Solar System and the nine planets
Category : Solar System Tags : history planetThe formation of the Solar System started to take place some 4.6 billion years ago from a nebula likely to be several light years across. The angular momentum causes the nebula to rotate and at the center of the nebula, it become increasingly hot and dense and eventually creating a protostar. Within another 50 million years, thermonuclear fusion begins to take place thus created the Sun, core of our Solar System.
The Sun is the core of our Solar System. It is a very massive star with mass approximately 332,900 times the mass of Earth covering about 99.86 percent of the mass of the entire Solar System. With this enormous mass, the Sun could produce enough gravitational force to retain all the orbiting planets in the Solar System.
There are four inner planets near the Sun known as the terrestrial planets consist of the planet Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars. These terrestrial planets are mostly composed of rock and metals. The other four outer planets which are the Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune are known as the Gas Giants. These massive planets are composed mainly of hydrogen and helium.
In between planet Mars and Jupiter lays an asteroid belt which mainly composed of rock and metal. Another belt lies beyond Neptune? orbit which is composed of ices known as the Kuiper belt.
The closest planet to the Sun is Mercury resided 0.4AU from it. Mercury is the smallest planet in the Solar System with 0.055 Earth masses. This planet barely has an atmosphere.
Venus located 0.7 AU from the Sun and its size is just a slight lesser than of Earth, 0.815 Earth masses. Similar to Earth, Venus has a thick silica mantel around its iron core. Venus has a very dense atmosphere and the planet surface temperature reaches over 400 degrees centigrade.
Earth as we know it, it the only known planet in the universe where life exist. A hydrosphere covering two third of the planet? surface. Earth has one natural satellite known to us as Moon.
Mars is also known as the Red Planet resided 1.5 AU from the Sun. it has 0.107 Earth masses and its atmosphere consist of mostly carbon dioxide. Mars has two natural satellite or moon, Phobos and Deimos.
The Asteroid belt located outside the Mars orbital ring about 2.3 AU. Asteroids of all sizes ranging from a small grain to hundreds of kilometer across lay along the belt region. As some of these asteroids could size up to a few hundred km in diameter, it is mass enough to have its own gravity to hold up in a spherical shape and pull other asteroid into its orbit.
The outer region of the Solar System is where the gas giants are. These sheer sized planets are mostly composed of ice such as water, ammonia or methane instead of the rocky structure of the terrestrial planets.
The four giant planets Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune make up 99 percent of the mass of all planets in the Solar System.
Jupiter resided 5.2 AU from the Sun. It is the largest planet in the Solar System with 318 Earth masses. Jupiter? atmosphere is mainly composed of hydrogen and helium.
Jupiter has 63 known satellites orbiting the planet. The largest satellite, Ganymede is the largest in the Solar System and is even larger than the planet Mercury.
Saturn is the most unique planet in the Solar System with its extensive ring system surrounding the planet. Located 9.5 AU from the Sun, Saturn has a similar atmospheric composition of Jupiter and it is the second largest planet in the Solar System with 95 Earth masses. Saturn has 60 known satellites with the largest Titan which is also larger then the planet Mercury and is the only known satellite with a substantial atmosphere.
Uranus resided at 19.6 AU from Sun has a mass of 14 Earth masses. Uranus has 27 known satellites orbiting the planet.
Neptune is the outermost planet in the Solar System at 30 AU. It has 17 Earth masses and has 13 known satellites orbiting the planet.
Pluto which is one part of the Solar System planetary system has been reclassified as a dwarf planet in 2006 under the formal definition of planet. It resided 39 AU from the Sun.
Astronomical measuring units.
AU (Astronomical Unit). 1 AU is equivalent to the distance between the Earth and the Sun, approximately 149.6 million km
Light Year. 1 light year is the distance travel by light in one year. Light travel at a speed of 300,000km per seconds.
That would be equivalent to 9,460,000,000,000km or 5,880,000,000,000 miles.
Solar System Planetary List
| Planet | Diameter km | Mass kg | Distance AU | No. of Satellite |
| Mercury | 4,880 | 3.30E+23 | 0.4 | 0 |
| Venus | 12,104 | 4.87E+24 | 0.7 | 0 |
| Earth | 12,756 | 5.98E+24 | 1.0 | 1 |
| Mars | 6,794 | 6.42E+23 | 1.5 | 2 |
| Jupiter | 142,984 | 1.90E+27 | 5.2 | 63 |
| Saturn | 120,536 | 5.69E+26 | 9.5 | 60 |
| Uranus | 51,118 | 8.69E+25 | 19.6 | 27 |
| Neptune | 49,528 | 1.02E+26 | 30 | 13 |
| Pluto | 2,320 | 1.31E+22 | 39 | 1 |
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