Solar System 101

[vc_row type=”in_container” full_screen_row_position=”middle” column_margin=”default” column_direction=”default” column_direction_tablet=”default” column_direction_phone=”default” scene_position=”center” top_padding=”60″ bottom_padding=”60″ text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” row_border_radius=”none” row_border_radius_applies=”bg” overlay_strength=”0.3″ gradient_direction=”left_to_right” shape_divider_position=”bottom” bg_image_animation=”none” shape_type=””][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_tablet=”inherit” column_padding_phone=”inherit” column_padding_position=”all” column_element_spacing=”default” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” column_link_target=”_self” gradient_direction=”left_to_right” overlay_strength=”0.3″ width=”1/1″ tablet_width_inherit=”default” tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” bg_image_animation=”none” border_type=”simple” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid”][image_with_animation image_url=”1999″ animation=”Fade In” hover_animation=”none” alignment=”center” border_radius=”none” box_shadow=”none” image_loading=”default” max_width=”100%” max_width_mobile=”default”][vc_column_text] What is the Solar System?

The word Solar originates from Sol, a Latin word “solis” for Sun, hence the Solar System; a collection of the eight planets, their moons, the Sun, and other heavenly bodies including meteorites, asteroids, dwarf planets, and comets that orbit around the Sun and are bound by its gravitational force. It is considered a planetary or natural system considerably controlled by the Sun or natural forces that keep it together without the influence of human creations or other known phenomena.

The Composition of the Solar System

Our solar system consists of the Sun, our only efficient star, and all the things bound to it by gravity, including Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. The Sun’s gravity also holds Pluto, Ceres, and dozens of dwarf planets and moons, asteroids, meteoroids, and comets. In addition, further discoveries have revealed an uncountable number of planetary systems that orbit the solar system in the Milky Way with more planets than stars. The stars are often thought to have their planets, and the Milky Way is of the more than 100 billion galaxies of the Universe. The solar system is comprised of 150 or more moons, with only Mercury and Venus not having moons in their orbits.

According to NASA, the solar system orbits the Milky Way’s center at a speed of 828,000kph, and it takes about 230 million years to complete one orbit around the center of the Galaxy. The galaxies are of three general kinds, namely elliptical, irregular, and spiral. Our Milky Way is considered a spiral galaxy and is defined as a region of space with no atmosphere but many worlds with their atmospheres, as noted by NASA (c2020).

Formation and Structure of the Solar System

NASA scientists believe that the solar system formed from a Nebula cloud of interstellar gas and dust about 4.5 billion years ago. Due to a shockwave from a nearby exploding star, the cloud collapsed and formed a swirling disk or nebula material which continued to pull more materials of gas and air towards it. It led to the formation of hydrogen and helium, which released a very significant amount of energy, thus forming the Sun, which took more than 99% of the material matter. The gravitation force continued to clump together materials, thus forming spherical objects of planets, moons, and other things in space, including meteoroids, irregular moons, and comets (NASA, c2020).

Notably, the planets’ arrangements and orders were influenced by their formation; only rocky materials would withstand the gravitation force and pressure of the Sun hence forming the terrestrial planets of Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars. However, the other planets are made up of more gaseous and liquid matter and less rocky materials, as described by NASA (c2020).

Fascinating Discoveries About The Solar System.

With years of research and telescoping the Galaxy, here are a few fascinating discoveries that have been made about our solar system:

1. The planet Uranus, a gigantic blue ball, is tilted on its side. The reasons are still unknown, but it must have gone through some titanic collision.
2. Towering volcanic eruptions have been observed on Jupiter’s moon, Io. Io’s volcanic eruptions are considered the most active in the solar system, with eruptions up to 250 miles into the atmosphere.
3. The planet Mars has the longest evident valley. Mar’s Valley Mariner is 4000 kilometers long, ten times longer than the Grand Canyon.
4. Mars has the biggest volcano. The now peaceful planet must have gone through severe volcanic eruptions to form a 25-kilometer high volcano.
5. Venus has the most powerful winds. With wind speeds up to 85m/s (300km/h;186.6 mph), the atmosphere circulates 50 times faster than the planet’s rotation.
6. Water ice exists in all parts of the solar system. For example, from Mercury, Ceres, Jupiter, Mars, Europa, Jupiter’s moon has been observed to contain ice water however unquantifiable quantities.
7. Human spacecraft have visited all the planets in the solar system. Sixty years of exploring space, humans have sent spacecraft to every planet in the solar system, including Pluto and Ceres.
8. The planet Mercury is continuing to Shrink. Cliff-life landforms or fault scarps are signs of the constant contraction of the planet.
9. The planet Pluto has observable mountains. This dwarf planet continues to amaze astronauts; so far, icy mountains of 3,300 meters or 11,000 feet have been observed on the planet.

For more fascinating discoveries about the solar system, including Pluto having a mysterious atmosphere, rings being everywhere in the solar system and evidence of super-large planets at the edge of the solar system, check out Elizabeth Howell’s Space.com article published 2016.

So, is there life out there in our Solar System?  Log in, and let’s chat!

References

Elizabeth Howell. (2016). Space.com Weirdest Solar System Facts. https://www.space.com/amp/35695-weirdest-solar-system-facts.html/2

NASA (c2020). Our Solar System.

https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/solar-system/our-solar-system/overview/#:~:text=Our%20solar%20system%20consists%20of,of%20asteroids%2C%20comets%20and%20meteoroids.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]