What do You Know About the Solar System?

The Sun is a star and the head of the solar family called the solar system. It appears bigger than his family members because it is nearer to our earth than other stars.

What is the solar system?

The Sun is a star and the head of the solar family called the solar system. It appears bigger than his family members because it is nearer to our earth than other stars. The sun has a family of eight planets, three dwarf planets all orbiting the sun without taking any brake. (The specific path in which the planet is around the sun is called the orbit).

The distance of the planets from the sun is as per the following chronology i.e. Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto, Haumea, and Eris. Besides the planets, thousands of small pieces of rocks orbit the sun called asteroids, which are also included in the solar system. Most are moving in the belt between Mars and Jupiter.

Many planets have their own moons or natural satellites. The moons, asteroids, comets, and meteors all are included in a joint family of the Sun as we the people have.

Let us discuss the members of the solar system.

The Sun:

The Sun is one of the billions of stars swirling within an enormous cosmic place called the Milky Way galaxy. Our Sun is a source of energy and responsible for the existence of the entire plant and animal kingdom on our planet Earth. It is a huge incredibly hot spinning ball of gas.

Due to the fusion reaction of gases, Helium turns into Hydrogen producing energy. The dotted dark patches found around the sun are called sunspots, which come and go. The approximate age of the Sun is about 4.6 billion years. Its distance from Earth is 149.6 million km. The Sun is considered a major God in Indian mythology.

The Mercury:

Mercury is the first planet from the Sun and the smallest in the solar system. It is very hot where it faces the sun, but the other sides of the planet feel very cold. It takes 87.97 Earth days to make one round in its orbit.

The Mercury can be seen near the western horizon after sunset and the eastern horizon before sunrise. The Mercury was named after Roman God Mercurius. In Indian mythology, Mercury is called Budha, the planet of knowledge and wisdom.

Venus:

Venus is the second planet from the Sun and closest to Earth. It is about the size of the earth and is always covered by thick clouds of sulphuric acid. The mercury has volcanoes, plains, and deep gorges but no sign of life traced yet. It takes 243 Earth days to orbit the sun once and about 108 million km away from the sun.

It is visible to us late at night and very early morning. Venus is named after the Roman Goddess of love and beauty. In Indian mythology, Venus is called Sukracharya, the teacher of demons/Asura and the best poet. The Sukra is also called the planet of love life and wealth in Indian astrology.

The Earth:

The Earth is the third planet from the Sun, in our solar system and our dreamed dear home planet, only one known planet of the existence of life. It takes 365.26 days to complete one round around the Sun and takes 24 hours to finish one rotation of its own axis.

The distance of the Earth from the sun is about 149.7 million km. It has one natural satellite called the moon. Indian mythology is called the moon Chandra, Chanda mama of all the children and the adult.

Mars:

The red planet Mars is the fourth planet from the sun and the second smallest planet in the solar family. It has two known small and irregularly shaped moons. Mars takes 687 Earth days to orbit Sun once and has a distance of about 228 million km from the Sun.

Mars is visible in the southern sky at midnight. Mars carries the name after the Roman God of war Ares. In Indian mythology and astrology Mars is called Mangal the fighter planet.

The four inner system planets Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars are terrestrial planets, composed of primarily rocks and metals.

Jupiter:

Jupiter is the 5th planet from the Sun and the largest planet in the solar system. Its surface consists of a gas giant with a mass more than two and a half times of the combined mass of all the planets in the solar family. Only its core, twice the size of the earth itself made of solid rocks.

Jupiter has 80 known moons and might have more. The four larger moons are Lo, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto. The average distance from the Sun to Jupiter is 778 million km. It completes one orbit in 11.86 Earth years.

In our solar system, Jupiter is the fourth brightest object in the sky, after Sun, the Moon, the Mars. Jupiter takes its name from the Roman God Jupiter, the king of Roman Gods. In Indian mythology, Jupiter is called Guru Brihaspati, the teacher of Gods and guide also.

Saturn:

Saturn is the sixth planet of the solar system from the sun. Its size is next to Jupiter and a gas giant mostly consists of hydrogen and helium. Saturn is visible to the naked eye. it has amazing and spectacular seven rings made up of countless blocks of ice and rocks.

It has 82 moons out of which 29 moons waiting for confirmation and naming. Titan is the largest moon on this planet with an atmosphere. The average distance of this planet from the Sun is about 1427 million km. It takes 29.5 Earth years to complete one orbit. Saturn is named after the Roman God of wealth and agriculture Cronus and the father of Jupiter. In Indian mythology, Saturn is called Sani, the lord of justice and son of the Sun God.

The Uranus:

Uranus is the seventh planet from the Sun and an ice giant. Most of its mass is a hot dense fluid of icy materials having 13 faint rings. It has 27 known moons. The average distance of this planet from the Sun is about 2869 million km. It takes 84 Earth years to rotate Sun once. Given its name after the Greek God of the sky Uranus, the father of Saturn. Uranus is not considered a God in Indian mythology.

Neptune:

Neptune is the eighth planet from Sun in our solar system. It is a giant ice planet like Uranus. This planet has no well-defined solid surface. It has 14 known moons. Triton is the largest known moon of it. Orbit the sun once every 164.8 years. It is about 4495 million km from Sun. Got its name after the Roman God of the sea Neptune

FAQs of Our Solar System.

1. What is our solar system?

Ans: Our solar system is a collection of planets, dwarf planets, moons, asteroids, comets, and other objects that orbit around the sun.

2. How many planets are there in our solar system?

Ans: Our solar system has eight planets: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune.

3. What is the largest planet in our solar system?

Ans: Jupiter is the largest planet in our solar system. It is more than twice as massive as all the other planets in the solar system combined.

4. What is the smallest planet in our solar system?

Ans: Mercury is the smallest planet in our solar system. It is only slightly larger than Earth’s moon.

5. What is a dwarf planet?

Ans: A dwarf planet is a celestial body that orbits the sun and has enough mass to form a nearly spherical shape but has not cleared its orbit of other debris. Pluto is a famous example of a dwarf planet.

6. What is a moon?

Ans: A moon is a natural satellite that orbits a planet. There are more than 200 known moons in our solar system.

7. What is an asteroid?

Ans: an asteroid is a small, rocky object that orbits the sun. Most asteroids are found in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.

8. What is a comet?

Ans: A comet is a small, icy object that orbits the sun. When a comet gets close to the sun, its icy surface starts to vaporize, creating a bright tail.

9. How old is our solar system?

Ans: Our solar system is about 4.6 billion years old.

10. How far away is the nearest star to our solar system?

Ans: The nearest star to our solar system is Proxima Centauri, which is about 4.24 light-years away.

Conclusion:

Sun is the key to the solar system, as all the members of the system orbit it. The approximate age of the Sun is about 4.6 billion years. Its distance from Earth is 149.6 million km. The Sun is considered a major God in Indian mythology. In the solar family, the Earth is the only known inhabitable planet. Till now astronomers have found more than 500 million solar systems and discovery continues.