The 8 planets of the Solar System (ordered and with their characteristics)
The Solar System, recognized by astrologers as "Our System", is composed of planets and asteroids that revolve around the only star that gives its name to the system, the Sun .
All the elements that compose it rotate directly or indirectly around the Sun because of the tensions created by the mass of each celestial body. There are many similar systems in the Universe, but this is the one that interests us since we depend on it to survive.
In this article we will see what are the planets of the Solar System .
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How is the Solar System formed?
It should be noted that the Solar System It was formed about 4,600 million years ago, the result of a gravitational collapse of a giant molecular cloud . This phenomenon led to the formation of other billions of stars that, according to experts, quantity is unknown.
Among the main elements that give shape and life to the Solar System, we also find minor planets, dust, interstellar gas, satellites and asteroids. All this belongs to the famous Milky Way, formed in turn by hundreds of billions of stars. Our Solar System, then, is located in one of those arms of the Vía, called Orion.
Main characteristics
The bodies that give form and life to the Solar System are the Sun, which accounts for 99% of the total mass of the system and with a diameter of 1,500,000 kilometers , and the planets, divided into two types called interior and exterior. It should be noted that the outer planets are surrounded by a ring. The dwarf planets, which are in another category of those already mentioned above, include celestial bodies such as Pluto or Eris.
Satellites are another important element , since they are larger bodies that orbit large planets such as Jupiter or Planet Earth, whose only satellite is the Moon.
On the other hand we find his younger brothers, the smaller bodies, which are concentrated in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. Asteroids, frozen objects, liquids, gaseous, comets, cosmic and meteoroid powders represent the rest of elements for the Solar System to take shape.
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The three categories
To better understand this system, astronomical scientific experts have decided to establish a classification of three categories of the Solar System that explain the formation of it.
First category
In this category are the 8 planets that make up the Solar System. The terrestrial planets are Earth, Mars, Venus and Mercury. The exteriors or giants (already mentioned in the previous point) are Neptune, Uranus, Jupiter and Saturn. Here all the planets have satellites that orbit around them.
Second category
Here are the so-called dwarf planets. This is a celestial body orbiting the Sun, of spherical shape but without sufficient mass to clear the vicinity of its orbit . Here is the reason for its nomenclature. The planets that make up this second category are: Ceres, Eris, Haumea, Pluto and Eris.
Category third
In this category reside the so-called "minor bodies of the Solar System", which are all the remaining objects that orbit around the Sun : they are the asteroids (compounds of amorphous forms), objects of the Kuiper belt, the meteoroids and the frozen comets.
The planets of the solar system
As we have described in the previous points, the planets of the Solar System are those that compose the most important part of all its complex composition. Next, we will go deeper into each of them in a more detailed way.
1. Mercury
We started on this planet to be the closest to the Sun, apart from being the smallest of its counterparts. It has a resemblance to Earth, because its composition is 70% metallic elements and the remaining 30% corresponds to silicates . In addition, as with the Moon, Mercury has a large number of meteorite impacts.
2. Venus
Venus corresponds the number two in terms of distance from the Sun . Within the Planets of the Solar System, Venus is often referred to as the planet "brother of the Earth" because of its resemblance, both in size and mass and its composition of terrestrial and rocky type.
3. Earth
Planet Earth, our planet, is the largest of the so-called rocky planets. It was formed about 4600 million years ago and its name comes from the Latin "Terra", Greek deity that corresponds to femininity and fertility.71% of its composition corresponds to the hydrosphere (water), a differential fact that has allowed the existence and persistence of human life. No other planet in the Solar System contains such a liquid level.
4. Mars
Mars is the second of the planets of the smaller solar system, after Mercury. It has long been commonly known as "red planet" , fruit of the reddish color that it acquires by iron oxide in the majority of its surface. Its size is almost half that of Earth and its gravity is 40% smaller, which makes it practically uninhabitable according to the latest NASA research.
5. Jupiter
The Planet of the Solar System that receives its name by the God Zeus of the Greek mythology (Jupiter in Roman mythology) is, preceded by the Sun, the planet with greater celestial body. It is 1300 times larger than Earth. As a massive gaseous body, its composition is basically composed of hydrogen and ice. As a curiosity, It is considered the oldest planet in the Solar System , preceding the Sun inclusive.
6. Saturn
This planet of the Solar System is famous for its imposing brightness from its rings that surround the planet. Returning to Galileo, he saw it for the first time in the year 1610. Virtually the entire planet (96%) consists of hydrogen and the remaining 3% of ice.
7. Uranus
This planet is considered the first to be discovered by a telescope. Its composition is very similar to that of its brothers Saturn and Jupiter, since it is formed by helium and hydrogen, as well as water, ammonia and methane but in larger quantities. A peculiarity of this planet of the Solar System is its atmosphere , with the lowest temperatures of the entire system, reaching the minimum of -224 degrees Celsius.
8. Neptune
Neptune was discovered about two centuries ago by Urbain Le Verrier, John Couch and Johann Galle, back in 1847. However, some historians and astronomers they maintain that the famous Galileo Galilei already observed this planet by the year 1612 , data still unconfirmed. The planet Neptune is composed of molten rock, water, methane, hydrogen, ice and liquid ammonia.
Bibliographic references:
- Giancoli, C. D. (2007). «Circular movement and gravitation». In Pearson Education. Physics: Principles with applications (sixth edition). Mexico DF. pp. 125-126.
- Sukyoung Yi; Pierre Demarque; Yong-Cheol Kim; Young-Wook Lee; Chang H. Ree; Thibault Lejeune; Sydney Barnes (2001). Toward Better Age Estimates for Stellar Populations: The Y2 Isochrones for Solar Mixture. Astrophysical Journal Supplement 136: pp. 417-437.
