The Solar System
The Solar System
Our solar system (right) is one of many that are located within our galaxy, the Milky Way. Ancient astronomers who observed the points of light moving across the sky and called them planets, meaning wanderers. They further named these planets after their Roman deities. This solar system consists of nine planets (or, according to more recent debates, eight planets and one dwarf planet) which orbit the Sun. These planets, in order of distance from the Sun, are Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto. The first four planets are the rock and iron planets of the Solar System, whereas the other four are the gaseous giants with no solid surface until their core. Pluto is also a rocky planet but due to it being so far away from the Sun it is mostly rock and ice. Mars and Jupiter are separated by an asteroid belt, some of these asteroids being up to 1000km across.
Mercury, at 57 910 000 km away from the Sun, is the closest planet to the Sun and also one of the hottest. A full day on Mercury equals to about 58 Earth days, 15 hours and 30 minutes. Venus is an Earth sized planet which takes about 117 days to rotate on it axis and 225 days to orbit the Sun. It is approximately 108 200 000km away from the Sun. Earth is the densest planet in the solar system. It is about 149 600 000 km from the Sun (1 Astronomical Unit, AU), and has 24 hours to each complete axis rotation. The fourth planet, Mars, has a year equalling to about 687 days. It is approximately 227 900 000km from the Sun and also has two moons, Phobos and Deimos. Saturn is the 6th planet from the Sun and takes about 29 Earth years to orbit it. The famous rings around Saturn are similar to the rocky asteroid belt, just in miniature. The millions of pieces of ice and rock are each in their own orbit around the planet. Uranus was discovered to have 27 moons orbiting it as it orbited the Sun throughout 84 Earth years. It is also 2 877 000 000km away from our Sun. The length of a day in Neptune is 16 hours and 6 minutes, however, despite the shorter day, Neptune takes 165 years to obit the Sun as it is 4 503 000 000km away from it. The last planet in our solar system is Pluto. This planet is approximately 5.9 billion kilometres from the Sun and takes about 248 years to orbit it, since it was discovered in 1930 Pluto still has 177 years to go to complete an orbit.
Mercury, at 57 910 000 km away from the Sun, is the closest planet to the Sun and also one of the hottest. A full day on Mercury equals to about 58 Earth days, 15 hours and 30 minutes. Venus is an Earth sized planet which takes about 117 days to rotate on it axis and 225 days to orbit the Sun. It is approximately 108 200 000km away from the Sun. Earth is the densest planet in the solar system. It is about 149 600 000 km from the Sun (1 Astronomical Unit, AU), and has 24 hours to each complete axis rotation. The fourth planet, Mars, has a year equalling to about 687 days. It is approximately 227 900 000km from the Sun and also has two moons, Phobos and Deimos. Saturn is the 6th planet from the Sun and takes about 29 Earth years to orbit it. The famous rings around Saturn are similar to the rocky asteroid belt, just in miniature. The millions of pieces of ice and rock are each in their own orbit around the planet. Uranus was discovered to have 27 moons orbiting it as it orbited the Sun throughout 84 Earth years. It is also 2 877 000 000km away from our Sun. The length of a day in Neptune is 16 hours and 6 minutes, however, despite the shorter day, Neptune takes 165 years to obit the Sun as it is 4 503 000 000km away from it. The last planet in our solar system is Pluto. This planet is approximately 5.9 billion kilometres from the Sun and takes about 248 years to orbit it, since it was discovered in 1930 Pluto still has 177 years to go to complete an orbit.
Jupiter
Planet Jupiter
Jupiter (left) is 4th from the sun out of the nine planets in our solar system. It is also the largest. So large, in fact, that it is approximately 300 times as massive as the Earth and 2½ times the size of all the other planets put together. Jupiter's actual mass is equal to about 318 Earths, or 1.89813x10 to the power of 27 kilograms. Across at its equator, Jupiter is estimated to be 142 800km. That's 11 times the number for Earth.
The core of Jupiter is thought to be the one solid element encased by layers of thick gases and clouds. Some of Jupiter's clouds are thought to be around 50km thick. Below this cloud cover there is a thick layer of hydrogen and helium gas that extends 21 000km inwards, at the end of which the gases turn to liquid due to the immense depth and pressure build up from the cloud cover. Beneath this liquid hydrogen area, there comes a deep sea of liquid metalic hydrogen that is thought to cover 40 000km inward. Then there is the solid core that is about 1½ times the size of Earth but 30 times more massive and the temperature would come up to about 30 000°C.
Jupiter's entire atmosphere is split into different atmospheres within it, much like Earth. These atmospheres are (travelling away from the core of the planet) the Troposphere, the Stratosphere, the Thermosphere and the Exosphere. The visible clouds of ammonia on the surface of the planet, form parallel bands which are called 'belts' or 'zones' depending whether they are light or dark. The dots and circles that are seen inside these bands are storms or vortices that happen due to Jupiter's raging and unstable atmosphere. The largest and most famous of these being the Great Red Spot (at its largest it is
40 000km long and 14 000km wide).
Jupiter is 5.20 AU, or 777 908 928km, from the Sun which it takes 11.86 Earth years to orbit. Although Jupiter takes longer than Earth to orbit the Sun, one day in Jupiter is only 9 hours and 56 minutes.
The amount of moons that Jupiter has adds up to around 61 at least. The four largest of these being Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto. These four moons are called the Gallilean satelites as Gallileo Gallilei first observed them in 1610. Each of these moons has a unique tribute unlike to that of the others. Io is extremely volcanically active, Europa has a surface consisting of mostly water ice (it is thought to have twice as much water as Earth), Ganymede is the largest moon in the solar system and is the only known moon to have its own magnetic field (internally generated) and Callisto whose surface is heavily cratered and ancient.
The core of Jupiter is thought to be the one solid element encased by layers of thick gases and clouds. Some of Jupiter's clouds are thought to be around 50km thick. Below this cloud cover there is a thick layer of hydrogen and helium gas that extends 21 000km inwards, at the end of which the gases turn to liquid due to the immense depth and pressure build up from the cloud cover. Beneath this liquid hydrogen area, there comes a deep sea of liquid metalic hydrogen that is thought to cover 40 000km inward. Then there is the solid core that is about 1½ times the size of Earth but 30 times more massive and the temperature would come up to about 30 000°C.
Jupiter's entire atmosphere is split into different atmospheres within it, much like Earth. These atmospheres are (travelling away from the core of the planet) the Troposphere, the Stratosphere, the Thermosphere and the Exosphere. The visible clouds of ammonia on the surface of the planet, form parallel bands which are called 'belts' or 'zones' depending whether they are light or dark. The dots and circles that are seen inside these bands are storms or vortices that happen due to Jupiter's raging and unstable atmosphere. The largest and most famous of these being the Great Red Spot (at its largest it is
40 000km long and 14 000km wide).
Jupiter is 5.20 AU, or 777 908 928km, from the Sun which it takes 11.86 Earth years to orbit. Although Jupiter takes longer than Earth to orbit the Sun, one day in Jupiter is only 9 hours and 56 minutes.
The amount of moons that Jupiter has adds up to around 61 at least. The four largest of these being Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto. These four moons are called the Gallilean satelites as Gallileo Gallilei first observed them in 1610. Each of these moons has a unique tribute unlike to that of the others. Io is extremely volcanically active, Europa has a surface consisting of mostly water ice (it is thought to have twice as much water as Earth), Ganymede is the largest moon in the solar system and is the only known moon to have its own magnetic field (internally generated) and Callisto whose surface is heavily cratered and ancient.