The order of the solar system from the sun. Planets of the solar system - photo and description

Chapter 6. Solar system (general characteristics)

The solar planetary system is a tiny element of our galaxy called the Milky Way. In the Galaxy there are star systems larger than the Solar, but there are also fewer. There are very complex ones, including several stars, connected to each other by the forces of gravity and revolving around a common center of mass. I have no doubt that there are planets in those complex multi-star systems.

At the moment, it is believed that the solar system consists of 9 planets: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto. True, recently Pluto was excluded from the number of planets and was included in the category of special bodies - plutonoids. All planets move in the same direction, in a single plane (with the exception of Pluto), in almost circular orbits. From the center to the outskirts of the solar system (to Pluto) 5.5 light hours. The distance from the Sun to the Earth is 149 million km, which is 107 times the diameter of the Sun.

Definition and classification of celestial bodies, basic physical and chemical characteristics of astronomical objects in the solar system.

The content of the article:

Celestial bodies are objects located in the Observable Universe. These objects can be natural physical bodies or their associations. All of them are characterized by isolation, and also represent a single structure connected by gravity or electromagnetism. Astronomy is engaged in the study of this category. This article proposes a classification of the celestial bodies of the solar system, as well as a description of their main characteristics.

Classification of the celestial bodies of the solar system

Each celestial body has special characteristics, for example, the method of origin, chemical composition, size, etc. This makes it possible to classify objects by combining them into groups. Let us describe what heavenly bodies are in the solar system: stars, planets, satellites, asteroids, comets, etc.

Classification of the celestial bodies of the solar system by composition:

Silicate celestial bodies... This group of celestial bodies is called silicate, because the main component of all its representatives are stone-metal rocks (about 99% of the total body weight). The silicate component is represented by such refractory substances as silicon, calcium, iron, aluminum, magnesium, sulfur, etc. There are also ice and gas components (water, ice, nitrogen, carbon dioxide, oxygen, helium-hydrogen), but their content is scanty. This category includes 4 planets (Venus, Mercury, Earth and Mars), satellites (Moon, Io, Europa, Triton, Phobos, Deimos, Amalthea, etc.), more than a million asteroids orbiting between the orbits of two planets - Jupiter and Mars (Pallas , Hygea, Vesta, Ceres, etc.). The density indicator is from 3 grams per cubic centimeter or more.
Icy celestial bodies... This group is the largest in the solar system. The main component is the ice component (carbon dioxide, nitrogen, water ice, oxygen, ammonia, methane, etc.). The silicate component is present in a smaller amount, and the gas volume is extremely insignificant. This group includes one planet Pluto, large satellites (Ganymede, Titan, Callisto, Charon, etc.), as well as all comets.
Combined celestial bodies... The composition of the representatives of this group is characterized by the presence in large quantities of all three components, i.e. silicate, gas and ice. Celestial bodies with a combined composition include the Sun and giant planets (Neptune, Saturn, Jupiter and Uranus). These objects are characterized by fast rotation.

Characteristics of the star Sun

The sun is a star, i.e. is a collection of gas with incredible volumes. It has its own gravity (interaction characterized by attraction), with the help of which all its components are held. Inside any star, and therefore inside the Sun, thermonuclear fusion reactions occur, the product of which is colossal energy.

The sun has a core, around which a radiation zone is formed, where energy transfer takes place. This is followed by the convection zone, in which magnetic fields and movements of solar matter are generated. The visible part of the Sun can be called the surface of this star only conditionally. A more correct formulation is the photosphere or the sphere of light.

The attraction inside the Sun is so great that a photon from its core takes hundreds of thousands of years to reach the surface of a star. Moreover, its path from the surface of the Sun to the Earth is only 8 minutes. The density and size of the sun allows it to attract other objects in the solar system. The acceleration of gravity (gravity) in the surface zone is almost 28 m / s 2.

The characteristic of the celestial body of the star Sun is as follows:

Chemical composition. The main components of the sun are helium and hydrogen. Naturally, the star also includes other elements, but their specific gravity is very scanty.
Temperature. The temperature value differs significantly in different zones, for example, in the core it reaches 15,000,000 degrees Celsius, and in the visible part - 5,500 degrees Celsius.
Density. Is 1.409 g / cm 3. The highest density is noted in the core, the lowest - on the surface.
Weight. If we describe the mass of the Sun without mathematical abbreviations, then the number will look like 1.988.920.000.000.000.000.000.000.000.000 kg.
Volume. The total value is 1.412.000.000.000.000.000.000.000.000.000 cubic kilograms.
Diameter. This figure is 1,391,000 km.
Radius. The radius of the star Sun is 695500 km.
Orbit of a celestial body. The sun has its own orbit, which runs around the center of the Milky Way. A complete revolution takes 226 million years. Scientists' calculations showed that the speed of movement is incredibly high - almost 782,000 kilometers per hour.

Characteristics of the planets of the solar system

Planets are celestial bodies that orbit around a star or its remnants. Large weight allows planets to become rounded under the influence of their own gravity. However, the size and weight are insufficient for the start of thermonuclear reactions. Let us examine in more detail the characteristics of the planets using the examples of some representatives of this category that are part of the solar system.

Mars is the second most studied planet. It is the 4th farthest from the Sun. Its size allows it to occupy the 7th place in the ranking of the most voluminous celestial bodies in the solar system. Mars has an inner core surrounded by an outer liquid core. Further, the silicate mantle of the planet is located. And after the intermediate layer comes the crust, which has different thicknesses in different parts of the celestial body.

Let's take a closer look at the characteristics of Mars:

The chemical composition of the celestial body. The main elements that make up Mars are iron, sulfur, silicates, basalt, iron oxide.
Temperature. The average is -50 ° C.
Density - 3.94 g / cm 3.
Weight - 641.850.000.000.000.000.000.000 kg.
Volume - 163.180.000.000 km 3.
Diameter - 6780 km.
Radius - 3390 km.
The acceleration of gravity is 3.711 m / s 2.
Orbit. Lies around the sun. It has a rounded trajectory, which is far from ideal. at different times the distance of a celestial body from the center of the solar system has different indicators - 206 and 249 million km.

Pluto belongs to the category of dwarf planets. Has a rocky core. Some researchers admit that it is not only formed from rock, but may also include ice. An icy robe covers him. There is frozen water and methane on the surface. The atmosphere is believed to include methane and nitrogen.

Pluto has the following characteristics:

Structure. The main ingredients are stone and ice.
Temperature. The average temperature on Pluto is -229 degrees Celsius.
Density - about 2 g per 1 cm 3.
The mass of a celestial body is 13.105.000.000.000.000.000.000 kg.
Volume - 7,150,000,000 km 3.
Diameter - 2374 km.
Radius - 1187 km.
The acceleration of gravity is 0.62 m / s 2.
Orbit. The planet revolves around the Sun, but the orbit is characterized by eccentricity, i.e. in one period it moves away to 7.4 billion km, in another - it approaches 4.4 billion km. The orbital speed of a celestial body reaches 4.6691 km / s.

Uranus is a planet discovered with a telescope in 1781. It has a ring system and a magnetosphere. Inside Uranus is a core made up of metals and silicon. It is surrounded by water, methane and ammonia. This is followed by a layer of liquid hydrogen. There is a gaseous atmosphere on the surface.

The main characteristics of Uranus:

Chemical composition. This planet is made up of a combination of chemical elements. In large quantities it includes silicon, metals, water, methane, ammonia, hydrogen, etc.
Celestial body temperature. The average temperature is -224 ° C.
Density - 1.3 g / cm 3.
Weight - 86.832.000.000.000.000.000.000 kg.
Volume - 68.340.000.000 km 3.
Diameter - 50,724 km.
Radius - 25362 km.
The acceleration of gravity is 8.69 m / s 2.
Orbit. The center around which Uranus revolves is also the Sun. The orbit is slightly elongated. The orbital speed is 6.81 km / s.

Characteristics of the satellites of celestial bodies

A satellite is an object located in the Visible Universe, which does not revolve around a star, but around another celestial body under the influence of its gravity and along a certain trajectory. Let's describe some satellites and characteristics of these cosmic celestial bodies.

Deimos, a satellite of Mars, which is considered one of the smallest, is described as follows:

Shape - similar to a triaxial ellipsoid.
Dimensions - 15x12.2x10.4 km.
Weight - 1.480.000.000.000.000 kg.
Density - 1.47 g / cm 3.
Structure. The satellite mainly includes stony rocks and regolith. The atmosphere is absent.
The acceleration of gravity is 0.004 m / s 2.
Temperature - -40 ° С.

Callisto is one of the many moons of Jupiter. It is the second largest in the satellite category and ranks first among the celestial bodies for the number of craters on the surface.

Callisto's characteristics:

The shape is rounded.
Diameter - 4820 km.
Weight - 107.600.000.000.000.000.000.000 kg.
Density - 1.834 g / cm 3.
Composition - carbon dioxide, molecular oxygen.
The acceleration of gravity is 1.24 m / s 2.
Temperature - -139.2 ° C.

Oberon or Uranus IV is a natural satellite of Uranus. It is the 9th largest in the solar system. It has no magnetic field and no atmosphere. Numerous craters have been found on the surface, which is why some scientists consider it a rather old satellite.

Consider the characteristics of Oberon:

The shape is rounded.
Diameter - 1523 km.
Weight - 3.014.000.000.000.000.000.000 kg.
Density - 1.63 g / cm 3.
Composition - stone, ice, organic matter.
The acceleration of gravity is 0.35 m / s 2.
Temperature - -198 ° C.

Characteristics of asteroids in the solar system

Asteroids are large boulders. Mostly located in the asteroid belt between the orbits of Jupiter and Mars. They can go out of their orbits towards the Earth and the Sun.

A prominent representative of this class is Hygea, one of the largest asteroids. This celestial body is located in the main asteroid belt. You can even see it with binoculars, but not always. It is well distinguishable during the perihelion period, i.e. at the moment when the asteroid is at the point of its orbit closest to the Sun. Has a dull dark surface.

Main characteristics of Hygea:

Diameter - 4 07 km.
Density - 2.56 g / cm 3.
Weight - 90.300.000.000.000.000.000 kg.
The acceleration of gravity is 0.15 m / s 2.
Orbital speed. The average value is 16.75 km / s.

Asteroid Matilda is located in the main belt. It has a fairly low speed of rotation around its axis: 1 revolution occurs in 17.5 Earth days. It contains many carbon compounds. The study of this asteroid was carried out using a spacecraft. The largest crater on Matilda is 20 km long.

The main characteristics of Matilda are as follows:

The diameter is almost 53 km.
Density - 1.3 g / cm 3.
Weight - 103.300.000.000.000.000 kg.
The acceleration of gravity is 0.01 m / s 2.
Orbit. Matilda completes a full orbit in 1572 Earth days.

Vesta is a representative of the largest asteroids of the main asteroid belt. It can be observed without using a telescope, i.e. with the naked eye, because the surface of this asteroid is bright enough. If the shape of Vesta were more rounded and symmetrical, then it could be attributed to dwarf planets.

This asteroid has an iron-nickel core covered with a stone mantle. The largest crater on Vesta is 460 km long and 13 km deep.

We list the main physical characteristics of Vesta:

Diameter - 525 km.
Weight. The value is in the range of 260.000.000.000.000.000.000 kg.
The density is about 3.46 g / cm 3.
Free fall acceleration - 0.22 m / s 2.
Orbital speed. The average orbital speed is 19.35 km / s. One revolution around the Vesta axis takes 5.3 hours.

Characteristics of comets of the solar system

A comet is a small celestial body. The orbits of comets pass around the Sun and have an elongated shape. These objects, approaching the Sun, form a trail consisting of gas and dust. Sometimes it remains in the form of a coma, i.e. a cloud that stretches over a huge distance - from 100,000 to 1.4 million km from the comet's nucleus. In other cases, the trail remains in the form of a tail, the length of which can reach 20 million km.

Halley is the celestial body of a group of comets, known to mankind since ancient times, because it can be seen with the naked eye.

Halley characteristics:

Weight. Approximately equal to 220.000.000.000.000 kg.
Density - 600 kg / m 3.
The period of revolution around the Sun is less than 200 years. Approximately 75-76 years later it will approach the star.
Composition - frozen water, metal and silicates.

Comet Hale-Bopp has been observed by mankind for almost 18 months, which indicates its long period. It is also called the "Big Comet of 1997". A distinctive feature of this comet is the presence of 3 types of tails. Along with gas and dust tails, a sodium one stretches behind it, the length of which reaches 50 million km.

The composition of the comet: deuterium (heavy water), organic compounds (formic, acetic acid, etc.), argon, crypto, etc. The period of revolution around the Sun is 2534 years. There are no reliable data on the physical characteristics of this comet.

Comet Tempel is famous for being the first comet to the surface of which a probe was delivered from Earth.

Characteristics of Comet Tempel:

Weight - within 79.000.000.000.000 kg.
Dimensions. Length - 7.6 km, width - 4.9 km.
Structure. Water, carbon dioxide, organic compounds, etc.
Orbit. Changes during the passage of a comet near Jupiter, gradually decreasing. Latest data: one revolution around the Sun is 5.52 years.

Over the years of studying the solar system, scientists have collected many interesting facts about celestial bodies. Consider those that depend on chemical and physical characteristics:

The largest celestial body in terms of mass and diameter is the Sun, in second place is Jupiter, and in third place is Saturn.
The greatest gravity is inherent in the Sun, the second place is occupied by Jupiter, and the third is Neptune.
Jupiter's gravity contributes to the active attraction of space debris. Its level is so high that the planet is capable of pulling debris from the Earth's orbit.
The hottest celestial body in the solar system is the sun - this is no secret to anyone. But the next figure of 480 degrees Celsius is recorded on Venus - the second most distant planet from the center. It would be logical to assume that the second place should be at Mercury, whose orbit passes closer to the Sun, but in fact the temperature indicator there is lower - 430 ° С. This is due to the presence of Venus and the absence of an atmosphere in Mercury, which is able to retain heat.
The coldest planet is Uranus.
To the question of which celestial body has the highest density within the solar system, the answer is simple - the density of the Earth. In second place is Mercury, and in third is Venus.
The trajectory of the orbit of Mercury provides a day on the planet, equal to 58 Earth days. The duration of one day on Venus is equal to 243 Earth days, while the year lasts only 225.

Watch a video about the celestial bodies of the solar system:

The study of the characteristics of celestial bodies allows mankind to make interesting discoveries, substantiate certain patterns, and also expand general knowledge about the Universe.

The planets of the solar system

According to the official position of the International Astronomical Union (IAU), the organization that assigns names to astronomical objects, there are only 8 planets.

Pluto was excluded from the category of planets in 2006. since in the Kuiper belt there are objects that are larger / or equal in size to Pluto. Therefore, even if it is taken for a full-fledged celestial body, then it is necessary to add Eris to this category, which has almost the same size with Pluto.

As defined by MAC, there are 8 known planets: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune.

All planets are divided into two categories depending on their physical characteristics: the terrestrial group and the gas giants.

Schematic representation of the location of the planets

Terrestrial planets

Mercury

The smallest planet in the solar system has a radius of only 2,440 km. The period of revolution around the Sun, for ease of understanding, equated to the Earth's year, is 88 days, while Mercury manages to complete a revolution around its own axis only one and a half times. Thus, his day lasts approximately 59 Earth days. For a long time, it was believed that this planet was all the time turned to the Sun by the same side, since the periods of its visibility from the Earth were repeated with a frequency approximately equal to four Mercury days. This misconception was dispelled with the advent of the possibility of using radar research and conducting constant observations using space stations. The orbit of Mercury is one of the most unstable, changing not only the speed of movement and its distance from the Sun, but also the position itself. Anyone interested can observe this effect.

Mercury in color, image from the MESSENGER spacecraft

The proximity to the Sun has caused Mercury to experience the largest temperature fluctuations among the planets of our system. The average daytime temperature is about 350 degrees Celsius, and the nighttime temperature is -170 ° C. Sodium, oxygen, helium, potassium, hydrogen and argon were found in the atmosphere. There is a theory that he was previously a satellite of Venus, but so far this remains unproven. He has no satellites of his own.

Venus

The second planet from the Sun, the atmosphere of which is almost entirely composed of carbon dioxide. It is often called the Morning Star and the Evening Star, because it is the first of the stars that becomes visible after sunset, just as before dawn it continues to be visible even when all other stars have disappeared from sight. The percentage of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is 96%, nitrogen in it is relatively small - almost 4%, and water vapor and oxygen are present in very small quantities.

Venus in the UV spectrum

This atmosphere creates a greenhouse effect, the surface temperature is therefore even higher than that of Mercury and reaches 475 ° C. It is considered the most leisurely, the Venusian day lasts 243 Earth days, which is almost equal to a year on Venus - 225 Earth days. Many call it the sister of the Earth because of its mass and radius, the values of which are very close to those of the Earth. The radius of Venus is 6052 km (0.85% of the Earth's). There are no satellites, like Mercury.

The third planet from the Sun and the only one in our system where there is liquid water on the surface, without which life on the planet could not develop. At least life as we know it. The radius of the Earth is 6371 km and, unlike the rest of the celestial bodies of our system, more than 70% of its surface is covered with water. The rest of the space is occupied by continents. Another feature of the Earth is the tectonic plates hidden under the planet's mantle. Moreover, they are able to move, albeit at a very low speed, which over time causes a change in the landscape. The speed of the planet moving along it is 29-30 km / sec.

Our planet from space

One revolution on its axis takes almost 24 hours, and the full orbital passage lasts 365 days, which is much longer in comparison with the nearest neighboring planets. The Earth's day and year are also accepted as a standard, but this is done only for the convenience of perception of time intervals on other planets. The Earth has one natural satellite - the Moon.

Mars

The fourth planet from the Sun, known for its tenuous atmosphere. Since 1960, Mars has been actively explored by scientists from several countries, including the USSR and the United States. Not all exploration programs have been successful, but water found in some areas suggests that primitive life on Mars exists, or has existed in the past.

The brightness of this planet allows you to see it from Earth without any instruments. Moreover, once every 15-17 years, during the Opposition, it becomes the brightest object in the sky, eclipsing even Jupiter and Venus.

The radius is almost half that of the Earth and is 3390 km, but the year is much longer - 687 days. He has 2 satellites - Phobos and Deimos .

An illustrative model of the solar system

Attention! Animation works only in browsers that support the -webkit standard (Google Chrome, Opera or Safari).

The sun
The sun is a star, which is a hot ball of incandescent gases at the center of our solar system. Its influence extends far beyond the orbits of Neptune and Pluto. Without the Sun and its intense energy and heat, there would be no life on Earth. There are billions of stars, like our Sun, scattered across the Milky Way galaxy.
Mercury
Scorched by the Sun, Mercury is only slightly larger than Earth's satellite Moon. Like the Moon, Mercury is practically devoid of an atmosphere and cannot smooth out the traces of impact from falling meteorites, therefore, like the Moon, it is covered with craters. The daytime side of Mercury gets very hot on the Sun, while on the night side the temperature drops hundreds of degrees below zero. There is ice in the craters of Mercury, which are located at the poles. Mercury makes one revolution around the Sun every 88 days.
Venus
Venus is a world of monstrous heat (even more than on Mercury) and volcanic activity. Similar in structure and size to Earth, Venus is covered in a thick and toxic atmosphere that creates a strong greenhouse effect. This scorched world is hot enough to melt lead. Radar images through the mighty atmosphere have revealed volcanoes and warped mountains. Venus rotates in the opposite direction from the rotation of most planets.
Earth is an ocean planet. Our home, with its abundance of water and life, makes it unique in our solar system. Other planets, including several moons, also have ice deposits, atmosphere, seasons and even weather, but only on Earth did all these components come together in such a way that life became possible.
Mars
Although details of the surface of Mars are difficult to see from Earth, telescope observations show that Mars has seasons and white spots at the poles. For decades, people believed that the bright and dark areas on Mars were patches of vegetation and that Mars might be a suitable place for life, and that water exists in the polar caps. When the spacecraft Mariner 4 flew off Mars in 1965, many of the scientists were shocked to see photographs of the gloomy planet covered in craters. Mars turned out to be a dead planet. Later missions, however, revealed that Mars holds many mysteries that still remain to be solved.
Jupiter
Jupiter is the most massive planet in our solar system, with four large moons and many small moons. Jupiter forms a kind of miniature solar system. To turn into a full-fledged star, Jupiter had to become 80 times more massive.
Saturn
Saturn is the farthest of the five planets that were known before the invention of the telescope. Like Jupiter, Saturn is composed primarily of hydrogen and helium. Its volume is 755 times that of the Earth. Winds in its atmosphere reach speeds of 500 meters per second. These fast winds, combined with the heat rising from the planet's interior, are causing the yellow and gold streaks we see in the atmosphere.
Uranus
The first planet found with a telescope, Uranus was discovered in 1781 by astronomer William Herschel. The seventh planet is so far from the Sun that one revolution around the Sun takes 84 years.
Neptune
Nearly 4.5 billion kilometers from the Sun, distant Neptune orbits. It takes 165 years for one revolution around the Sun. It is invisible to the naked eye due to its great distance from Earth. Interestingly, its unusual elliptical orbit intersects with the orbit of the dwarf planet Pluto, which is why Pluto is inside the orbit of Neptune for about 20 years out of 248 during which it makes one revolution around the Sun.
Pluto
Tiny, cold and incredibly distant, Pluto was discovered in 1930 and has long been considered the ninth planet. But after the discoveries of Pluto-like worlds that were even further away, Pluto was transferred to the category of dwarf planets in 2006.

Planets are giants

There are four gas giants located beyond the orbit of Mars: Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune. They are found in the outer solar system. They are distinguished by their massiveness and gas composition.

Planets of the solar system, not scaled

Jupiter

The fifth in a row from the Sun and the largest planet in our system. Its radius is 69912 km, it is 19 times larger than the Earth and only 10 times smaller than the Sun. The year on Jupiter is not the longest in the solar system, it lasts 4333 Earth days (less than 12 years). His own day has a duration of about 10 Earth hours. The exact composition of the planet's surface has not yet been determined, but it is known that krypton, argon and xenon are present on Jupiter in much larger quantities than on the Sun.

It is believed that one of the four gas giants is actually a failed star. This theory is supported by the largest number of satellites, of which Jupiter has many - as many as 67. To imagine their behavior in the planet's orbit, a sufficiently accurate and precise model of the solar system is needed. The largest of them are Callisto, Ganymede, Io and Europa. At the same time, Ganymede is the largest satellite of the planets in the entire solar system, its radius is 2634 km, which is 8% larger than the size of Mercury, the smallest planet in our system. Io differs in that it is one of three satellites with an atmosphere.

Saturn

The second largest planet and the sixth in the solar system. Compared to other planets, the composition of chemical elements is most similar to the Sun. The radius of the surface is 57350 km, the year is 10 759 days (almost 30 Earth years). The day here lasts a little longer than on Jupiter - 10.5 Earth hours. By the number of satellites, it is not much behind its neighbor - 62 against 67. The largest satellite of Saturn is Titan, just like Io, which has an atmosphere. Slightly smaller in size, but no less famous from this - Enceladus, Rhea, Dione, Tethys, Iapetus and Mimas. It is these satellites that are the objects for the most frequent observation, and therefore we can say that they are the most studied in comparison with the rest.

For a long time, the rings on Saturn were considered a unique phenomenon inherent only to him. It has only recently been established that rings are present in all gas giants, but in others they are not so clearly visible. Their origin has not yet been established, although there are several hypotheses about how they came about. In addition, more recently it was discovered that Rhea, one of the satellites of the sixth planet, also possesses a kind of rings.

The science

We all know from childhood that in the center of our solar system is the Sun, around which the four nearest terrestrial planets revolve, including Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars... They are followed by four gas giant planets: Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune.

After Pluto ceased to be considered a planet of the solar system in 2006, and passed into the category of dwarf planets, the number of major planets was reduced to 8.

Although the general structure is known to many, there are many myths and misconceptions regarding the solar system.

Here are 10 facts you may not have known about the solar system.

1. The hottest planet is not closest to the Sun

Many people know that Mercury is the planet closest to the Sun, whose distance is almost half the distance from the Earth to the Sun. Unsurprisingly, many people believe that Mercury is the hottest planet.

Actually the hottest planet in the solar system is Venus- the second planet close to the Sun, where the average temperature reaches 475 degrees Celsius. This is enough to melt tin and lead. At the same time, the maximum temperature on Mercury is about 426 degrees Celsius.

But due to the lack of atmosphere, the surface temperature of Mercury can vary by hundreds of degrees, while carbon dioxide on the surface of Venus maintains an almost constant temperature at any time of the day or night.

2. The boundary of the solar system a thousand times farther from Pluto

We used to think that the solar system extends to the orbit of Pluto. Today Pluto is not even considered the main planet, but this idea has remained in the minds of many people.

Scientists have discovered many objects orbiting the sun, which are located much further than Pluto. These are the so-called trans-Neptunian or Kuiper belt objects... The Kuiper Belt extends 50-60 AU (AU or the mean distance from the Earth to the Sun is 149,597,870,700 m).

3. Almost everything on planet Earth is a rare element

The earth is mainly composed of iron, oxygen, silicon, magnesium, sulfur, nickel, calcium, sodium and aluminum.

While all of these elements have been found in different places throughout the universe, they are only traces of elements that overshadow the abundance of hydrogen and helium. Thus, the Earth is mostly composed of rare elements. This does not mean any special place on planet Earth, since the cloud from which the Earth was formed contained large amounts of hydrogen and helium. But since these are light gases, they were carried away into space by the heat of the sun as the Earth formed.

4. The solar system has lost at least two planets

Pluto was originally considered a planet, but due to its very small size (much smaller than our Moon) it was renamed a dwarf planet. Astronomers also once believed that there was a planet Volcano which is closer to the Sun than Mercury. Its possible existence was talked about 150 years ago to explain some of the features of the orbit of Mercury. However, later observations ruled out the possibility of the existence of the Volcano.

In addition, recent studies have shown that it is possible that someday there was a fifth giant planet, similar to Jupiter, which revolved around the Sun, but was thrown out of the Solar System due to gravitational interactions with other planets.

5. Jupiter has the largest ocean of all planets

Jupiter, which orbits in cold space five times farther from the Sun than planet Earth, was able to hold much higher levels of hydrogen and helium during formation than our planet.

You could even say that Jupiter is mainly composed of hydrogen and helium... Considering the planet's mass and chemical composition, as well as the laws of physics, under cold clouds, an increase in pressure should lead to a transition of hydrogen to a liquid state. That is, Jupiter should have deepest ocean of liquid hydrogen.

According to computer models on this planet, not only is the largest ocean in the solar system, its depth is about 40,000 km, that is, it is equal to the circumference of the Earth.

6. Even the smallest bodies in the solar system have satellites

It was once believed that only such large objects as planets can have natural satellites or moons. The fact of the existence of satellites is sometimes even used to determine what the planet really is. It seems counterintuitive that small cosmic bodies can have enough gravity to hold a satellite. After all, Mercury and Venus don't have them, and Mars only have two tiny moons.

But in 1993, the Galileo interplanetary station discovered the satellite Dactyl, just 1.6 km wide, near the asteroid Ida. Have since been found satellites orbiting about 200 other small planets, which greatly complicated the definition of "planet".

7. We live inside the Sun

We usually think of the Sun as a huge hot ball of light located at a distance of 149.6 million km from the Earth. Actually the outer atmosphere of the sun extends much further than the visible surface.

Our planet orbits within its tenuous atmosphere, and we can see this when gusts of solar wind cause the appearance of the aurora. In this sense, we live inside the Sun. But the solar atmosphere doesn't end on Earth. The aurora can be seen on Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and even distant Neptune. The farthest region of the solar atmosphere is the heliosphere extends for at least 100 astronomical units. It is about 16 billion kilometers. But since the atmosphere has the shape of a drop due to the movement of the Sun in space, its tail can reach from ten to hundreds of billions of kilometers.

8. Saturn is not the only planet with rings

While Saturn's rings are by far the most beautiful and easy to observe, Jupiter, Uranus and Neptune also have rings... While Saturn's bright rings are composed of icy particles, Jupiter's very dark rings are mostly dust particles. They may contain minor fragments of decayed meteorites and asteroids, and possibly particles from the volcanic moon Io.

The ring system of Uranus is slightly more visible than that of Jupiter, and may have formed after the collision of small satellites. Neptune's rings are faint and dark, just like Jupiter's. Faint rings of Jupiter, Uranus and Neptune cannot be seen through small telescopes from Earth therefore Saturn became best known for its rings.

Contrary to popular belief, in the solar system there is a body with an atmosphere essentially similar to that of the earth. This is the satellite of Saturn - Titan... It is larger than our Moon and is close in size to the planet Mercury. Unlike the atmospheres of Venus and Mars, which are much thicker and thinner, respectively, than Earth's, and are composed of carbon dioxide, Titan's atmosphere is mostly nitrogen.

The Earth's atmosphere is approximately 78 percent nitrogen. The similarity with the Earth's atmosphere, and especially the presence of methane and other organic molecules, led scientists to believe that Titan can be considered an analogue of the early Earth, or there is some kind of biological activity. For this reason, Titan is considered the best place in the solar system to look for signs of life.