The planets of the solar system are those that follow their elliptical path around the only star we have and to which we owe the name of our planetary system, the Sun, therefore, if you have any concerns or questions about the planets of the solar system and its characteristics, we invite you to read this article.
The solar system
It is called by scientists as our planetary system, and is made up of planets, asteroids and other celestial bodies that execute a movement of translation around the sun. All the bodies that make it up execute their movement around the sun due to the gravitational magnitudes that emanate from each element of the system.
It has been discovered by astronomers, for a long time, that there are many similar systems in the Universe, and more are being discovered every day, but the one on which we propose to make a dissertation is the solar system, because it is where it is found. our planet and we are in its hands so that there is life on our planet.
How is the Solar System formed?
A first conclusion reached by scientists from How did the solar system form? is that our solar system had its origin about 4.600 million years ago, as a result of a gravitational disorder suffered by a giant molecular cloud. Due to this disorder, the creation of an uncountable amount in billions of stars took place, and it is not known for sure what the amount is. One of those stars is our sun.
The solar system, as we know it, is made up of planets, as well as other bodies that we can find in space, which have been called minor planets, planetoids, interstellar gas, stardust, satellites, and asteroids. All this forming part of the baptized and well-known Milky Way, which, in turn, is made up of hundreds of billions of stars.
Along with all its components, the solar system is located in one of the arms or branches of the Milky Way, which has been called Orion.
Key features
The elements that make up the Solar System are, mainly, the Sun, because it represents 99% of the total collection of matter in our system, with a measurement of 1.500.000 kilometers. Then we find the planets of the solar system, which are classified into two classes, the planets of the solar system interior and the planets of the solar system exterior.
A salient feature of the solar planets exterior is that they are surrounded by a ring or halo. We can also find dwarf planets, which are located in another type of classification than the solar planets., and include celestial figures such as Pluto or Eris.
Another element that makes up the solar system are the satellites. They have a relative importance, because they are major celestial bodies with specific shapes and functions, which carry out their orbital movement, not around the sun, but around a large planet, as occurs with the planet Jupiter, which has more than 60 moons of various sizes, or as happens with our planet, the Earth, which has a single satellite, the Moon.
We can also find in the solar system solid formations smaller than satellites, these are smaller bodies, which are grouped in what has been called the asteroid belt, located between Mars and Jupiter.
Finally we will find the asteroids, which are objects that can have a very diverse conformation. They can be ice, gas, liquid, comets, cosmic dust and meteoroids. The latter complete the total of the elements necessary for the Solar System to consolidate itself as such.
the three categories
In order to better understand the solar system, experts, scientists and astronomers have chosen to form a classification of three categories of the Solar System that give an explanation of how it was formed.
first category
In this category are the 8 planets that make up the Solar System. The planets that undoubtedly have a solid formation are: Earth, Mars, Venus, Mercury. They are also called inner planets.
Then we have the outer or giant planets: Neptune, Uranus, Jupiter and Saturn. Towards this situation all the planets have their own satellites that execute orbits around them.
second category
It's where we'll find the so-called Tiny planets. It is thus called a celestial body that orbits around the sun, which has a rounded figure, but does not have sufficient mass to be able to make its way in the vicinity of its orbit. That is the reason they get that name. The dwarf planets that fill this second category are: Ceres, Eris, Haumea, Pluto and Eris.
third category
The third category was created to house what have been called minor bodies in the Solar System, and here all the remaining objects that orbit the Sun are grouped. These are asteroids, which usually have amorphous shapes, objects that are found in the Kuiper belt, meteoroids and ice comets.
The planets of the solar system
As we have commented in other sections of this article, after the important sun, the planets are the ones that make up the most relevant part of our Solar System, due to the complexity of their arrangement and composition. To provide better information, in this part we will explain in detail each of the planets of the solar system:
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Mercury
We start with Mercury, because it is the planet that is closest to the Sun. Another of its characteristics is that it is the smallest planet in the solar system. Its composition is similar to that of It because 70% of its elements are metallic and the remaining 30% are silicates. Another hallmark of Mercury is that, like the moon, it has a large number of meteorite impacts on its surface.
Mercury's proximity to the Sun makes its translational speed very high, so what?How long does Mercury take to go around the Sun? The answer is the equivalent of 88 Earth days. If what you want to know isHow long is a day on Mercury? Well, it is particularly long because it is the equivalent of 58,5 Earth days. So a day on Mercury is almost twenty days shorter than a Mercury year.
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Venus
Venus is the second planet in the Solar System in terms of distance from the sun. It is said that among the planets of the solar system, Venus is like a sister planet to Earth, because they are very similar, not only in size and mass, but also in their composition, because both are terrestrial and rocky.
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Earth
Earth, which is our planet, is also the largest of the so-called rocky planets. According to research, its origin dates back about 4600 billion years ago and its name comes from the Latin terra, which was the Greek deity of femininity and fertility.
A particular characteristic of the Earth is that 71% of its composition is in the hydrosphere (water). This fundamental fact has allowed and favored the existence and development of life on our planet. There is no other planet in the Solar System that contains that level of liquid.
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Mars
The first characteristic is that Mars is the second smallest planet in the Solar System, after the planet Mercury. It has long been called the Red Planet, due to its observable reddish color, which it acquired thanks to the iron oxide that is lodged in most of the surface.
In relation to Earth, Mars is almost half the size, and its gravity is 40% less, reasons that have led NASA to conclude that it is a planet that cannot support life.
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Jupiter
El Planet Jupiter It receives its name from the father of the gods of Roman mythology, the planet with the largest volume of all those that are part of the solar system. Its size is 1300 times larger than Earth. It is a massive body composed of gases, mainly hydrogen and helium.
Another characteristic of this amazing planet is that it is considered to be the first planet that was formed in the solar system, it is even thought that it was born before the Sun. How long is a day on Jupiter? Its duration is short, around 9 hours and 56 minutes, so its rotation movement is very fast.
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Saturn
Saturn's greatest fame is given by its extraordinary brightness, which derives from the rings or halos that surround it. Galileo Galilei first sighted it in the year 1610. 96% of Saturn is made up of hydrogen and the remaining 3% is helium.
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Uranus
It is known as the first planet discovered through a telescope. Its chemical composition is similar to that of the planets Saturn and Jupiter, since it is made up of hydrogen and helium, but it also has water, ammonia and methane, although in larger quantities. Its atmosphere is one of those with the lowest temperatures in the entire Solar System, reaching a minimum of -224 degrees Celsius.
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Neptuno
Neptune was discovered by Urbain Le Verrier, John Couch and Johann Galle, in the year 1847. Although some historians and scholars affirm that the person who was able to observe it for the first time was Galileo Galilei in the year 1612, although this has not been confirmed. Neptune is made up of molten rock, methane, hydrogen, water, helium, and liquid ammonia.
