It's called the solar system. Hot planetary coronas

Our Solar System consists of the Sun, the planets orbiting it, and smaller celestial bodies. All of these are mysterious and surprising because they are still not fully understood. Below are the sizes of the planets solar system in ascending order, and briefly talks about the planets themselves.

There is everything famous list planets, which lists them in order of their distance from the Sun:

Pluto used to be in last place, but in 2006 it lost its status as a planet, as larger ones were found further away from it. celestial bodies. The listed planets are divided into rocky (inner) and giant planets.

Brief information about rocky planets

The inner (rocky) planets include those bodies that are located inside the asteroid belt separating Mars and Jupiter. They got their name “stone” because they consist of various hard rocks, minerals and metals. They are united by a small number or absence of satellites and rings (like Saturn). On the surface of rocky planets there are volcanoes, depressions and craters formed as a result of the fall of other cosmic bodies.

But if you compare their sizes and arrange them in ascending order, the list will look like this:

Brief information about the giant planets

The giant planets are located beyond the asteroid belt and therefore are also called outer planets. They consist of very light gases - hydrogen and helium. These include:

But if you make a list by the size of the planets in the solar system in ascending order, the order changes:

A little information about the planets

In modern scientific understanding, a planet means a celestial body that revolves around the Sun and has sufficient mass for its own gravity. Thus, there are 8 planets in our system, and, importantly, these bodies are not similar to each other: each has its own unique differences, as in appearance, and in the components of the planet themselves.

- This is the planet closest to the Sun and the smallest among the others. It weighs 20 times less than the Earth! But, despite this, it has a fairly high density, which allows us to conclude that there are a lot of metals in its depths. Due to its strong proximity to the Sun, Mercury is subject to sudden temperature changes: at night it is very cold, during the day the temperature rises sharply.

- This is the next planet closest to the Sun, in many ways similar to Earth. It has a more powerful atmosphere than Earth, and is considered a very hot planet (its temperature is above 500 C).

- This is a unique planet due to its hydrosphere, and the presence of life on it led to the appearance of oxygen in its atmosphere. Most of the surface is covered with water, and the rest is occupied by continents. Unique feature There are also tectonic plates that move, albeit very slowly, which leads to changes in the landscape. The Earth has one satellite - the Moon.

– also known as the “Red Planet”. It gets its fiery red color from large quantity iron oxides. Mars has a very thin atmosphere and much lower atmospheric pressure compared to Earth. Mars has two satellites - Deimos and Phobos.

is a real giant among the planets of the solar system. Its weight is 2.5 times the weight of all the planets combined. The surface of the planet consists of helium and hydrogen and is in many ways similar to the sun. Therefore, it is not surprising that there is no life on this planet - there is no water and a solid surface. But Jupiter has big number satellites: on this moment known 67.

– This planet is famous for the presence of rings consisting of ice and dust revolving around the planet. With its atmosphere it resembles that of Jupiter, and in size it is slightly smaller than this giant planet. In terms of the number of satellites, Saturn is also a little behind - it has 62 known satellites. The largest satellite, Titan, has big sizes than Mercury.

- the lightest planet among the outer ones. Its atmosphere is the coldest in the entire system (minus 224 degrees), it has a magnetosphere and 27 satellites. Uranium consists of hydrogen and helium, and the presence of ammonia ice and methane has also been noted. Because Uranus has a high axial tilt, it appears as if the planet is rolling rather than rotating.

- despite its smaller size than , it is heavier and exceeds the mass of the Earth. This is the only planet that was found through mathematical calculations, and not through astronomical observations. The strongest winds in the solar system were recorded on this planet. Neptune has 14 moons, one of which, Triton, is the only one that rotates in the opposite direction.

It is very difficult to imagine the entire scale of the solar system within the limits of the studied planets. It seems to people that the Earth is a huge planet, and, in comparison with other celestial bodies, it is so. But if you place giant planets next to it, then the Earth already takes on tiny dimensions. Of course, next to the Sun, all celestial bodies appear small, so representing all the planets in their full scale is a difficult task.

The most famous classification of planets is their distance from the Sun. But a listing that takes into account the sizes of the planets of the Solar System in ascending order would also be correct. The list will be presented as follows:

As you can see, the order has not changed much: the inner planets are on the first lines, and Mercury occupies the first place, and the outer planets occupy the remaining positions. In fact, it doesn’t matter at all in what order the planets are located, this will not make them any less mysterious and beautiful.

The solar system is the central star, the Sun, and all the cosmic bodies that revolve around it.

There are 8 largest celestial bodies, or planets, in the solar system. Our Earth is also a planet. In addition to it, 7 more planets travel around the Sun in space: Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. The last two can only be observed from Earth through a telescope. The rest are visible to the naked eye.

More recently, another celestial body, Pluto, was considered a planet. It is located very far from the Sun, beyond the orbit of Neptune, and was discovered only in 1930. However, in 2006, astronomers introduced a new definition of a classical planet, and Pluto did not fall under it.

The planets have been known to people since ancient times. The closest neighbors of the Earth are Venus and Mars, the farthest from it are Uranus and Neptune.

Large planets are usually divided into two groups. The first group includes the planets closest to the Sun: these are terrestrial planets, or inner planets, - Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars. All of these planets have a high density and a solid surface (although there is a liquid core underneath). The largest planet in this group is Earth. However, the planets farthest from the Sun - Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune - are significantly larger than the Earth. That's why they got the name giant planets. They are also called outer planets. Thus, the mass of Jupiter exceeds the mass of the Earth by more than 300 times. Giant planets differ significantly from the terrestrial planets in their structure: they do not consist of heavy elements, but of gas, mainly hydrogen and helium, like the Sun and other stars. Giant planets do not have a solid surface - they are just balls of gas. That's why they are also called gas planets.

Between Mars and Jupiter there is a belt asteroids, or minor planets. An asteroid is a small planet-like body in the Solar System, ranging in size from a few meters to a thousand kilometers. The largest asteroids in this belt are Ceres, Pallas and Juno.

Beyond the orbit of Neptune there is another belt of small celestial bodies, which is called the Kuiper belt. It is 20 times wider than the asteroid belt. Pluto, which lost its planetary status and was classified as dwarf planets, is just in this belt. There are other dwarf planets in the Kuiper belt that are similar to Pluto, and in 2008 they were named as such - plutoids. These are Makemake and Haumea. By the way, Ceres from the asteroid belt is also classified as a dwarf planet (but not a plutoid!).

Another plutoid - Eris - is comparable in size to Pluto, but is located much further from the Sun - beyond the Kuiper belt. Interestingly, Eris was at one time even a candidate for the role of the 10th planet in the solar system. But as a result, it was the discovery of Eris that caused a revision of the status of Pluto in 2006, when the International Astronomical Union (IAU) introduced a new classification of celestial bodies of the Solar System. According to this classification, Eris and Pluto did not fall under the concept of a classical planet, but “earned” only the title of dwarf planets - celestial bodies that revolve around the Sun, are not satellites of planets and have a large enough mass to maintain an almost round shape, but, unlike planets, they are not able to clear their orbit from others space objects.

The solar system, in addition to the planets, includes their satellites that revolve around them. There are currently 415 satellites in total. The Earth's constant satellite is the Moon. Mars has 2 satellites - Phobos and Deimos. Jupiter has 67 satellites, and Saturn has 62. Uranus has 27 satellites. And only Venus and Mercury do not have satellites. But the “dwarfs” Pluto and Eris have satellites: Pluto has Charon, and Eris has Dysnomia. However, astronomers have not yet come to a final conclusion whether Charon is a satellite of Pluto or the Pluto-Charon system is a so-called double planet. Even some asteroids have satellites. The champion in size among satellites is Ganymede, a satellite of Jupiter; Saturn's satellite Titan is not far behind it. Both Ganymede and Titan are larger than Mercury.

In addition to planets and satellites, the solar system is crisscrossed by tens, or even hundreds of thousands of different small bodies: tailed celestial bodies - comets, great amount meteorites, particles of gas and dust matter, scattered atoms of various chemical elements, flows of atomic particles and others.

All objects of the Solar system are held in it due to the gravitational force of the Sun, and they all rotate around it, moreover, in the same direction with the rotation of the Sun itself and practically in the same plane, which is called plane of the ecliptic. The exception is some comets and Kuiper belt objects. In addition, almost all objects of the Solar system rotate around their own axis, and in the same direction as around the Sun (the exception is Venus and Uranus; the latter even rotates “lying on its side”).

Pluto's orbit is highly inclined relative to the ecliptic (17°) and highly elongated

Almost the entire mass of the solar system is concentrated in the Sun - 99.8%. The four largest objects - gas giants - make up 99% of the remaining mass (with most of- about 90% - falls on Jupiter and Saturn). As for the size of the solar system, astronomers have not yet reached a consensus on this issue. According to modern estimates, the size of the solar system is at least 60 billion kilometers. To at least approximately imagine the scale of the solar system, we present more clear example. Within the Solar System, the unit of distance is taken to be the astronomical unit (AU) - the average distance from the Earth to the Sun. It is approximately 150 million km (light travels this distance in 8 minutes 19 seconds). The outer limit of the Kuiper Belt is located at a distance of 55 AU. e. from the Sun.

Another way to imagine the actual size of the solar system is to imagine a model in which all sizes and distances are reduced to a billion times . In this case, the Earth would be about 1.3 cm in diameter (the size of a grape). The moon will rotate at a distance of about 30 cm from it. The sun will be 1.5 meters in diameter (about the height of a person) and located 150 meters from the Earth (about a city block). Jupiter is 15 cm in diameter (the size of a large grapefruit) and 5 city blocks away from the Sun. Saturn (the size of an orange) is 10 blocks away. Uranus and Neptune (lemons) - 20 and 30 quarters. A person on this scale would be the size of an atom; and the nearest star is 40,000 km away.

The solar system is a system of planets that includes its center, the Sun, as well as other objects in space. They revolve around the Sun. Until recently, “planet” was the name given to 9 objects in space that revolve around the Sun. Scientists have now established that beyond the boundaries of the solar system there are planets that orbit stars.

In 2006, the Union of Astronomers proclaimed that the planets of the solar system are spherical space objects revolving around the Sun. On the scale of the solar system, the Earth appears extremely small. In addition to the Earth, eight planets revolve around the Sun in their individual orbits. All of them are larger than the Earth in size. Rotate in the plane of the ecliptic.

Planets in the Solar System: types

Location of the terrestrial group in relation to the Sun

The first planet is Mercury, followed by Venus; Next comes our Earth and, finally, Mars.
Terrestrial planets do not have many satellites or moons. Of these four planets, only Earth and Mars have satellites.

Planets that belong to the terrestrial group are highly dense and consist of metal or stone. Basically, they are small and rotate around their axis. Their rotation speed is also low.

Gas giants

These are the four space objects that are at the greatest distance from the Sun: Jupiter is at No. 5, followed by Saturn, then Uranus and Neptune.

Jupiter and Saturn are impressively sized planets made of hydrogen and helium compounds. The density of gas planets is low. They rotate at high speeds, have satellites and are surrounded by rings of asteroids.
The “ice giants,” which include Uranus and Neptune, are smaller; their atmospheres contain methane and carbon monoxide.

Gas giants have a strong gravitational field, so they can attract many cosmic objects, unlike the terrestrial group.

According to scientists, asteroid rings are the remains of moons changed by the gravitational field of the planets.

Dwarf planet

Dwarfs are space objects whose size does not reach the size of a planet, but exceeds the dimensions of an asteroid. There are a great many such objects in the Solar System. They are concentrated in the Kuiper belt region. The satellites of the gas giants are dwarf planets that have left their orbit.

Planets of the Solar System: the process of emergence

According to the cosmic nebula hypothesis, stars are born in clouds of dust and gas, in nebulae.
Due to the force of attraction, substances come together. Under the influence of the concentrated force of gravity, the center of the nebula contracts and stars form. Dust and gases transform into rings. The rings rotate under the influence of gravity, and planetasimals are formed in the whirlpools, which increase in size and attract cosmetic objects to themselves.

Under the influence of gravity, planetesimals are compressed and acquire spherical shapes. The spheres can unite and gradually turn into protoplanets.



There are eight planets within the solar system. They revolve around the Sun. Their location is as follows:
The closest “neighbor” of the Sun is Mercury, followed by Venus, followed by the Earth, then Mars and Jupiter, further from the Sun are Saturn, Uranus and the last one, Neptune.

Earth - planet Solar system. Earth- one of the celestial bodies that revolve around the Sun. Sun is a star, a flaming ball around which planets revolve. They, together with the Sun, their satellites, many small planets (asteroids), comets and meteor dust, make up solar system . Our galaxy - Milky Way , its diameter is approximately 100 thousand light years (this is how long it will take light to reach the last point of a given space).

Earth- third in a row eight planets , it has a diameter of about 13 thousand km. She's in the distance 150 million km from the Sun (third from the Sun). The Earth, along with Venus, Mars and Mercury, enters inner (terrestrial) group planets. The Earth makes one revolution around the Sun in 365 days 5 hours 48 minutes, or for one year. The Earth's path around the Sun (Earth's orbit) is close in shape to a circle.

Earth, like other planets, spherical . As a result of rotation around its axis, it is slightly flattened at the poles. Due to the inhomogeneous structure of the Earth's interior and the inhomogeneous distribution of masses, the shape of the Earth deviates from correct form ellipsoid of revolution. True geometric figure The earth was named geoid(earth-like). Geoid - a figure whose surface is everywhere perpendicular to the direction of gravity. The shapes of a spheroid and a geoid do not coincide. Differences are observed within the range of 50-150 m.

Rotation of the Earth.

Simultaneously with its movement around the Sun, the Earth rotates around its axis, turning towards the Sun first with one hemisphere, then with the other. Rotation period equal to approximately 24 hours, or one day. Earth's axis is an imaginary straight line passing through the center of the Earth. The axis intersects the Earth's surface at two points: North and South poles. At equal distances from the geographic poles it passes equator- an imaginary line that divides the Earth into two equal hemispheres: Northern and Southern.

The imaginary axis around which the Earth rotates is inclined to the orbital plane along which the Earth revolves around the Sun. Because of this in different time years, the Earth is turned towards the Sun, first with one pole, then with the other. When the area around is facing the Sun North Pole, then in the Northern Hemisphere (in which we live) it is summer, and in the Southern Hemisphere it is winter. When the area around is facing the Sun South Pole, then vice versa: in the Southern Hemisphere it is summer, and in the Northern Hemisphere it is winter.

Thus, due to the rotation of the Earth around the Sun, as well as due to the tilt of the Earth’s axis, our planet changes Seasons. In addition, different parts of the Earth receive from the Sun different quantities heat, this determines the existence of thermal belts: hot tropical, temperate and cold polar.

The earth has the invisible magnetic field . The presence of this field causes the compass needle always point north. The Earth has only one natural satellite - Moon(at a distance of 384,400 km from Earth). The moon revolves around the Earth. She reflects sunlight, so it seems to us that it glows.

From the attraction of the Moon on Earth there are ebb and flow. They are especially noticeable along the open ocean coast. The lunar gravity is so strong that the surface of the ocean arches towards our satellite. The moon moves around the Earth and follows it across the ocean tidal wave. When it reaches the shore, the tide occurs. After some time, the water moves away from the shore following the Moon.

Table "Earth - planet of the solar system."

The planetary system, called the Solar system, includes the central luminary - the Sun, as well as many space objects with different sizes and status. This system was formed as a result of the compression of a cloud of dust and gas more than 4 billion years ago. Main part of the mass solar planet centered on the Sun. Eight large planets orbit the star in nearly circular orbits located within a flat disk.

The inner planets of the solar system are considered to be Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars (in order of distance from the Sun). These celestial bodies are classified as terrestrial planets. The following are the most major planets– Jupiter and Saturn. The series is completed by Uranus and Neptune, located farthest from the center. Orbiting the dwarf planet Pluto at the very edge of the system.

Earth is the third planet in the solar system. Like other large bodies, it revolves around the Sun in a closed orbit, subject to the gravitational force of the star. The sun attracts celestial bodies to itself, preventing them from approaching the center of the system or flying away into space. Together with the planets, smaller bodies - meteors, comets, asteroids - rotate around the central star.

Features of planet Earth

The average distance from Earth to the center of the solar system is 150 million km. The location of the third planet turned out to be extremely favorable from the point of view of the emergence and development of life. The Earth receives a tiny amount of heat from the Sun, but this energy is quite enough for living organisms to exist within the planet. On Venus and Mars, the closest neighbors of the Earth, conditions in this regard are less favorable.

Among the planets of the so-called terrestrial group, the Earth stands out for its greatest density and size. The composition of the local atmosphere, which contains free oxygen, is unique. The presence of a powerful hydrosphere also gives the Earth its originality. These factors have become one of the main conditions for the existence of biological forms. Scientists believe that the formation internal structure The Earth still continues due to tectonic processes occurring in its depths.

The Moon, its natural satellite, is located in close proximity to the Earth. This is the only space object that people have visited to date. The average distance between the Earth and its satellite is about 380 thousand km. Lunar surface covered with dust and rock fragments. There is no atmosphere on the Earth's satellite. It is possible that in the distant future the territory of the Moon will be developed by earthly civilization.