Planets of the solar system and their arrangement in order. Planets of the Solar System in order. Planet Earth, Jupiter, Mars Whose planets of the solar system
The number of galaxies in the Universe is largely unknown to people, with astronomers suggesting there could be an infinite number of them. In our galaxy, the Milky Way, scientists estimate that there are about 100 billion planets, most of which are in the orbit of stars. In the recent past, astronomers have discovered hundreds of planets in our galaxy, some of which exhibit characteristics of our Earth, suggesting they could support life. Our Solar System consists of the Sun, eight planets and their moons (satellites), and various small cosmic bodies. The solar system long included nine planets until Pluto was stripped of its rank in 2006 because it did not meet the necessary criteria. It was discovered that Pluto is part of a group of six space objects that orbit the Kuiper Belt and is not the largest of them.
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Mercury
Mercury is the closest planet to the Sun; it is also the smallest of all eight planets. Over the course of 88 days, Mercury completes a full revolution around the Sun. It is a rocky planet with an equatorial radius of 2439.7±1.0 km and a density of 5427 g/cm³, making it the second densest planet in the Solar System. Mercury has no atmosphere and temperatures range from 448ºC during the day to -170ºC during the night. Its orbit is oval and it is one of the planets that can be seen from Earth.
Venus
Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It takes 224.7 days to complete a revolution, and its rotation period on its axis is about 243 days (the slowest rotation of any planet in the solar system). Venus is the hottest planet with a surface temperature of about 467º C, as its atmosphere is thick and retains heat well. It is very bright in the morning and evening, making it highly visible in certain regions of the Earth. It is the closest planet to us, and also the first to be visited by an Earth probe (Mariner 2) in 1962. The dense hot atmosphere makes Venus inaccessible to humans.
Earth
Planet Earth is home to humans and is considered the only planet known to have life. It completes its orbit around the Sun in 365,256 days, covering a distance of approximately 940 million km. The Earth is located about 150 million km from the Sun and is the third planet in our system; According to scientists, its formation began 4.54 billion years ago. The total area of the Earth is more than 510 million km², 71% of which is covered by water, and the remaining 29% is land. The Earth's atmosphere protects life from outer space, harmful radiation and controls the weather. It is the densest planet in the solar system.
Mars
Mars, also known as the "red planet", is the fourth planet in our solar system and the second smallest. It has a solid surface, like Earth, but its atmosphere is relatively thin. Mars is half the size of Earth and is on average 228 million km from the Sun; it completes its orbit around the Sun in 779.96 days. It is clearly visible from Earth at night due to its bright surface. Liquid water not found on the surface of the planet due to low atmospheric pressure. Researchers are studying the possibility of life on Mars. Scientists believe that the ice caps at the planet's poles are water and ice on south pole can fill the planet's surface to a depth of 11 m if it melts.
Jupiter
Jupiter is the fifth and largest planet in the solar system. Its mass is 2.5 times the total mass of other planets. Jupiter is a gaseous planet with no solid surface, although researchers believe its core is solid. It has a diameter of 142,984 km at the equator and is so large that it can contain all the planets of the solar system or 1,300 earths. It is predominantly composed of hydrogen and helium. Jupiter's atmosphere is dense, with wind speeds averaging 550 km per hour, which is twice the speed of a Category 5 hurricane on Earth. The planet has three rings of dust particles, but they are difficult to see. It takes Jupiter 12 Earth years to complete a full revolution around the Sun.
Saturn
Saturn is the second largest planet after Jupiter and the sixth in the solar system. It is a gas giant, just like Jupiter, but with nine continuous rings. Saturn is considered the most beautiful planet in our system and is composed of hydrogen and helium. Its diameter is nine times that of Earth, its volume is comparable to that of 763.5 Earths, and its surface is equal to 83 Earths. However, Saturn's mass is only one-eighth that of our planet. Saturn has nearly 150 moons, 53 of which are named, 62 identified as having orbits, and the remaining moons located in the planet's rings.
Uranus
Uranus is the seventh planet and the third largest in the solar system. Its surface consists of frozen matter and is therefore considered an ice giant. However, Uranus' atmosphere also includes hydrogen and helium, along with other "ices" such as methane, ammonia and water. Although it is not the farthest planet from the Sun, it is one of the coldest with atmospheric temperatures reaching -224 C, as it is the only planet in the solar system that does not generate heat from its core. The average distance of Uranus from the Sun is about 2.8 billion km.
Neptune
Neptune is the eighth and farthest planet from the Sun. It was first thought to be a fixed star by Galileo, who used mathematical predictions to discover it rather than the usual telescope method. The average distance from Neptune to the Sun is 4.5 billion km, and a complete revolution around our star occurs in 164.8 years. Neptune completed its first orbit in 2011, having been discovered in 1846. It has 14 known moons, the largest of which is Triton. The atmosphere is dominated by hydrogen and helium. It is the windiest planet in the solar system, with an average wind speed nine times that of Earth. NASA recently discovered that Neptune has rivers and lakes of liquid methane.
Quick answer: 8 planets.
The solar system is a planetary system that includes the central star, which is the Sun, as well as all other natural space objects, which in turn revolve around the Sun.
Interestingly, most of the total mass solar system falls on itself, while the rest falls on 8 planets. Yes, yes, there are 8 planets in the solar system, and not 9, as some people believe. Why do they think so? One reason is that they mistake the Sun for another planet, but in fact it is the only star included in the solar system. But in reality everything is simpler - Pluto was previously considered a planet, but is now considered a dwarf planet.
Let's begin the review of the planets, starting with the one closest to the Sun.
Mercury
This planet was named after the ancient Roman god of trade - the fleet-footed Mercury. The fact is that it moves much faster than other planets.
Mercury completely revolves around the Sun in 88 Earth days, while the duration of one sidereal day on Mercury is 58.65 Earth days.
Relatively little is known about the planet, and one of the reasons is that Mercury is too close to the Sun.
Venus
Venus is the second so-called inner planet of the solar system, which was named after the goddess of love, Venus. It is worth noting that this is the only planet that received its name in honor of a female deity, rather than a male one.
Venus is very similar to Earth, not only in size, but also in composition and even gravity.
It is believed that Venus once had many oceans similar to the ones we have. However, some time ago the planet heated up so much that all the water evaporated, leaving behind only rocks. Water vapor was carried into outer space.
Earth
The third planet is Earth. It is the largest planet among the terrestrial planets.
It was formed approximately 4.5 billion years ago, after which it was almost immediately joined by its only satellite, which is the Moon. It is believed that life on Earth appeared about 3.9 billion years ago and over time its biosphere began to change for the better, which allowed the formation of the ozone layer, increased growth of aerobic organisms, etc. All this, among other things, allows us to exist now.
Mars
Mars closes the four terrestrial planets. The planet is named after the ancient Roman god of war, Mars. This planet is also called red because its surface has a reddish tint due to iron oxide.
Mars has surface pressure 160 times less than Earth's. On the surface there are craters similar to those that can be seen on the Moon. There are also volcanoes, deserts, valleys and even ice caps.
Mars has two satellites: Deimos and Phobos.
Jupiter
It is the fifth planet from the Sun and the first among the giant planets. By the way, it is the largest in the solar system, which received its name in honor of the ancient Roman supreme god of thunder.
Jupiter has been known for a long time, which is reflected in ancient myths and legends. Has a very large number of satellites - 67 to be exact. Interestingly, some of them were discovered several centuries ago. Thus, Galileo Galilei himself discovered 4 satellites in 1610.
Sometimes Jupiter can be seen with the naked eye, as was the case in 2010.
Saturn
Saturn is the second largest planet in the solar system. It was named after the Roman god of agriculture.
It is known that Saturn consists of hydrogen with signs of water, helium, ammonia, methane and other heavy elements. An unusual wind speed was observed on the planet - about 1800 kilometers per hour.
Saturn has prominent rings that are mostly made of ice, dust, and other elements. Saturn also has 63 satellites, one of which, Titan, is larger than even Mercury.
Uranus
The seventh planet in terms of distance from the Sun. It was discovered relatively recently (in 1781) by William Herschel and was named after the god of the sky.
Uranus is the first planet to be discovered using a telescope, between the Middle Ages and modern times. Interestingly, although the planet can sometimes be seen with the naked eye, before its discovery it was generally believed that it was a dim star.
Uranus has a lot of ice but no metallic hydrogen. The planet's atmosphere is composed of helium and hydrogen, as well as methane.
Uranus has a complex ring system and 27 satellites.
Neptune
Finally, we have reached the eighth and last planet of the solar system. The planet is named after the Roman god of the seas.
Neptune was discovered in 1846, and, interestingly, not through observations, but thanks to mathematical calculations. Initially, only one of its satellites was discovered, although the remaining 13 were not known until the 20th century.
Neptune's atmosphere consists of hydrogen, helium and possibly nitrogen. The strongest winds rage here, the speed of which reaches a fantastic 2100 km/h. In the upper layers of the atmosphere the temperature is about 220°C.
Neptune has a poorly developed ring system.
As a child, before studying astronomy, the only planets most people knew about were located in our own solar system. The Moon and rocky planets of the four gas giants: Neptune, Uranus, Saturn, Jupiter plus the satellites of these and other objects. But these are only the worlds around our Sun, which (by current definition) contain eight major planets. However, the universe is so diverse and unexplored that it is scary to imagine. Even space objects close to Earth are poorly studied; it is assumed that there is one more planet in our solar system than previously thought. It may be hidden behind the Kuiper Belt.
Stars
Our Sun is just one star among many billions in our galaxy, including the Milky Way. Looking up at the night sky, one cannot help but be amazed at how many of the stars visible to humans have their own planets. There are a huge number of stars in our galaxy and the Sun is just one of the G-class luminaries of the seven main classified types. One might think that our Sun is typical and relatively dim, since a disproportionate number of stars visible to our eyes in the night sky are O, B and A-class stars. But in fact, our star is more massive and internally brighter than 95% of the stars in our galaxy. M-class stars (red dwarfs), which make up no more than 40% of the mass of our Sun, turn out to be brighter. Their visibility is much higher than other luminaries. Moreover, our Sun exists in isolation; it is not gravitationally connected to other stars. But this is not necessary for all stars existing in the galaxy. Stars can be combined:
In twos (double stars).
Triples (trainers).
Groups (clusters) containing from hundreds to many hundreds of thousands of stars.
When estimating the number of planets in space, you should not do simple arithmetic, where you take the number of space objects orbiting our star and multiply it by the number of stars in the visible galaxy. This is an amateurish estimate, which will allow us to calculate the presence of at least two to three trillion planets in our galaxy alone. Over the past decades, several methods have been developed to observe distant planets.
Study methods
The most effective are two methods used to search for new planets. The first is the so-called star wobble method. It allows you to infer the mass radius of a planet (or set of space objects) orbiting a star by analyzing the periodicity of the frequency shift of the light emitted by the star. The second, transit method, is when the light emanating from a distant star is partially blocked by the disk of a planet passing in front of it in this star system.
It is important to realize that when such studies are carried out, the vast majority of planets that are in their orbit may not be visible. Take, for example, NASA's Kepler mission, which discovered hundreds (if not thousands) of planets by surveying a segment of space containing about one hundred thousand stars. But that doesn't mean that there are only a few planets around each of these stars. For example, if Kepler had explored the Solar System, he would hardly have been able to identify half of the planets in it. Mercury and Mars are too small to be detected as they do not block enough light from the Sun, and the four outer planets, despite their large sizes, take too long to orbit for Kepler to observe more than one transit, a necessity to identify a planetary candidate.
So this means that if Kepler had looked at 100 thousand stars identical to ours, he would have found only 410 stars with total number about 700 planets.
But to date, Kepler has discovered more than 11,000 stars with at least one planet candidate, and more than 18,000 potential planets around these stars, with rotation periods ranging from 12 hours to 525 days. In other words, there is:
a huge variety of planetary systems, including binary and three-dimensional, most of which are very different from our own.
Our solar system may turn out to be average, slightly larger or smaller in size than any of the visible star systems. But no matter what it looks like, we're talking about trillions of planets in our galaxy alone. And we should remember that our galaxy is not alone in the Universe.
With at least two hundred billion galaxies, and possibly even more, we are most likely talking about a Universe filled with about 10 24 planets, or for those who haven't realized it, that's about 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 planets in our observable Universe . Astronomers continue to search not only for new planets, but also for water, oxygen and signs of life.
Who's in space now?
Nowadays, only astronauts working on the ISS are in the vacuum of space in Earth’s orbit. The number of people present is constantly changing, but the permanent composition consists of six people. But in the near future, space may become more crowded. China is announcing the construction of its own station in the near future. The end of 2018 may be marked by a manned flight of two tourists to the Moon. This was recently stated by the founder of SpaceX Corporation. The next step could be the construction of a Lunar Village, ESA announced. Several dozen people will be able to stay in it at all times. There are also a lot of projects related to flights to Mars and its subsequent exploration. The first people could set foot on the red planet in just ten years.
Conclusion
Stars have always attracted people's attention. Dreams of flights to distant planets and the possibility of finding life there have long occupied their minds. But first you need to understand which planets can be habitable. For this purpose, telescopes like Kepler are created and launched into space, which made it possible to find many exoplanets. After all, flights to other planets can take many tens and hundreds of light years; for any person it will be a one-way flight and you cannot make a mistake here.
On a clear night, when light interference is not a major factor, the sky looks spectacular with a huge number of stars open to view. But, of course, we can only see a small fraction of the stars that actually exist in our Galaxy. What's even more amazing is that most of them have their own planetary system. The question arises, how many exoplanets are there? There must be billions of extraterrestrial worlds in our Galaxy alone!
So let's assume that the eight planets that exist within the solar system represent the average. The next step is to multiply this number by the number of stars that exist within the Milky Way. The actual number of stars in our Galaxy is a matter of some debate. Essentially, astronomers are forced to make rough estimates because we cannot view the Milky Way from the outside. And given that it is in the shape of a barred spiral, the galactic disk is the most difficult to study due to the interference of light from its many stars. As a result, the estimate is based on calculations of the mass of our Galaxy, as well as the mass fraction of stars in it. From this data, scientists estimate that the Milky Way contains between 100 and 400 billion stars.
Thus, the Milky Way galaxy could have between 800 billion and 3.2 trillion planets. However, in order to determine how many of them are habitable, we must consider the number of exoplanets studied so far.
As of October 13, 2016, astronomers have confirmed the presence of 3,397 exoplanets out of 4,696 potential candidates that were discovered between 2009 and 2015. Some of these planets were observed directly through direct imaging. However, the vast majority have been discovered indirectly using transit and radial velocity methods.
The histogram shows the dynamics of exoplanet discovery by year. Credit: NASA Ames/W. Stenzel, Princeton/T. Morton
During its initial 4-year mission, the Kepler space telescope observed about 150,000 stars, which were mostly M-class stars, also known as red dwarfs. When Kepler entered a new phase of the K2 mission in November 2013, it shifted its focus to studying K- and G-class stars, which are almost as bright and hot as the Sun.
According to a recent study conducted by NASA Ames Research Center, Kepler found that about 24% of M-class stars may have potentially habitable planets comparable in size to Earth (those that are no more than 1. 6 times the radius of the Earth). Based on the number of M-class stars, there may be about 10 billion potentially habitable, Earth-like worlds in our Galaxy.
In addition, analysis of the K2 results suggests that about one quarter of large stars may also have Earth-like planets orbiting within habitable zones. Thus, it can be estimated that only in Milky Way There are literally tens of billions of potentially life-bearing planets.
In the coming years, the James Webb and TESS space telescope missions will be able to detect smaller planets orbiting dim stars, and perhaps even determine whether any of them harbor life. Once these new missions get underway, we will have more accurate estimates of the size and number of planets that exist in our Galaxy. Until then, their estimated number is encouraging: the chances of extraterrestrial intelligence are very high!
What is the solar system in which we live? The answer will be as follows: this is our central star, the Sun and that’s it cosmic bodies which revolve around it. These are large and small planets, as well as their satellites, comets, asteroids, gases and cosmic dust.
The name of the solar system was given by the name of its star. In a broad sense, “solar” often means any star system.
How did the solar system originate?
According to scientists, the Solar System was formed from a giant interstellar cloud of dust and gases due to gravitational collapse in a separate part of it. As a result, a protostar was formed in the center, which then turned into a star - the Sun, and a protoplanetary disk of enormous size, from which all the components of the Solar system listed above were subsequently formed. The process, scientists believe, began about 4.6 billion years ago. This hypothesis was called the nebular hypothesis. Thanks to Emmanuel Swedenborg, Immanuel Kant and Pierre-Simon Laplace, who proposed it back in the 18th century, it eventually became generally accepted, but over the course of many decades it was refined, new data was introduced into it taking into account knowledge modern sciences. Thus, it is assumed that due to the increase and intensification of collisions of particles with each other, the temperature of the object increased, and after it reached several thousand kelvins, the protostar acquired a glow. When the temperature reached millions of kelvins, a thermonuclear fusion reaction began in the center of the future Sun - the conversion of hydrogen into helium. It turned into a star.
The sun and its features
Scientists classify our star as a yellow dwarf (G2V) according to its spectral classification. This is the closest star to us, its light reaches the surface of the planet in just 8.31 seconds. From Earth, the radiation appears to have a yellow tint, although in reality it is almost white.
The main components of our luminary are helium and hydrogen. In addition, thanks to spectral analysis, it was discovered that the Sun contains iron, neon, chromium, calcium, carbon, magnesium, sulfur, silicon, and nitrogen. Thanks to the thermonuclear reaction continuously occurring in its depths, all life on Earth receives the necessary energy. sunlight- an integral component of photosynthesis, which results in the formation of oxygen. Without the sun's rays it would not have been possible, and therefore an atmosphere suitable for the protein form of life would not have been able to form.
Mercury
This is the closest planet to our star. Together with Earth, Venus and Mars, it belongs to the so-called terrestrial planets. Mercury received its name because of its high speed of movement, which, according to myths, distinguished the fleet-footed ancient god. The Mercury year is 88 days.
The planet is small, its radius is only 2439.7, and it is smaller in size than some of the large satellites of the giant planets, Ganymede and Titan. However, unlike them, Mercury is quite heavy (3.3 x 10 23 kg), and its density is only slightly behind that of Earth. This is due to the presence of a heavy dense core of iron on the planet.
There is no change of seasons on the planet. Its desert surface resembles the Moon. It is also covered with craters, but is even less suitable for life. Thus, on the day side of Mercury the temperature reaches +510 °C, and on the night side -210 °C. These are the sharpest changes in the entire solar system. The atmosphere of the planet is very thin and rarefied.
Venus
This planet, named after the ancient Greek goddess of love, is more similar than others in the solar system to the Earth in its physical parameters - mass, density, size, volume. For a long time they were considered twin planets, but over time it became clear that their differences are enormous. So, Venus has no satellites at all. Its atmosphere consists of almost 98% carbon dioxide, and the pressure on the planet’s surface is 92 times higher than Earth’s! Clouds above the surface of the planet, consisting of sulfuric acid vapor, never dissipate, and the temperature here reaches +434 ° C. Acid rain is falling on the planet and thunderstorms are raging. There is high volcanic activity here. Life, as we understand it, cannot exist on Venus; moreover, the descending spacecraft They cannot survive in such an atmosphere for long.
This planet is clearly visible in the night sky. This is the third brightest object for an earthly observer; it shines with white light and is brighter than all the stars. The distance to the Sun is 108 million km. It revolves around the Sun in 224 Earth days, and around its own axis in 243.
Earth and Mars
These are the last planets of the so-called terrestrial group, whose representatives are characterized by the presence of a solid surface. Their structure includes a core, mantle and crust (only Mercury does not have it).
Mars has a mass equal to 10% of the mass of the Earth, which, in turn, is 5.9726 10 24 kg. Its diameter is 6780 km, almost half that of our planet. Mars is the seventh largest planet in the solar system. Unlike the Earth, 71% of whose surface is covered by oceans, Mars is entirely dry land. The water was preserved beneath the planet's surface in the form of a massive ice sheet. Its surface has a reddish tint due to the high content of iron oxide in the form of maghemite.
The atmosphere of Mars is very rarefied, and the pressure on the surface of the planet is 160 times less than what we are used to. On the surface of the planet there are impact craters, volcanoes, depressions, deserts and valleys, and at the poles there are ice caps, just like on Earth.
Martian days are slightly longer than Earth ones, and the year is 668.6 days. Unlike Earth, which has one moon, the planet has two satellites irregular shape- Phobos and Deimos. Both of them, like the Moon to the Earth, are constantly turned to Mars with the same side. Phobos is gradually approaching the surface of its planet, moving in a spiral, and will probably fall onto it over time or break into pieces. Deimos, on the contrary, is gradually moving away from Mars and may leave its orbit in the distant future.
Between the orbits of Mars and the next planet, Jupiter, there is an asteroid belt consisting of small celestial bodies.
Jupiter and Saturn
Which planet is the largest? There are four gas giants in the solar system: Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. Jupiter has the largest size. Its atmosphere, like that of the Sun, consists predominantly of hydrogen. The fifth planet, named after the thunder god, has an average radius of 69,911 km and a mass 318 times that of Earth. The planet's magnetic field is 12 times stronger than the Earth's. Its surface is hidden under opaque clouds. So far, scientists are finding it difficult to say with certainty what processes can occur under this dense veil. It is assumed that there is a boiling hydrogen ocean on the surface of Jupiter. Astronomers consider this planet a “failed star” due to some similarity in their parameters.
Jupiter has 39 satellites, 4 of which - Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto - were discovered by Galileo.
Saturn is slightly smaller than Jupiter, it is the second largest among the planets. This is the sixth, next planet, also consisting of hydrogen with admixtures of helium, a small amount of ammonia, methane, and water. Hurricanes rage here, the speed of which can reach 1800 km/h! Saturn's magnetic field is not as powerful as Jupiter's, but stronger than Earth's. Both Jupiter and Saturn are somewhat flattened at the poles due to rotation. Saturn is 95 times heavier than earth, but its density is less than that of water. This is the least dense celestial body in our system.
A year on Saturn lasts 29.4 Earth years, a day is 10 hours 42 minutes. (Jupiter has a year of 11.86 Earth years, a day of 9 hours 56 minutes). It has a system of rings consisting of solid particles of various sizes. Presumably, these may be the remains of a destroyed satellite of the planet. In total, Saturn has 62 satellites.
Uranus and Neptune - the last planets
The seventh planet of the solar system is Uranus. It is 2.9 billion km away from the Sun. Uranus is the third largest among the planets of the Solar System (average radius - 25,362 km) and the fourth largest in mass (14.6 times greater than Earth's). A year here lasts 84 Earth years, a day lasts 17.5 hours. In the atmosphere of this planet, in addition to hydrogen and helium, methane occupies a significant volume. Therefore, for an earthly observer, Uranus has a soft blue color.
Uranus is the coldest planet in the solar system. The temperature of its atmosphere is unique: -224 °C. Scientists do not know why Uranus has a lower temperature than planets that are further from the Sun.
This planet has 27 satellites. Uranus has thin, flat rings.
Neptune, the eighth planet from the Sun, ranks fourth in size (average radius - 24,622 km) and third in mass (17 Earth's). For a gas giant it is relatively small (only four times more than Earth). Its atmosphere is also mainly composed of hydrogen, helium and methane. Gas clouds in its upper layers move at a record speed, the highest in the solar system - 2000 km/h! Some scientists believe that under the surface of the planet, under a layer of frozen gases and water, hidden, in turn, by the atmosphere, a solid rocky core may be hiding.
These two planets are similar in composition, which is why they are sometimes classified as a separate category - ice giants.
Minor planets
Minor planets are celestial bodies that also move around the Sun in their own orbits, but differ from other planets in their small sizes. Previously, only asteroids were classified as such, but more recently, namely since 2006, they also include Pluto, which was previously included in the list of planets of the Solar System and was the last, tenth on it. This is due to changes in terminology. Thus, minor planets now include not only asteroids, but also dwarf planets - Eris, Ceres, Makemake. They were named plutoids after Pluto. The orbits of all known dwarf planets are located beyond the orbit of Neptune, in the so-called Kuiper belt, which is much wider and more massive than the asteroid belt. Although their nature, as scientists believe, is the same: it is “unused” material left after the formation of the Solar system. Some scientists have suggested that the asteroid belt is the debris of the ninth planet, Phaeton, which died as a result of a global catastrophe.
What is known about Pluto is that it is composed primarily of ice and solid rock. The main component of its ice sheet is nitrogen. Its poles are covered with eternal snow.
This is the order of the planets of the solar system, according to modern ideas.
Parade of planets. Types of parades
This is a very interesting phenomenon for those interested in astronomy. It is customary to call a parade of planets such a position in the solar system when some of them, continuously moving in their orbits, for a short time occupy a certain position for an earthly observer, as if lining up along one line.
The visible parade of planets in astronomy is the special position of the five brightest planets of the solar system for people seeing them from Earth - Mercury, Venus, Mars, as well as two giants - Jupiter and Saturn. At this time, the distance between them is relatively small and they are clearly visible in a small sector of the sky.
There are two types of parades. A large form is called when five heavenly bodies line up in one line. Small - when there are only four of them. These phenomena may be visible or invisible from different areas globe. At the same time, a large parade occurs quite rarely - once every few decades. The small one can be observed once every few years, and the so-called mini-parade, in which only three planets participate, almost every year.
Interesting facts about our planetary system
Venus, the only one of all the major planets in the Solar System, rotates around its axis in the direction opposite to its rotation around the Sun.
The most high mountain on the major planets of the solar system - Olympus (21.2 km, diameter - 540 km), an extinct volcano on Mars. Not long ago, on the largest asteroid of our star system, Vesta, a peak was discovered that was somewhat superior in parameters to Olympus. Perhaps it is the highest in the solar system.
The four Galilean moons of Jupiter are the largest in the Solar System.
Besides Saturn, all gas giants, some asteroids, and Saturn's moon Rhea have rings.
Which star system is closest to us? The solar system is closest to the star system of the triple star Alpha Centauri (4.36 light years). It is assumed that planets similar to Earth may exist in it.
About planets for kids
How to explain to children what the solar system is? Her model will help here, which you can make together with the kids. To create planets, you can use plasticine or ready-made plastic (rubber) balls, as shown below. At the same time, it is necessary to maintain the relationship between the sizes of the “planets” so that the model of the solar system really helps to form in children the correct ideas about space.
You will also need toothpicks to hold our celestial bodies, and as a background you can use a dark sheet of cardboard with small dots painted on it to imitate stars. With the help of such an interactive toy, it will be easier for children to understand what the solar system is.
The future of the solar system
The article described in detail what the Solar System is. Despite its apparent stability, our Sun, like everything in nature, evolves, but this process, by our standards, is very long. The supply of hydrogen fuel in its depths is huge, but not infinite. So, according to scientists’ hypotheses, it will end in 6.4 billion years. As it burns out, the solar core will become denser and hotter, and the outer shell of the star will become wider. The star's luminosity will also increase. It is assumed that in 3.5 billion years, because of this, the climate on Earth will be similar to Venus, and life on it in the usual sense for us will no longer be possible. There will be no water left at all; under the influence of high temperatures it will evaporate into outer space. Subsequently, according to scientists, the Earth will be absorbed by the Sun and dissolve in its depths.
The outlook is not very bright. However, progress does not stand still, and perhaps by that time new technologies will allow humanity to explore other planets, over which other suns shine. After all, scientists do not yet know how many “solar” systems there are in the world. There are probably countless of them, and among them it is quite possible to find one suitable for human habitation. Which “solar” system will become our new home is not so important. Human civilization will be preserved, and another page will begin in its history...
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