change.
A star called the sun
As sad as it is to realize, the Sun is gradually depleting its supply of nuclear fuel. In billions of years, it will expand to the size of a giant red star, swallow the planets Mercury and Venus, and on Earth, the temperature will rise to such levels that the oceans will evaporate into space, and the Earth will become a dry rocky world, similar to today's Mercury. Having exhausted the entire supply of nuclear fusion, the Sun will decrease to the size of a white dwarf, and after millions of years, already as a burnt out shell, it will turn into a black dwarf. But 5 billion years ago, the Sun and its 9 planets did not yet exist. There are many different versions of the appearance in the clouds of cosmic gas and dust of the Sun as a protostar and its system, but as a result of billions of years of nuclear fusion modern man watching him the way he is now.
Along with the Earth and other planets, a star called the Sun was born about 4.6 billion years ago from a huge cloud of dust that swirled in space. Our star is a ball of flaming gases, if the Sun could be weighed, the scales would show 1990,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 kg of matter consisting of helium and hydrogen.
Gravity force
Gravity, according to scientists, is the most mysterious mystery in the universe. This is the attraction of one matter to another and what gives the planets the shape of a ball. The Sun's gravity is powerful enough to hold 9 planets, a dozen satellites, and thousands of asteroids and comets. All this is held around the Sun by invisible threads of gravity. But as the distance between space objects increases, the attraction between them quickly weakens. The characteristic of the planets of the solar system directly depends on gravity. For example, Pluto's attraction to the Sun is much less than the force of attraction between the Sun and Mercury or Venus. The sun and the earth mutually attract each other, but due to the fact that the mass of the sun is much larger, then the attraction from its side is more powerful. Comparative characteristics planets of the solar system will help to understand the main features of each of the planets.
The sun's rays travel in different directions in outer space, reaching all nine planets that revolve around the sun. But depending on how far the planet is, it comes to different amount light, hence the different characteristics of the planets of the solar system.
Mercury
On Mercury, the closest planet to the Sun, the Sun appears to be 3 times as large as the Earth's Sun. During the day it can be blindingly bright. But the sky is dark even during the day, because there is no atmosphere on IT to beat and scatter sunlight. When the Sun hits the rocky landscape of Mercury, the temperature can reach up to 430 C. But at night, all the heat returns freely into space, and the surface temperature of the planet can drop to -173 C.
Venus
The characteristics of the planets of the solar system (grade 5 studies this topic) leads to the consideration of the closest planet for earthlings - Venus. Venus, the second planet from the Sun, is surrounded by an atmosphere that is predominantly carbon dioxide gas. In such an atmosphere, clouds of sulfuric acid are constantly observed. Interestingly, despite the fact that Venus is more distant from the Sun than Mercury, its surface temperature is higher and reaches 480 C. This is due to carbon dioxide, which creates a greenhouse effect and keeps heat on the planet. Venus has a similar size and density to Earth, but the properties of its atmosphere are detrimental to all living things. chemical reactions clouds produce acids capable of dissolving lead, tin and stones. In addition, Venus is covered with thousands of volcanoes and lava rivers that have formed over millions of years. Near the surface, Venus's atmosphere is 50 times thicker than Earth's. Therefore, all objects that penetrate it explode before they hit the surface. Scientists have discovered about 400 flat spots on Venus, each of which is from 29 to 48 km in diameter. These are the scars of meteorites that exploded above the surface of the planet.
Earth
The Earth, where we all live, has ideal atmospheric and temperature conditions for life, because our atmosphere consists mainly of nitrogen and oxygen. Scientists prove that the Earth revolves around the Sun, leaning on one side. Indeed, the position of the planet deviates from right angle at 23.5 degrees. This tilt, as well as its size, according to scientists, our planet received after a powerful collision with a cosmic body. It is this tilt of the Earth that forms the seasons: winter, spring, summer and autumn.
Mars
After Earth comes Mars. On Mars, the Sun appears to be three times smaller than from Earth. Only a third of the light compared to what earthlings see is received by Mars. In addition, hurricanes often occur on this planet, raising red dust from the surface. But, nevertheless, in summer days temperatures on Mars can reach 17 C, just like on Earth. Mars has a red hue because the iron oxide minerals in its soil reflect the reddish-orange light of the Sun, in other words, the Martian soil contains a lot of rusty iron, which is why Mars is often called the red planet. Martian air is very rarefied - 1 percent of the density of the earth's atmosphere. The planet's atmosphere is made up of carbon dioxide. Scientists admit that once, about 2 billion years ago, there were rivers and liquid water on this planet, and the atmosphere contained oxygen, because iron rusts only when it interacts with oxygen. It is possible that the atmosphere of Mars was once suitable for the emergence of life on this planet.
With regard to chemical and physical parameters, the characteristics of the planets of the solar system are shown below (table for terrestrial planets).
The chemical composition of the atmosphere | Physical parameters |
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Pressure, atm. | Temperature, C |
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-30 to +40 |
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As you can see, chemical composition The atmospheres of all three planets are very different.
This is the characteristic of the planets of the solar system. The table above clearly shows the ratio of different chemical substances, as well as pressure, temperature, and the presence of water on each of them, so to compose general idea about this now it will not be difficult.
Giants of the solar system
Behind Mars are the giant planets, which consist mainly of gases. An interesting physical characteristic of the planets of the solar system, such as Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune.
All giants are covered with thick clouds, and each subsequent one receives less and less light from the Sun. From Jupiter, the Sun looks like a fifth of what earthlings see. Jupiter is the largest planet in the solar system. Under thick clouds of ammonia and water, Jupiter is covered by an ocean of metallic liquid hydrogen. A feature of the planet is the presence of a giant red spot on the clouds hanging over its equator. It is a gigantic storm nearly 48,000 km long that has been orbiting the planet for over 300 years. Saturn is the show planet in the solar system. On Saturn, sunlight is even weaker, but still powerful enough to illuminate the planet's vast ring system. Thousands of rings, which are mostly made of ice, are illuminated by the Sun, turning them into giant circles of light.
The rings of Saturn have not yet been studied by earth scientists. According to some versions, they were formed as a result of a collision of his satellite with a comet or asteroid and, under the influence of enormous gravity, turned into rings.
The planet Uranus is a cold world, which is located at a distance of 2.9 billion km from the main star. The average temperature of its atmosphere is -177 C. It is the planet with the greatest inclination and revolves around the Sun, lying on its side, and even in the opposite direction.
Pluto
The most distant 9th planet - icy Pluto - shines with a distant cold light, and is located at a distance of 5.8 billion kilometers and looks like a bright star in a dark sky.
This planet is so small and so far from Earth that scientists know very little about it. Its surface is made up of nitrogen ice, in order to make one revolution around the Sun, it needs approximately 284 earth years. The sun on this planet is no different from billions of other stars.
Complete description of the planets of the solar system
The table (5th graders study this topic in sufficient detail), located below, allows not only to get an idea of the planets of the solar system, but also makes it possible to compare them in terms of basic parameters.
Planet | Distance from the Sun, asters units | Period of circulation, years | Period of rotation about an axis | Radius, relative to the radius of the Earth | Mass, relative to the mass of the Earth | Density, kg/m3 | Number of satellites |
Mercury | |||||||
23 h 56 min. | |||||||
24 hours 37 minutes | |||||||
9 hours 50 minutes | |||||||
10 hours 12 minutes | |||||||
5 pm 14 min. | |||||||
16h07 min. |
As you can see, there is no planet like the Earth in our Galaxy. The above characteristics of the planets of the solar system (table, grade 5) makes it possible to understand this.
Conclusion
A brief description of the planets of the solar system will allow readers to plunge a little into the world of space and remember that earthlings are still the only intelligent beings in the vast Universe and the world around them must be constantly protected, preserved and restored.
The number of galaxies in the universe in to a large extent unknown to people, because astronomers suggest that there may be an infinite number of them. In our galaxy milky way According to scientists, there are about 100 billion planets, most of which is in the orbit of stars. In the recent past, astronomers have discovered hundreds of planets in our galaxy, some of which exhibit characteristics of our Earth, suggesting that they are capable of supporting life. Our solar system consists of the Sun, eight planets and their moons (satellites), as well as various small cosmic bodies. The solar system included nine planets for a long time, until Pluto was stripped of this rank in 2006, as it did not meet the necessary criteria. Pluto has been found to be part of a group of six space objects that orbit the Kuiper belt and is not the largest of them.
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Mercury
Mercury is the closest planet to the Sun; it is also the smallest of all eight planets. Within 88 days, Mercury completes a full revolution around the Sun. It is a rocky planet with an equatorial radius of 2439.7±1.0 km and a density of 5427 g/cm³, making it the second densest planet in the solar system. Mercury has no atmosphere and temperatures range from 448º C during the day to -170º C during the night. Its orbit is oval and is one of the planets that can be seen from Earth.
Venus
Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It makes a full revolution within 224.7 days, and the period of rotation around its axis is about 243 days (this is the slowest rotation of all the planets in the solar system). Venus is the hottest planet with a surface temperature of around 467º C as its atmosphere is dense and holds heat well. She is very bright in the morning and in the evening, which makes it clearly visible in certain regions of the Earth. It is the closest planet to us, and also the first one visited by an earth probe (Mariner 2) in 1962. The dense hot atmosphere makes Venus inaccessible to humans.
Earth
Planet Earth is home to humans and is believed to be the only planet known to have life. It completes a revolution around the Sun in 365.256 days, covering a distance of about 940 million km. The Earth is located about 150 million km from the Sun and is the third planet in our system; according to scientists, its formation began 4.54 billion years ago. The total area of the Earth is more than 510 million km², 71% of which is covered by water, and the remaining 29% belongs to land. Earth's atmosphere protects life from outer space, harmful radiation and controls the weather. It is the densest planet in the solar system.
Mars
Mars, also known as the "red planet", is the fourth planet in our solar system and the second smallest. It has a solid surface like Earth, but its atmosphere is relatively thin. Mars is half the size of the Earth and is on average 228 million km from the Sun; it completes an orbit around the Sun in 779.96 days. It is clearly visible from Earth at night due to its bright surface. liquid water not found on the surface of the planet due to low atmospheric pressure. Researchers are studying the possibility of life on Mars. Scientists believe that the ice caps at the planet's poles are water, and the ice at the south pole could fill the planet's surface to a depth of 11 meters if melted.
Jupiter
Jupiter is the fifth and largest planet in the solar system. Its mass is 2.5 times the total mass of other planets. Jupiter is a gaseous planet with no solid surface, although researchers believe its core is solid. It has a diameter of 142,984 km at the equator and is so large that it can contain all the planets in the solar system or 1,300 earths. It is predominantly composed of hydrogen and helium. Jupiter's atmosphere is dense, with winds averaging 550 kilometers per hour, twice the speed of a Category 5 hurricane on Earth. The planet has three rings of dust particles, but they are hard to see. It takes Jupiter 12 Earth years to make a complete revolution around the Sun.
Saturn
Saturn is the second largest planet after Jupiter and the sixth largest in the solar system. It is a gas giant, just like Jupiter, but with nine continuous rings. Saturn is considered the most beautiful planet in our system and is made up of hydrogen and helium. Its diameter is nine times that of the Earth, its volume is comparable to that of 763.5 Earths, and its surface is 83 Earths. However, Saturn's mass is only one-eighth that of our planet. Saturn has almost 150 moons, 53 of which have been named, 62 have been identified as having orbits, and the rest of the moons are in the planet's rings.
Uranus
Uranus is the seventh planet and the third largest in the solar system. Its surface is composed of frozen matter and therefore it is considered an ice giant. However, Uranus' atmosphere also contains hydrogen and helium, along with other "ices" such as methane, ammonia, and water. Although it is not the most distant planet from the Sun, it is one of the coldest with atmospheric temperatures reaching -224 C, being the only planet in the solar system that does not generate heat from its core. The average distance of Uranus from the Sun is about 2.8 billion km.
Neptune
Neptune is the eighth and farthest planet from the Sun. At first it was thought to be a fixed star by Galileo, who used mathematical predictions to find it rather than the usual telescope method. The average distance from Neptune to the Sun is 4.5 billion km, and a complete revolution around our star takes 164.8 years. Neptune completed its first orbit in 2011, since it was discovered in 1846. It has 14 known moons, the largest of which is Triton. The atmosphere is dominated by hydrogen and helium. It is the windiest planet in the solar system, with an average wind speed nine times that of Earth. NASA recently discovered that Neptune has rivers and lakes of liquid methane.