From school course We know that all the planets in our solar system vary in mass, that there are giant storms on the Sun, and that huge hurricanes also rage on the gas giants. But modern astronomy has been actively developing over the past few years, leading to mind-blowing discoveries.
1. Surface of Mars
Mars is greatly underestimated: modern astronomers are discussing the possibility that Mars may once have been home to ancient forms of bacteria or oceans liquid water. More recently, it has become known that many species of the first microbes to appear on Earth originated on Mars and only then they got to Earth with the help of asteroids.
Sometimes we see in the media some of the most mind-blowing photographs of the most strange features surface of the Red Planet, and all this increases interest in Mars as a planet with a mysterious past. In 2006, the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter began operating in orbit around Mars, and its camera took incredible pictures of many regions of the planet.
The image below shows the trails left by huge dust devils - the Martian equivalent of a tornado. They blow away the top layer of soil, which consists mainly of iron oxide (the substance responsible for the red tint of the soil), revealing dark gray layers of basalt.
2. The missing planet
Astronomers have long noticed discrepancies in the orbits of the outer gas giants, which, in particular, contradict most of our models depicting the early years after the formation of the Solar System. There is a hypothesis that previously there was another planet in the solar system with a mass of several tens of Earth’s.
The hypothetical planet, sometimes called Tycho, was most likely ejected from the solar system billions of years ago in interstellar space, where she is doomed to rush between systems until the end of time.
This planet could be located billions of kilometers beyond the orbit of Pluto in a region that is extremely poorly illuminated by the Sun. Its orbit was elliptical, and it took millions of years to complete one revolution around the Sun. Taken together, these factors explain why such a planet would be undetectable.
3. Diamond rain on Neptune and Uranus
Besides the mystery shrouding the strange orbits of these planets, there is another: they both have magnetic poles, shifted as much as 60° away from their geological poles. One explanation for this is that the planets once collided or swallowed up another unknown planet.
Based on information about the strange tilt of Uranus and Neptune, as well as high concentration carbon in their atmospheres, astronomers believe that Neptune and Uranus have huge oceans of liquid carbon with solid diamond icebergs drifting on the waves. These planets can also rain tiny pieces of diamond.
4. The Earth is shrouded in a halo of dark matter
Dark matter is one of the deepest mysteries of modern cosmology. Astronomers know that we are missing something extremely important to decipher its properties, but we know that dark matter makes up a huge part of total mass Universe.
Now we already know something about the properties of dark matter: in particular, it serves as a kind of anchor that holds galaxies and solar systems together. Thus, dark matter also plays a role in internal work our Solar System, which is especially noticeable when observing its impact on space technology.
A phenomenon known as the flyby anomaly proves that some of our spacecraft and companions inexplicably change their orbital speeds during flight to or from Earth. This indirectly proves that the Earth is shrouded in a huge halo of dark matter: if dark matter were visible in the optical range, the halo would be comparable in size to Jupiter.
5. On Titan you could attach wings to your back and fly
Titan, a satellite of Saturn, is one of the most beautiful places in the solar system: it rains gaseous substances, and on its surface you can see a large concentration liquid methane and ethane.
It doesn’t seem to sound too attractive for a space traveler. However, Titan is favored by the amazing combination of low gravity on its surface and low Atmosphere pressure: If the people on Titan attached artificial wings to their backs, they could fly. Of course, for now, without proper equipment, being on Titan is deadly, but what is death compared to flying?
6. Our solar system has a tail
A month ago, one of NASA's missions revealed the presence of a tail in the solar system, shaped like a four-leaf clover.
The tail, called heliotail, consists of neutral particles that cannot be seen with traditional means. Thus, to obtain correct image particles were needed special tools. Scientists had to take several separate images and then combine them together to get a complete picture.
Heliotail extends more than 13 billion km beyond the outermost planet, and strong winds propel particles out of the solar system in all directions at 1.6 million km/h.
7. The Sun's magnetic field changes slightly
In fact, the Sun is quite predictable: it follows a continuous eleven-year cycle, at certain points in which the Sun is at its peak of activity, before activity declines again, at which time the Sun reverses its polarity.
According to NASA, all signs indicate that this event will occur very soon, perhaps within the next few months - changes have already begun at the North Pole.
Of course, you shouldn’t expect fiery rain in the sky - solar activity will simply increase.
8. We are surrounded by black holes
There are several types. First, there are stellar-mass black holes - the most common type formed during the destruction of massive star. This occurs when the star no longer has the necessary hydrogen for nuclear fusion, which leads to the combustion of helium. Because of this, the star becomes unstable, which leads to one of two scenarios: compression into neutron star or collapse into a black hole.
Eventually, many of these black holes merge to form supermassive black holes, and our Galaxy, like millions of others, orbits a central supermassive black hole.
Another type of black hole, called Planck black hole, can bombard the Earth constantly. These tiny atom-like formations could theoretically be produced by collisions in a particle accelerator, where beams of protons collide at near the speed of light.
There is no reason to worry. In most cases, Planck black holes disintegrate immediately without causing any damage. Such black hole in order to absorb even one atom of matter, it takes much more time than our Universe exists, not to mention an object of such mass as the Earth.
9. Jupiter's magnetosphere could swallow the Sun
Jupiter is the most large object in the solar system, not counting, of course, the Sun: it is so huge that 1,400 Earth-sized planets could fit in it.
Jupiter's magnetosphere is the most powerful and largest magnetosphere in the Solar System, it is even stronger than that of the Sun, and could easily absorb the Sun along with its visible corona.
To make the picture a little clearer (since the sizes of the Sun and Jupiter are still difficult to compare), we note the following: if we could see the magnetosphere of Jupiter from here on Earth, it would appear larger than full moon in our sky. In addition, in some areas of Jupiter's magnetosphere the temperature is higher than on the surface of the Sun.
10. Strange life forms may exist on gas giants
Life can arise in the most incredible conditions. In particular, bacteria have recently been discovered to thrive in deep geothermal vents on the ocean floor, where temperatures are above the boiling point.
Despite this, Jupiter seems a dubious place for the origin of life. It's basically a giant cloud of gas, isn't it? Life, it would seem, simply cannot arise there, let alone develop in any way.
Perhaps this opinion is wrong. An experiment conducted in the early 1950s, known as the Miller-Urey experiment, showed that we could create organic compounds, which are the first steps for the emergence of life, through lightning and the right chemical compounds.
Given this information and the fact that Jupiter meets a number of requirements, such as the presence of water (Jupiter may have largest ocean liquid water in our solar system), methane, molecular hydrogen and ammonia, it is possible that the gas giant could be the cradle of life.
However, Jupiter has higher atmospheric pressure than any other planet in the solar system. They also blow on Jupiter strong winds, which could hypothetically facilitate the spread of the corresponding compounds. This suggests that life would take a long time to emerge under such conditions, but many believe that certain forms Ammonia-based life may thrive in the clouds upper layers atmosphere where temperature and pressure maintain water in a liquid state.
One of the supporters of this idea, Carl Sagan, believes that in the atmosphere of Jupiter there may be various shapes life: hunters, scavengers, “prey” - they can all play a role in a hypothetical the food chain Jupiter.
It's hard to believe, but once upon a time Space was completely empty. There were no planets, no satellites, no stars. Where did they come from? How was the Solar System formed? These questions have troubled humanity for many centuries. This article will help give some idea of what Space is and reveal interesting facts about the planets of the Solar System.
How it all began
The Universe is the entire visible and invisible Cosmos, along with all existing cosmic bodies. Several theories have been put forward for its appearance:
3. Divine intervention. Our Universe is so unique, everything in it is thought out to the smallest detail, that it could not arise by itself. Only the Great Creator can create such a miracle. Absolutely not scientific theory, but has a right to exist.
Disputes about the reasons for the true emergence of outer space continue. In fact, we have an idea of the solar system, which includes a burning star and eight planets with their satellites, galaxies, stars, comets, black holes and much more.
Amazing discoveries or interesting facts about the planets of the solar system
Outer space beckons with its mystery. Each celestial body keeps its own mystery. Thanks to astronomical discoveries Valuable information about heavenly wanderers appears.
Closest to the sun is Mercury. There is an opinion that he was once a satellite of Venus. But due to space catastrophe the cosmic body separated from Venus and acquired own orbit. A year on Mercury lasts 88 days, and a day lasts 59 days.
Mercury – the only planet solar system in which one can observe the movement of the sun in reverse side. This phenomenon has a completely logical explanation. The speed of the planet's rotation around its axis is much slower than the movement in its orbit. Due to this difference in speed limits and the effect of changing the movement of the Sun occurs.
On Mercury you can observe a fantastic phenomenon: two sunsets and sunrises. And if you move to the 0˚ and 180̊ meridians, you can witness three sunsets and sunrises per day.
Venus comes next after Mercury. It lights up in the sky during sunset on Earth, but can only be observed for a couple of hours. Because of this feature, she was nicknamed " Evening Star" It is interesting that the orbit of Venus lies inside the orbit of our planet. But it moves along it in the opposite direction, counterclockwise. A year on the planet lasts 225 days, and 1 day lasts 243 Earth days. Venus, like the Moon, has a change of phases, transforming either into a thin sickle or into a wide circle. There is an assumption that some types of terrestrial bacteria can live in the atmosphere of Venus.
Earth- truly the pearl of the solar system. Only on it there is a huge variety life forms. People feel so comfortable on this planet and don’t even realize that it is rushing along its orbit at a speed of 108,000 km per hour.
The fourth planet from the Sun is Mars. He is accompanied by two companions. A day on this planet is equal in length to that of Earth – 24 hours. But 1 year lasts 668 days. Just like on Earth, the seasons change here. Seasons cause changes in appearance planets.
Jupiter- the biggest space giant. It has many satellites (more than 60 pieces) and 5 rings. Its mass exceeds the Earth by 318 times. But, despite its impressive size, it moves quite quickly. Around own axis turns around in just 10 hours, but covers the distance around the Sun in 12 years.
The weather on Jupiter is bad - constant storms and hurricanes, accompanied by lightning. A bright representative similar weather conditions is the Great Red Spot - a vortex moving at a speed of 435 km/h.
Distinctive feature Saturn, definitely are his rings. These flat formations are made of dust and ice. The thickness of the circles ranges from 10 - 15 m to 1 km, width from 3,000 km to 300,000 km. The rings of the planet are not a single whole, but are formed in the form of thin spokes. The planet is also surrounded by more than 62 satellites.
Saturn has an incredibly high rotation rate, so much so that it is compressed at the poles. A day on the planet lasts 10 hours, a year lasts 30 years.
Uranus, like Venus, it moves around the star counterclockwise. The uniqueness of the planet lies in the fact that it “lies on its side”, its axis tilted at an angle of 98˚. There is a theory that the planet took this position after a collision with another space object.
Like Saturn, Uranus has a complex ring system consisting of a collection of inner and outer rings. Uranus has 13 of them in total. It is believed that the rings are the remains of a former satellite of Uranus that collided with the planet.
Uranus does not have a solid surface; a third of its radius, approximately 8,000 km, is a gas shell.
Neptune - last planet Solar system. It is surrounded by 6 dark rings. The most beautiful shade sea wave The planet is given by methane, which is present in the atmosphere. Neptune completes one orbit in 164 years. But it moves quickly enough around its axis, and a day passes in
16 hours. In some places, Neptune's orbit intersects with Pluto's orbit.
Neptune has a large number of satellites. Basically, they all orbit in front of Neptune's orbit and are called internal. There are only two external satellites accompanying the planet.
You can observe it on Neptune. However, the flares are too weak and occur throughout the planet, and not exclusively at the poles, as on Earth.
Once upon a time in outer space there were 9 planets. This number included Pluto. But due to its small size, the astronomical community has classified it as a dwarf planet (asteroid).
Here are some interesting facts and amazing stories about the planets of the solar system are discovered in the process of exploring the black depths of space.
Jupiter swallows space debris
We all know that Jupiter is a planet with a big red spot on its surface and a storm that never stops. Did you know that Jupiter is vital to the safety of the Earth? This is the largest planet and its correspondingly largest gravitational force attracts space debris, which would be extremely dangerous if it entered our orbit. Scientists have recorded a number of cases when, thanks to the gravitational force of Jupiter, space debris went beyond the solar system.
There are five dwarf planets in our solar system
It's amazing how different they are cosmic bodies, like "dwarf planets", the moon and full-fledged planets. Dwarf planets are fairly large celestial bodies that do not dominate their orbit to be called true planets. However, they do not orbit other planets like the Moon. Five dwarf planets include the recently demoted Pluto, Ceres, Eris, Haumea and Makemake.
There are not so many asteroids in the solar system
Although it has been scientifically proven that our solar system has a large asteroid belt between Jupiter and Mars, and also not large groups asteroids, we believe movies more. We imagine spaceships scurrying between asteroids. In fact, there is so much space between them that there is no need to scurry around.
Venus is the hottest planet
Most would think that Mercury should be the hottest because it is closest to the Sun. However, Mercury does not have an atmosphere that stores heat precisely because it is so close to the Sun. Venus is the hottest because of its dense atmosphere that traps heat. Do you want more? She rotates in opposite direction compared to most planets.
Pluto's status has long been questioned
Although many of us have long known that Pluto is a planet, the recent decision to deprive it of this status is not at all spontaneous. In fact, Pluto's status as a planet has been debated in astronomical academic circles for nearly thirty years. The main reason for such discussions was the tiny size of Pluto. It is one hundred and seventy times smaller than the Earth.
One day on Mercury is 58 Earth days
Mercury has an unusual orbital trajectory that makes it day ( full turn) equal to almost sixty Earth days. And if you were to look at the Sun from Mercury, its orbit would make the Sun appear to move forward and backward across the sky.
The seasons on Uranus last twenty years
Uranus has an inclination angle of 82 degrees, making it appear to be lying on its side in orbit. Each season on the planet is equal to 20 Earth years. It is quite possible that this is the reason for such strange weather phenomena on this "littered" planet.
The mass of the solar system is 99% the mass of the sun
We all know that the Sun is big, VERY big, but because it is small in the sky, it is difficult for us to imagine how big it is. Here are some measurements. The Sun makes up more than 99% of the total mass of the Solar System (including planets, moons, asteroids, etc.).
You'd weigh less on the moon
We all know that the mass of the Moon is much less than the mass of the Earth, which means that the gravitational force there is much less, more precisely six times. Who is looking for a quick weight loss program?
Saturn isn't the only planet with rings
Despite what we were told in school, Saturn is not the only planet that has rings made of small rocks, ice and other particles. This is simply the only planet where we can see these rings from Earth. In fact, Jupiter, Neptune and Uranus also have rings.
Uranus has nine bright rings and several fainter ones. It seems ours school knowledge information about the solar system is quite scarce. We bet you would more attention would have spent in school if you had been told these ten facts.
The solar system is a group of planets revolving in specific orbits around a bright star - the Sun. This star is the main source of heat and light in the solar system.
It is believed that our planetary system was formed as a result of the explosion of one or more stars and this happened about 4.5 billion years ago. At first, the solar system was an accumulation of gas and dust particles, however, over time and under the influence of its own mass, the Sun and other planets arose.
Planets of the Solar System
At the center of the solar system is the Sun, around which eight planets move in their orbits: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune.
Until 2006, Pluto also belonged to this group of planets; it was considered the 9th planet from the Sun, however, due to its significant distance from the Sun and small size, it was excluded from this list and called a dwarf planet. More precisely, it is one of several dwarf planets in the Kuiper belt.
All of the above planets are usually divided into two large groups: the terrestrial group and the gas giants.
The terrestrial group includes such planets as: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars. They are distinguished by their small size and rocky surface, and in addition, they are located closest to the Sun.
Gas giants include: Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune. They are characterized by big sizes and the presence of rings representing ice dust and rocky chunks. These planets consist mainly of gas.
Sun
The Sun is the star around which all the planets and satellites in the solar system revolve. It consists of hydrogen and helium. The Sun is 4.5 billion years old and is only halfway through its life cycle, gradually increases in size. Now the diameter of the Sun is 1,391,400 km. In just the same number of years, this star will expand and reach the orbit of the Earth.
The sun is the source of heat and light for our planet. Its activity increases or becomes weaker every 11 years.
Due to the extremely high temperatures on its surface detailed study The sun is extremely difficult, but attempts to launch a special device as close to the star as possible continue.
Terrestrial group of planets
Mercury
This planet is one of the smallest in the solar system, its diameter is 4,879 km. In addition, it is closest to the Sun. This proximity predetermined a significant temperature difference. average temperature on Mercury in daytime is +350 degrees Celsius, and at night - -170 degrees.
If we take the Earth year as a guide, Mercury makes a full revolution around the Sun in 88 days, and one day there lasts 59 Earth days. It was noticed that this planet can periodically change the speed of its rotation around the Sun, its distance from it and its position.
There is no atmosphere on Mercury; therefore, it is often attacked by asteroids and leaves behind a lot of craters on its surface. Sodium, helium, argon, hydrogen, and oxygen were discovered on this planet.
A detailed study of Mercury is very difficult due to its close proximity to the Sun. Sometimes Mercury can be seen from Earth with the naked eye.
According to one theory, it is believed that Mercury was previously a satellite of Venus, however, this assumption has not yet been proven. Mercury does not have its own satellite.
Venus
This planet is the second from the Sun. In size it is close to the diameter of the Earth, the diameter is 12,104 km. In all other respects, Venus differs significantly from our planet. A day here lasts 243 Earth days, and a year lasts 255 days. The atmosphere of Venus is 95% composed of carbon dioxide, which creates on its surface Greenhouse effect. This results in an average temperature on the planet of 475 degrees Celsius. The atmosphere also contains 5% nitrogen and 0.1% oxygen.
Unlike Earth, most of whose surface is covered with water, there is no liquid on Venus, and almost the entire surface is occupied by frozen basaltic lava. According to one theory, there used to be oceans on this planet, however, as a result of internal heating, they evaporated and the vapors were carried away solar wind V space. Near the surface of Venus, weak winds blow, however, at an altitude of 50 km their speed increases significantly and amounts to 300 meters per second.
Venus has many craters and hills that resemble earth's continents. The formation of craters is associated with the fact that the planet previously had a less dense atmosphere.
A distinctive feature of Venus is that, unlike other planets, its movement occurs not from west to east, but from east to west. It can be seen from Earth even without the help of a telescope after sunset or before sunrise. This is due to the ability of its atmosphere to reflect light well.
Venus has no satellite.
Earth
Our planet is located at a distance of 150 million km from the Sun, and this allows us to create on its surface a temperature suitable for the existence of liquid water, and, therefore, for the emergence of life.
Its surface is 70% covered with water, and it is the only planet to contain such an amount of liquid. It is believed that many thousands of years ago, steam contained in the atmosphere created the temperature on the Earth's surface necessary for the formation of water in liquid form, and solar radiation contributed to photosynthesis and the birth of life on the planet.
The peculiarity of our planet is that under earth's crust there are huge tectonic plates, which, moving, collide with each other and lead to changes in the landscape.
The diameter of the Earth is 12,742 km. An earthly day lasts 23 hours 56 minutes 4 seconds, and a year lasts 365 days 6 hours 9 minutes 10 seconds. Its atmosphere is 77% nitrogen, 21% oxygen and a small percentage of other gases. None of the atmospheres of other planets in the solar system has such an amount of oxygen.
According to scientific research, the age of the Earth is 4.5 billion years, approximately the same amount of time it has existed the only satellite Moon. It is always turned to our planet with only one side. There are many craters, mountains and plains on the surface of the Moon. It reflects very little sunlight, so it is visible from Earth in the pale moonlight.
Mars
This planet is the fourth from the Sun and is 1.5 times more distant from it than the Earth. The diameter of Mars is smaller than Earth's and is 6,779 km. The average air temperature on the planet ranges from -155 degrees to +20 degrees at the equator. The magnetic field on Mars is much weaker than that of Earth, and the atmosphere is quite thin, which allows unhindered solar radiation influence the surface. In this regard, if there is life on Mars, it is not on the surface.
When surveyed with the help of Mars rovers, it was found that there are many mountains on Mars, as well as dried river beds and glaciers. The surface of the planet is covered with red sand. It is iron oxide that gives Mars its color.
One of the most frequent events on the planet are dust storms, which are voluminous and destructive. It was not possible to detect geological activity on Mars, however, it is reliably known that significant geological events previously occurred on the planet.
The atmosphere of Mars consists of 96% carbon dioxide, 2.7% nitrogen and 1.6% argon. Oxygen and water vapor are present in minimal quantities.
A day on Mars is similar in length to those on Earth and is 24 hours 37 minutes 23 seconds. A year on the planet lasts twice as long as on Earth - 687 days.
The planet has two satellites Phobos and Deimos. They have small sizes and an uneven shape reminiscent of asteroids.
Sometimes Mars is also visible from Earth with the naked eye.
Gas giants
Jupiter
This planet is the largest in the solar system and has a diameter of 139,822 km, which is 19 times larger than Earth. A day on Jupiter lasts 10 hours, and a year is approximately 12 Earth years. Jupiter is mainly composed of xenon, argon and krypton. If it were 60 times larger, it could become a star due to a spontaneous thermonuclear reaction.
The average temperature on the planet is -150 degrees Celsius. The atmosphere consists of hydrogen and helium. There is no oxygen or water on its surface. There is an assumption that there is ice in the atmosphere of Jupiter.
Jupiter has a huge number of satellites - 67. The largest of them are Io, Ganymede, Callisto and Europa. Ganymede is one of the most large satellites in the Solar System. Its diameter is 2634 km, which is approximately the size of Mercury. In addition, a thick layer of ice can be seen on its surface, under which there may be water. Callisto is considered the most ancient of the satellites, since it is its surface that has greatest number craters.
Saturn
This planet is the second largest in the solar system. Its diameter is 116,464 km. It is most similar in composition to the Sun. A year on this planet lasts quite a long time, almost 30 Earth years, and a day lasts 10.5 hours. The average surface temperature is -180 degrees.
Its atmosphere consists mainly of hydrogen and a small amount of helium. Thunderstorms and auroras often occur in its upper layers.
Saturn is unique in that it has 65 moons and several rings. The rings are made up of small particles of ice and rock formations. Ice dust perfectly reflects light, so Saturn's rings are very clearly visible through a telescope. However, it is not the only planet with a diadem; it is just less noticeable on other planets.
Uranus
Uranus is the third largest planet in the solar system and the seventh from the Sun. It has a diameter of 50,724 km. It is also called the “ice planet”, as the temperature on its surface is -224 degrees. A day on Uranus lasts 17 hours, and a year lasts 84 earthly years. Moreover, summer lasts as long as winter - 42 years. This a natural phenomenon This is due to the fact that the axis of that planet is located at an angle of 90 degrees to the orbit and it turns out that Uranus seems to be “lying on its side.”
Uranus has 27 moons. The most famous of them are: Oberon, Titania, Ariel, Miranda, Umbriel.
Neptune
Neptune is the eighth planet from the Sun. It is similar in composition and size to its neighbor Uranus. The diameter of this planet is 49,244 km. A day on Neptune lasts 16 hours, and a year is equal to 164 Earth years. Neptune is an ice giant and for a long time it was believed that no weather phenomena occurred on its icy surface. However, it was recently discovered that Neptune has raging vortices and wind speeds that are the highest among the planets in the solar system. It reaches 700 km/h.
Neptune has 14 moons, the most famous of which is Triton. It is known to have its own atmosphere.
Neptune also has rings. This planet has 6 of them.
Interesting facts about the planets of the solar system
Compared to Jupiter, Mercury seems like a dot in the sky. These are the actual proportions in the solar system:
Venus is often called the Morning and Evening Star, since it is the first of the stars visible in the sky at sunset and the last to disappear from visibility at dawn.
An interesting fact about Mars is the fact that methane was found on it. Due to the thin atmosphere, it constantly evaporates, which means that the planet has a constant source of this gas. Such a source could be living organisms inside the planet.
There are no seasons on Jupiter. Most big mystery is the so-called “Great Red Spot”. Its origin on the surface of the planet has not yet been fully elucidated. Scientists suggest that it was formed by a huge hurricane, which has been rotating at very high speed for several centuries.
An interesting fact is that Uranus, like many planets in the solar system, has its own ring system. Due to the fact that the particles that make up them do not reflect light well, the rings could not be detected immediately after the discovery of the planet.
Neptune has a rich blue color, so it was named after the ancient Roman god - the master of the seas. Due to its distant location, this planet was one of the last to be discovered. At the same time, its location was calculated mathematically, and after time it was able to be seen, and precisely in the calculated place.
Light from the Sun reaches the surface of our planet in 8 minutes.
The solar system, despite its long and careful study, still conceals many mysteries and secrets that have yet to be revealed. One of the most fascinating hypotheses is the assumption of the presence of life on other planets, the search for which is actively continuing.
Astrophysics - comparatively young science. But it was she who began to study interesting facts about the planets solar system, everything about their structure and composition. Having separated from astronomy, she studies physical composition celestial bodies.
The sky has always been the object of close attention and interest of mankind. The stars have been observed since the time of the mythical Atlantis. The structure of celestial bodies, the trajectories of their movement, the change of seasons on Earth - all this was attributed to the influence of stars. Many theories were confirmed, others were rejected. Over time it was discovered that the Earth not the only planet in our galaxy.
In contact with
List of celestial bodies
Moving on to the description interesting features each, you need to list all the small and large planets of the solar system. A table indicating the position from the sun will be placed just below. Here we will limit ourselves to an alphabetical listing:
- Venus;
- Earth;
- Mars;
- Mercury;
- Neptune;
- Saturn;
- Jupiter;
- Uranus.
Attention! It is noteworthy that the top three included bodies on which, according to science fiction writers, people would eventually settle. Scientists doubt this option, but everything is subject to science fiction.
Curious facts
Everyone has seen the film “Carnival Night,” so there is no need to retell the plot. But even in terms of New Year's celebrations, which are discussed in the film, there should be a report on the topic: “Is there life on Mars?”
What happened to the lecturer and the report itself is well known to the audience. There is often information about Mars in the news.
Astronomical information also includes the fact that it rotates along the fourth trajectory, if we count from the Sun, belongs to the terrestrial group etc.
Mars
It is interesting that all the names of the nearest planets are named after ancient Roman gods. Mars is the god of war ancient mythology. There is a little confusion as many consider him to be a fertility god. Both are right. The Romans considered him the god of fertility, who could both destroy and save the harvest. Then, already in ancient Greek mythology, he received the name Ares (Mars) - the god of war.
Attention! Red Planet - Mars acquired its unofficial name due to great content iron on the surface, which gives it a reddish tint. God received his formidable name in Greek mythology for the same reason. The reddish tint resembled the color of blood.
Few people know that the first month of spring is named after the god of fertility. It sounds the same in almost any language. Mars - March, Mars – March.
Mars is considered one of the most interesting planets in the solar system for children:
- The highest point on Earth three times lower than high point Mars. Mount Everest is over 8 km high. Mount Olympus (Mars) - 27 km.
- Due to weaker gravity on Mars you can jump three times higher.
- Like Earth, Mars has 4 seasons. Each lasts 6 months, and the entire a year is 687 Earth days(2 earth years -365x2=730).
- He has his own Bermuda Triangle" Of every three satellites launched towards it, only one returns. Two disappear.
- Moons of Mars (there are two of them) revolve around it for about same speed towards each other. Because orbital radii are different, they never collide.
Venus
An inexperienced user will immediately answer that the most hot planet solar system, it is the first from the sun - Mercury. However our Earth's twin Venus will easily give him a head start. Mercury has no atmosphere, and although it 44 days heated by the Sun, it spends the same number of days cooling down (A year on Mercury is 88 days). Venus due to the presence of an atmosphere with a high content of carbon dioxide holds high temperature constantly.
Attention! Located between Mercury and Earth, Venus is almost constantly under a “greenhouse” cap. The temperature stays around 462 degrees. For comparison, lead melts at a temperature of 327 degrees.
Facts about Venus:
- She has no companions, but itself is so bright that it can cast a shadow.
- A day on it lasts more than a year - 243 earth days(year - 225).
- 3. All planets in the Solar System rotate counterclockwise . Only Venus rotates the other way.
- The wind speed on it can reach 360 km/h.
Mercury
Mercury - first planet from the sun. Let's consider interesting information about him:
- Despite the dangerous proximity with his hot neighbor, he there are glaciers.
- Mercury boasts geysers. Because there is no oxygen on it, they consist of pure hydrogen.
- American research satellites detected presence of a small magnetic field.
- Mercury is eccentric. Its trajectory has an ellipse, the maximum diameter of which is almost twice the minimum.
- Mercury is covered in wrinkles and, since it has a minimum atmospheric thickness. As a result inner core cools down, shrinking. Therefore, his mantle was covered with wrinkles, the height of which could reach hundreds of meters.
Saturn
Saturn, despite minimal amount light and warmth, not covered by glaciers, since its main components are gases: helium and hydrogen. It is one of the ringed planets in the Solar System. Galileo, who first saw the planet, suggested that the rings were a trace of the movement of two satellites, but they rotate very quickly.
Interesting information:
- Shape of Saturn - oblate ball. This is due to the rapid rotation of the celestial body around its axis. Its diameter at the widest part is 120 thousand km, at the narrowest - 108 thousand km.
- It ranks second in the solar system in terms of the number of its satellites - 62 pieces. At the same time, there are giants larger than Mercury, and there are very small ones with a diameter of up to 5 km.
- The main decoration gas giant are his rings.
- Saturn is 760 times larger than Earth.
- Its density is second only to water.
Researchers have proposed an interesting interpretation of the last two facts when teaching children:
- If you create a bag the size of Saturn, then it would fit exactly 760 balls, the diameter of which is equal to the globe.
- If a giant bathtub comparable to its size was filled with water, then Saturn would float on the surface.
Pluto
Pluto is of particular interest.
Until the end of the twentieth century, it was considered the most distant planet from the sun, but due to the discovery of the second asteroid belt beyond Neptune, in which fragments were found weighing and diameter exceeding Pluto, since the beginning of the 21st century it has been transferred to the status of dwarf planets.
An official name to designate bodies of this size has yet to be invented. At the same time, this “shard” has five of its satellites. One of them, Charon, is almost equal in its parameters to Pluto itself.
There is no planet in our system with blue sky, except for Earth and... Pluto. In addition, it is noted that there is a lot of ice on Pluto. Unlike Mercury's ice sheets, this ice is frozen water, since the planet is quite far from the main body.
Jupiter
But the most interesting planet- this is Jupiter:
- He has rings. Five of them are fragments of meteorites approaching him. Unlike Saturn's rings, they do not contain ice.
- The moons of Jupiter were named after the mistresses of the ancient Greek god after whom he was named.
- It is the most dangerous for radio and magnetic devices. Its magnetic field can damage the instruments of a ship that tries to approach it.
- The speed of Jupiter is also interesting. Days on it are only 10 hours, and year is the time during which it occurs revolution around a star, 12 years.
- The mass of Jupiter is several times greater than the weight of all other planets orbiting the Sun.
Earth
Interesting facts.
- The South Pole - Antarctica, contains almost 90% of all the ice on the globe. Almost 70% of the world's fresh water is located there.
- The longest mountain range is underwater. Its length is more than 600,000 km.
- The longest range on land is the Himalayas (over 2500 km),
- The Dead Sea is the second deepest point in the world. Its bottom located at 400 meters below ocean level.
- Scientists suggest that our celestial body used to have two moons. After a collision with him, the second one crumbled and became an asteroid belt.
- Many years ago Earth was not green-blue, as in today's photographs from space, but purple, due to large number bacteria.
These are not all the interesting facts about planet Earth. Scientists can tell hundreds of interesting, sometimes funny, pieces of information.
Gravity
The simplest interpretation of this term is attraction.
People walk along horizontal surface because she attracts. A thrown stone still falls sooner or later - gravity effect. If you are unsure on a bike, you fall - gravity again.
The solar system and gravity are interconnected. Celestial bodies have their own orbits around the star.
Without gravity, there would be no orbits. This entire swarm flying around our star would scatter in different directions.
Attraction is also manifested in the fact that all planets have round shape. Gravity depends on distance: several pieces of any substance are mutually attracted, resulting in a ball.
Table of length of day and years
It is clear from the table that the further the object is from the main luminary, the shorter the day and longer years. Which planet has the most short year? On Mercury it is only 3 earth months. Scientists have not yet been able to confirm or refute this figure, because not a single earthly telescope can constantly observe it. The proximity of the main luminary will definitely damage the optics. The data was obtained through space research vehicles.
The length of the day also depends on body diameter and the speed of its rotation. White planets of the Solar System ( earth type), whose names are presented in the first four cells of the table, have a rocky structure and a rather slow speed.
10 interesting facts about the solar system
Our solar system: Planet Uranus
Conclusion
The giant planets located beyond the asteroid belt are mostly gaseous, due to which they rotate faster. Moreover, all four have poles and an equator rotate with at different speeds . On the other hand, since they are on greater distance from the star, a complete flight around their orbit takes quite a long time.
All space objects are interesting in their own way, and each of them contains some kind of mystery. Their study is lengthy and very an entertaining process, which every year reveals to us new secrets of the Universe.