The Solar System
Our Solar System consists of the sun ,eight planets , dwarf planets ,abouts 336 satellites , large number of asteroids, meteors and comets.They all orbit around a central sun, held together by the
sun's gravitationl force.
This solar system originated in an old solar nebula.A nebula is a rotating disc of gas and dust.All the stars ,planets and other cosmic bodies of the solar system were formed from the nebula. Our solar system lies in one corner of a large galaxy called Milky Way.thus ,there are million of solar system
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The sun
the sun is one of the billion sun in the galaxy .if the sun is considered as a football in size ,the Earth would be less than a pinhead .The visible yellow face of the sun is called the photosphere or light sphere.
Above the photosphere is the chromosphere which is reddish in colour. beyond this layer is the magnificent corona or crown of the sun which is visible during eclipses .
The hot glowing flames are known as prominences.the sun consists of hydrogen and helium. the surface temperature of the sun is about 6000degree centigrade .under such a high temperature condition, the conversion of hydrogen atoms to helium atoms takes place and there by generates
enormous amount of heat energy this keeps the sun glowing .
The sun has its own axis and rotates in a period of 26days .the heat and light radiation from the sun
is called insolation ,which makes life possible on earth the sun is about 4.5billion years old
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Planets
Planets are opaque heavenly bodies.They radiate no light of their own but shine with the reflected light of the sun.They rotate around a fixed path called orbit around the sun.They also move around their axes.Planets are further followed by small heavenly bodies called satellites. Of course ,not all planets have satellites. some of the planets like Mars,Jupiter,Saturn,Uranus and Neptune are called Superior planets while Mercury and Venus are called Inferior planets.
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Murcury
Size or Equatorial Radius-2,939.7 km distance from the sun -58 million Km
Rotation-58.64 Days
Atmospher-Helium, sodium,oxygen
Mean temperature -170 degree centigrade
Our Solar System consists of the sun ,eight planets , dwarf planets ,abouts 336 satellites , large number of asteroids, meteors and comets.They all orbit around a central sun, held together by the
sun's gravitationl force.
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The sun
the sun is one of the billion sun in the galaxy .if the sun is considered as a football in size ,the Earth would be less than a pinhead .The visible yellow face of the sun is called the photosphere or light sphere.
Above the photosphere is the chromosphere which is reddish in colour. beyond this layer is the magnificent corona or crown of the sun which is visible during eclipses .
enormous amount of heat energy this keeps the sun glowing .
The sun has its own axis and rotates in a period of 26days .the heat and light radiation from the sun
is called insolation ,which makes life possible on earth the sun is about 4.5billion years old
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Planets
Planets are opaque heavenly bodies.They radiate no light of their own but shine with the reflected light of the sun.They rotate around a fixed path called orbit around the sun.They also move around their axes.Planets are further followed by small heavenly bodies called satellites. Of course ,not all planets have satellites. some of the planets like Mars,Jupiter,Saturn,Uranus and Neptune are called Superior planets while Mercury and Venus are called Inferior planets.
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Murcury
Size or Equatorial Radius-2,939.7 km distance from the sun -58 million Km
Rotation-58.64 Days
Atmospher-Helium, sodium,oxygen
Mean temperature -170 degree centigrade
Mercury is closest to the sun and is the smallest planets .Its diameter is 40 per cent smaller than Earth and 40percent larger than moon. it is even smaller than titan,the satellite of saturn.The sky of mercury is always dark because mercury has virtually no atmosphere to cause the scattering of light .Mercury's surface is packed with craters. The larger crater is the Caloris Basin .You can easily see mercury near the horizon in the early evening of march and april and before sunrise during september
and october. Mercury has the greatest extremes of temperature..This is because its period of daylight and darkness lasts for 58 days and it does not have any atmosphere. mercury has no satellites
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Venus
Equatorial Radius -6,051.8 km
Distance from sun-108 million km
Rotation-243 days
Revolution-224.7 days
Atmosphere- carbon dioxide,nitrogen, sulphur dioxide,argon,neon,carbon monoxide,helium
Mean Temperature-486 degree centigrade
Venus is the jewel of the sky ,appearing bright and prominent in the western evening sky and eastern morning sky .It rises before dawn and sets at sunset.hence, it is known as the Evening Stars and Morning Star. Astronomers call it Earth's sister as both are similar in size ,mass, density and volume. both were formed about the same time .recent finding from the spacecraft venus express unfold the fact that venus may once have had an ocean of water like the earth .it is surrounded by an atmosphere composed mainly of carbon dioxide with virtually no vapour. venus is the hottest planet,the surface temperature is being 486 degree centigrade .
This temperature is primarily due to the greenhouse effect caused by the heavy atmosphere of carbon dioxide.Heat passes through the atmosphere to heat the surface and gets trapped when radiated, This makes hotter.Moreover,it rotates once in 243 Earth Days. it rotates from east to west. So if you are in venus,the sunrise would take place to the west and not the east,Venusian surface is covered with volcanic rocks.It is said that there are possibilities of active volcanic erution on venus.
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Earth-
Equatorial Radius -6,378.14 km
Distance from sun-150 million km
Rotation- 24 hours
Revolution-365 days
Atmosphere- Nitrogen, oxygen , carbon dioxide , insert gases with water vapour .
Mean Temperature- 15 degree centigrade
Any space traveller would have called our planet 'ocean' or 'water' as 70.8 per cent of it is covered by oceans, while land covers the rest 29.2 per cent only.Earth is the only terrestrial planet known to support life. This is because its atmosphere has 78 per cent of nitrogen and 21 per cent of oxygen . Presence of water and soil are the other essential factors. Being at a distance of 149.6 million km from the sun , it receive optimum temperature for life to survive .The Earth has three motion like the other planets. it Rotates on its own axis from west to east , It Resolves around the sun and moves around the Milky Way With the other member of the solar system , earth has a satellite known has moon .
Earth;s Satellite;The Moon
The Moon is the closest heavenly body to the Earth.it revolves around the Earth in 27 1/2 days and its axis in approximaterly 29 days. as a result of this , we always see the same hemisphere of the moon from the earth.as the moon around the earth , its appearance changes from new moon to full moon and these changes in the visible shape are known as the phases of the moon.
The Moon has no atmosphere,therefore,there is no wind or rain to erode the surface .Hense, the footprint of the man on the moon will be seen ever.
The Moon also extremes of temperature as there is no atmosphere.
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Mars
Equatorial Radius -3,397.2 km
Distance from sun- 228 million km
Rotation- 24.62 hours
Revolution- 686.98 days
Atmosphere- Nitrogen, oxygen , carbon dioxide , carbon monoxide, ozone, insert gases
Mean Temperature- minus 63 degree centigrade
The Martian atmosphere is cold,thin and transparent' Hence,the surface can be readily seen. Martian soil is rich in iron , and thus is red in colour.Hence,the name Red Planets is given to mars . The Martian surface has huge volcanoes and deep canyons. The largest volcano Olympus Mons[Mt.Olympic] rises to a height of 78,000 feet. Martian plains are pockmarked.Dry river beds and the rocks and sediments suggest that they were washed by water. Martian polar ice caps contain frozen carbon dioxide [Dry Ice], which recede and advance according to seasons. The Mars Odyssey spacecraft has detected large quantities of water in the form of ice close to the north polar surface .Evidence of past or present water on mars is expected to hold clues about the presence of life on mars in the past. Features resembling our islands,gorges,river beds and dunes have been seen on mars.
Mars has two satellites,namely Deimos and Phobos.
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Jupiter
Equatorial Radius -1,42,984 km
Distance from sun-778 million km
Rotation- 9.55 hours
Revolution-12 years
Atmosphere-hydrogen,helium
Mean Temperature- minus125 degree centigrade
Jupiter is the biggest giant among the eight planets .If it was hollow,more than 1,000 Earth could have fitted in. There is a ring system around jupiter which is invisible from the Earth . The Great Red Spot on jupiter is a complex storm.
The air on jupiter is unbreathable because of the presence of hydrogen ,ammonia and methane in its atmosphere. There are no traces of oxygen or water vapour. Jupiter is not a terrestrial planets like Earth and Mars but a gaseous body .it has 63 satellites. Four of its largest Moons are Callisto,Ganymede,Europa and Io.
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Saturn
Equatorial Radius- 60,268 km
Distance from sun-1,427 million km
Rotation- 10.23 hours
Revolution-29.45 years
Atmosphere-hydrogen,helium
Mean Temperature- minus125 degree centigrade
Saturn is the second largest planet.Saturn's ring system makes it the most beautiful object in the sky . The planets is visibly flattened at the poles due to very fast rotation.Saturn is less dense than water . In an unlikely event,,that a large enough ocean could be found, Saturn would flot in it.Saturn has 60 officially recognised satellites of which Titan is the largest . it is larger than Mercury .Saturn is also clearly visible through a telescope in winter.
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Uranus
Equatorial Radius- 25,559 km
Distance from sun-2,870 million km
Rotation-17 hours 14 minutes
Revolution-84 years
Atmosphere-hydrogen,helium, methane
Mean Temperature- minus 193 degree centigrade
Uranus is four times the size of the Earth.
It appears bluish green due to the presence of methane gas in the atmosphere which absorbs the infrared rays. This planet was discovered by William Herschel in 1781.The axis of this planet being tilted at 90 per cent from the vertical,it seems to roll on its side.Below the atmosphere, its mantle is supposed to be composed of water,methane and ammonia.Its core is made up of rocks and ice.
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Neptune
and october. Mercury has the greatest extremes of temperature..This is because its period of daylight and darkness lasts for 58 days and it does not have any atmosphere. mercury has no satellites
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Venus
Equatorial Radius -6,051.8 km
Distance from sun-108 million km
Rotation-243 days
Revolution-224.7 days
Atmosphere- carbon dioxide,nitrogen, sulphur dioxide,argon,neon,carbon monoxide,helium
Mean Temperature-486 degree centigrade
Venus is the jewel of the sky ,appearing bright and prominent in the western evening sky and eastern morning sky .It rises before dawn and sets at sunset.hence, it is known as the Evening Stars and Morning Star. Astronomers call it Earth's sister as both are similar in size ,mass, density and volume. both were formed about the same time .recent finding from the spacecraft venus express unfold the fact that venus may once have had an ocean of water like the earth .it is surrounded by an atmosphere composed mainly of carbon dioxide with virtually no vapour. venus is the hottest planet,the surface temperature is being 486 degree centigrade .
This temperature is primarily due to the greenhouse effect caused by the heavy atmosphere of carbon dioxide.Heat passes through the atmosphere to heat the surface and gets trapped when radiated, This makes hotter.Moreover,it rotates once in 243 Earth Days. it rotates from east to west. So if you are in venus,the sunrise would take place to the west and not the east,Venusian surface is covered with volcanic rocks.It is said that there are possibilities of active volcanic erution on venus.
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Earth-
Equatorial Radius -6,378.14 km
Distance from sun-150 million km
Rotation- 24 hours
Revolution-365 days
Atmosphere- Nitrogen, oxygen , carbon dioxide , insert gases with water vapour .
Mean Temperature- 15 degree centigrade
Any space traveller would have called our planet 'ocean' or 'water' as 70.8 per cent of it is covered by oceans, while land covers the rest 29.2 per cent only.Earth is the only terrestrial planet known to support life. This is because its atmosphere has 78 per cent of nitrogen and 21 per cent of oxygen . Presence of water and soil are the other essential factors. Being at a distance of 149.6 million km from the sun , it receive optimum temperature for life to survive .The Earth has three motion like the other planets. it Rotates on its own axis from west to east , It Resolves around the sun and moves around the Milky Way With the other member of the solar system , earth has a satellite known has moon .
Earth;s Satellite;The Moon
The Moon is the closest heavenly body to the Earth.it revolves around the Earth in 27 1/2 days and its axis in approximaterly 29 days. as a result of this , we always see the same hemisphere of the moon from the earth.as the moon around the earth , its appearance changes from new moon to full moon and these changes in the visible shape are known as the phases of the moon.
The Moon has no atmosphere,therefore,there is no wind or rain to erode the surface .Hense, the footprint of the man on the moon will be seen ever.
The Moon also extremes of temperature as there is no atmosphere.
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Mars
Equatorial Radius -3,397.2 km
Distance from sun- 228 million km
Rotation- 24.62 hours
Revolution- 686.98 days
Atmosphere- Nitrogen, oxygen , carbon dioxide , carbon monoxide, ozone, insert gases
Mean Temperature- minus 63 degree centigrade
The Martian atmosphere is cold,thin and transparent' Hence,the surface can be readily seen. Martian soil is rich in iron , and thus is red in colour.Hence,the name Red Planets is given to mars . The Martian surface has huge volcanoes and deep canyons. The largest volcano Olympus Mons[Mt.Olympic] rises to a height of 78,000 feet. Martian plains are pockmarked.Dry river beds and the rocks and sediments suggest that they were washed by water. Martian polar ice caps contain frozen carbon dioxide [Dry Ice], which recede and advance according to seasons. The Mars Odyssey spacecraft has detected large quantities of water in the form of ice close to the north polar surface .Evidence of past or present water on mars is expected to hold clues about the presence of life on mars in the past. Features resembling our islands,gorges,river beds and dunes have been seen on mars.
Mars has two satellites,namely Deimos and Phobos.
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Jupiter
Equatorial Radius -1,42,984 km
Distance from sun-778 million km
Rotation- 9.55 hours
Revolution-12 years
Atmosphere-hydrogen,helium
Mean Temperature- minus125 degree centigrade
Jupiter is the biggest giant among the eight planets .If it was hollow,more than 1,000 Earth could have fitted in. There is a ring system around jupiter which is invisible from the Earth . The Great Red Spot on jupiter is a complex storm.
The air on jupiter is unbreathable because of the presence of hydrogen ,ammonia and methane in its atmosphere. There are no traces of oxygen or water vapour. Jupiter is not a terrestrial planets like Earth and Mars but a gaseous body .it has 63 satellites. Four of its largest Moons are Callisto,Ganymede,Europa and Io.
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Saturn
Equatorial Radius- 60,268 km
Distance from sun-1,427 million km
Rotation- 10.23 hours
Revolution-29.45 years
Atmosphere-hydrogen,helium
Mean Temperature- minus125 degree centigrade
Saturn is the second largest planet.Saturn's ring system makes it the most beautiful object in the sky . The planets is visibly flattened at the poles due to very fast rotation.Saturn is less dense than water . In an unlikely event,,that a large enough ocean could be found, Saturn would flot in it.Saturn has 60 officially recognised satellites of which Titan is the largest . it is larger than Mercury .Saturn is also clearly visible through a telescope in winter.
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Uranus
Equatorial Radius- 25,559 km
Distance from sun-2,870 million km
Rotation-17 hours 14 minutes
Revolution-84 years
Atmosphere-hydrogen,helium, methane
Mean Temperature- minus 193 degree centigrade
Uranus is four times the size of the Earth.
It appears bluish green due to the presence of methane gas in the atmosphere which absorbs the infrared rays. This planet was discovered by William Herschel in 1781.The axis of this planet being tilted at 90 per cent from the vertical,it seems to roll on its side.Below the atmosphere, its mantle is supposed to be composed of water,methane and ammonia.Its core is made up of rocks and ice.
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Neptune
Equatorial Radius- 24,746 km
Distance from sun-4,497 million km
Rotation-16 hours 6 minutes
Revolution-165 years
Atmosphere-hydrogen,helium, methane
Mean Temperature- minus 193 degree centigrade to minus 153 degree centigrade
Neptune appears bluish in colour due to the presence of methane in its atmosphere . it is the last Jovian planet (The Jovian Planets being Jupiter,Saturn ,Uranus and Neptune)
Neptune has several dark spot like Jupiter's storm.The largest spot is the Great Dark Spot, about the size of the Earth .It has a set of rings which are narrow and faint. The atmosphere of Neptune is very cold since it is very far from the sun
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Pluto
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Today, many scientist do not consider pluto as a full fledged planet. it is dubbed as one of the many dwarf planets.
Other Celestial Bodies of the solar system
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Asteroids
Asteroids or planetoids are minor planets that revolve around the sun mainly between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. These are cosmic fragments ,These are some 80,000 asteroids of which Ceres is the largest. it has a diameter of about 1,000 km.
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Meteors and Meteorites
A Meteor or Shooting Star appears to be a streak of light across the night sky . We noticed the Leonid Meteor Shower in the years 1998.A meteor is a fragment of rock that enters the Earth 's atmosphere from the space . Due to the Earth's gravity, they travel at a high speed and so a friction occurs in the layers of air resulting in their burning . Those meteors that are quite large and whose portions remain unburnt,reach the Earth's surface as meteorrites . Though , such meteorite fall are rare, it is believed that the Lonar lake in india
is due to a meteorite hit. The huge crater in Arizona
was also created due to meteorite fall.
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Comets
+COMETS.jpg)
Comers are heavenly bodies that revolve around the sun in an elliptical orbits.However, the sun is not the of a comet's orbit.They are the most unpredictable bodies in the Solar system.Comets have a highly eccentric orbit. When they come near the sun,we can see them and then they travel far away.The word comets means 'A Hairy Star' as it has a lighted head or coma and long luminous tail. Halley's comet was sighted in 1986 and is due to return in 2062.Another comet, HaleBopp was sighed on April 6, 1997. Man such comets visit our planets almost every day.
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Distance from sun-4,497 million km
Rotation-16 hours 6 minutes
Revolution-165 years
Atmosphere-hydrogen,helium, methane
Mean Temperature- minus 193 degree centigrade to minus 153 degree centigrade
Neptune appears bluish in colour due to the presence of methane in its atmosphere . it is the last Jovian planet (The Jovian Planets being Jupiter,Saturn ,Uranus and Neptune)
Neptune has several dark spot like Jupiter's storm.The largest spot is the Great Dark Spot, about the size of the Earth .It has a set of rings which are narrow and faint. The atmosphere of Neptune is very cold since it is very far from the sun
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Pluto
Today, many scientist do not consider pluto as a full fledged planet. it is dubbed as one of the many dwarf planets.
Other Celestial Bodies of the solar system
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Asteroids
Asteroids or planetoids are minor planets that revolve around the sun mainly between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. These are cosmic fragments ,These are some 80,000 asteroids of which Ceres is the largest. it has a diameter of about 1,000 km.
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Meteors and Meteorites
A Meteor or Shooting Star appears to be a streak of light across the night sky . We noticed the Leonid Meteor Shower in the years 1998.A meteor is a fragment of rock that enters the Earth 's atmosphere from the space . Due to the Earth's gravity, they travel at a high speed and so a friction occurs in the layers of air resulting in their burning . Those meteors that are quite large and whose portions remain unburnt,reach the Earth's surface as meteorrites . Though , such meteorite fall are rare, it is believed that the Lonar lake in india
is due to a meteorite hit. The huge crater in Arizona
was also created due to meteorite fall.
...................................................................................................................................................................
Comets
Comers are heavenly bodies that revolve around the sun in an elliptical orbits.However, the sun is not the of a comet's orbit.They are the most unpredictable bodies in the Solar system.Comets have a highly eccentric orbit. When they come near the sun,we can see them and then they travel far away.The word comets means 'A Hairy Star' as it has a lighted head or coma and long luminous tail. Halley's comet was sighted in 1986 and is due to return in 2062.Another comet, HaleBopp was sighed on April 6, 1997. Man such comets visit our planets almost every day.
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