interesting facts about the solar system
This article describes the sun, the (dwarf) planets and the asteroid belt. Under each subheading you will find general information and various interesting facts about the solar system in order from the Sun to Pluto. If you want to learn something about the solar system, you've come to the right place.
What is the Solar System?
The solar system consists of 8 different planets, an asteroid belt, moons and a few dwarf planets. The four planets closest to the sun are called terrestrial planets, this is because the planets have a solid bottom. The planets further away in the solar system are called gas giants, because they consist largely of gases. Finally comes the dwarf planet Pluto, which consists of a solid but icy bottom. In addition to planets and moons, the solar system also contains many comets and asteroids. Most asteroids are located in the space between Mars and Jupiter. The collective name for all these asteroids is the asteroid belt.
The order of the planets from the sun is as follows:
- The sun
- Mercury
- Venus
- Soil
- Mars
- The asteroid belt
- Jupiter
- Saturn
- Uranus
- Neptune
Dwarf planets are found in various places in the solar system.
The solar system has 140 known moons. These moons all orbit one of the planets. Jupiter is the planet with the most moons in the solar system. More information about the planets, dwarf planets and asteroid belt can be found on this page in order from the sun.
Discovering the solar system
Mankind started discovering the universe a long time ago, each time making bigger strides. The first discoverers of planets named them after gods from Roman and Greek mythology. Since the invention of the telescope, two new planets have been discovered in the solar system, Uranus and Neptune.
The sun
The sun is the center of the solar system. This is because the sun is gigantic compared to the planets in the solar system, so large that the sun alone contains 99.8 percent of the mass of the solar system. An object as large as the sun has a strong gravitational pull, the planets in the solar system are in orbit around the sun due to this gravitational pull. The sun is a star, so just like other stars, the sun also consists entirely of different gases.
Nuclear fusion in the sun creates heat and radiation that travels through the solar system. This radiation ensures that life forms can grow on Earth, due to the energy that this radiation brings. The sun has a core that is so hot that we cannot get too close to it, as it radiates heat of 15 million degrees Celsius. At the surface of the sun the temperature is much lower, but still very high compared to the temperature on Earth. The sun is more than 5000 degrees Celsius on the surface.
History of the Sun
Because the sun is so clearly visible in the sky, people had different theories about it a long time ago. It was widely believed that the sun revolved around the Earth rather than the other way around. When the researcher Copernicus proposed the theory of a solar system with the sun at its center, he received a lot of criticism. Later, another researcher, Galileo Galilei, discovered that not all planets orbit Earth. This caused Copernicus' theory to be reexamined and later generally accepted as the truth.
The planet Mercury
At a distance of 57,910,000 kilometers from the sun with a diameter of 4,880 kilometers, Mercury is the closest planet to the sun. There are 7 planets that are further away from the sun than Mercury.
How are things on Mercury?
The temperature on Mercury varies the most of any planet in the solar system. From 90 degrees Kelvin to 700 degrees Kelvin. The temperature on Venus is a little bit higher, but also a lot more stable. Mercury has no moons or other satellites. Mercury is similar to our moon in many ways. There are many craters on the surface and it has no tectonic plates. Of course there are also many differences. Inside Mercury there is a large iron core with a radius of about 1,850 kilometers. Mercury's outer layer is only 500-600 kilometers thick.
Mercury's atmosphere is quite thin. This consists of atoms that are constantly blown away by solar wind. Because Mercury is so hot, the planet's atoms escape and are shot into space. As a result, Mercury's atmosphere is constantly changing, unlike Earth and Venus, where the atmosphere is stable.
History of Mercury
In Roman mythology, Mercury is the messenger of the gods. The planet was probably named after Mercury because it moves so quickly through the sky. The planet Mercury has been recognized by humans for thousands of years. Greek astronomers already knew about it. Heraclitus, a Greek astronomer, already believed at the time that the planets we now know as Mercury and Venus orbited the sun. At the time that was a revolutionary thought, because for thousands of years people have thought that the Earth is the center of the universe.
Until 1962, it was thought that one day on Mercury was as long as one year on Mercury. This would mean that the same side of the planet always faces the sun. This was proven incorrect in 1965. It is now known that Mercury rotates on its axis 3 times in 2 years.
Visits to Mercury
Mercury has been visited by two space vehicles, Mariner 10 and Messenger. Mariner 10 flew past the planet three times in 1974 and 1975. Only 45% of the surface was mapped. The Messenger was launched by NASA in 2004. In 2011 it entered the orbit of Mercury. Since then, the Messenger has taken more than 250,000 photos of the planet. The entire planet was then mapped.
See Mercury for yourself
Mercury is often visible with simple binoculars. Sometimes you can even see the planet with the naked eye. You usually see Mercury close to the sun, this is because the planet orbits close to the sun. There are several websites that show the current position of Mercury in the sky.
The planet Venus
Venus is the second planet from the sun. Earth is the closest planet to Venus. Venus is the brightest object in the sky after the sun and the moon. In the evening or morning sky, Venus looks like a bright star. The planet is a little smaller than Earth. From Earth we cannot look at the surface of Venus because it is covered with clouds. Still, we were able to view the surface of Venus. In space missions to Venus it has become known that the surface of Venus is covered with craters, volcanoes, mountains and large lakes full of lava.
What's it like on Venus?
The surface of Venus is the last place you want to be. The temperatures can melt iron, the atmosphere is so dense the pressure will crush you, and there are clouds everywhere that are mostly sulfuric acid!
The atmosphere on Venus consists largely of carbon dioxide (CO2) and thick clouds of sulfuric acid. The atmosphere captures the heat from the sun's rays and keeps it 'trapped'. This greenhouse effect makes Venus the hottest planet in the solar system.
History of Venus
The planet Venus is named after a goddess from Roman mythology. Venus was the goddess of vegetation, but later came to be seen as the goddess of love and beauty. Venus most likely owes this name to the brightness of the planet. The planet is the brightest object in the sky after the sun and moon. This brightness makes researchers think that people used to see it as a sign of the goddess of beauty, Venus.
See Venus for yourself
Venus is one of the brightest objects in the sky and can always be seen near the sun. Venus even has the nicknames “Morning Star” and “Evening Star”. Scientists have discovered that Venus rotates differently than Earth. That is why on Venus the sun rises in the west and sets in the east.
The planet earth
Earth is our home planet. Scientists think the Earth was formed trillions of years ago. There are 4 planets in the solar system that are larger than Earth, 3 are smaller. It is the third planet from the sun. Only Mercury and Venus are closer.
Earth is also called the Goldilocks planet. In the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears, there is a little girl named Goldilocks. Everything in Goldilocks' life was nice. Her food was never too hot or too cold, nor was her bed too hard or too soft. On earth everything is perfect for living things. It's warm, but not too hot. It has water, but not too much water.
Earth is the only planet we know of with a lot of liquid water. Liquid water is important for life. Earth is the only planet where life has been found.
What does the Earth look like from space?
From space, Earth looks like a blue marble with white swirls and brown, yellow and green spots. The blue part is water. Water is found on most of the Earth's surface. The brown, green and yellow areas are land. The white swirls are clouds. There are two white spots on top and bottom of the earth. These are not clouds but ice landscapes. We know these areas as the North Pole and the South Pole.
The equator is a fictional line created by humans across the center of our planet. Map makers use this line to divide the Earth into two parts. The upper part is called the Northern Hemisphere and the lower part is called the Southern Hemisphere.
How does the earth move?
The earth moves around the sun. The path that the Earth follows is called an orbit. It takes planet Earth 365 days to make a complete trip around the sun. Such a trip takes a year. The Earth also moves in another way besides its orbit. Earth rotates on its axis. A circle is rotated every 24 hours. We call this a day.
Why does Earth have seasons?
The Earth is slightly tilted in relation to the sun. The season depends on whether a place faces the sun or not.
In summer, the northern hemisphere is tilted toward the sun, and the sun's rays hit the northern hemisphere in a straight line. The days are longer and warmer. The opposite happens in winter. At that time, the northern hemisphere is not pointing towards the sun. The days are shorter and it is colder. When it is summer in the Northern Hemisphere it is winter in the Southern Hemisphere. In spring and autumn the sun shines equally in both hemispheres.
The planet Mars
Mars is the fourth planet from the sun in the solar system, one place further than Earth. Mars is 200,000,000 kilometers away from the sun. The planet Mars is also smaller than Earth, about one-sixth the size. Mars is known as the 'Red Planet', this is due to the color the planet gets from the large amount of iron found on Mars. Mars has two moons, which float around the planet just like Earth, called Phobos and Deimos.
What's it like on Mars?
Mars is a very cold planet, the average temperature of the planet is -62 degrees Celsius. Mars has a harsh environment, such as large rocks and huge craters formed by meteorites. There are even volcanoes on Mars. This rugged landscape can be found everywhere on the planet Mars. Just like on Earth, there are wind and clouds on Mars, which can cause the planet's red sand to turn into a sandstorm, sometimes even with tornadoes. These large storms can cover the entire planet.
A big difference with Earth is that Mars has a different gravity. The planet Mars has only one third of the gravity that we are used to on Earth. This means that objects such as rocks fall slower on Mars than on Earth. A rock that weighs 100 kilos on Earth will weigh only 37 kilos on Mars.
History of Mars
Mars is named after one of the Roman gods. The god was called Mars and ruled over the many wars that the Romans fought. Mars was perhaps the most popular god in Roman mythology. His two sons would be the founders of Rome.
Visits to Mars
During the Cold War, the world powers were busy trying to be the first into space. Since then, space travel has made great leaps forward, and the planet Mars has been visited several times. The first time this happened was in 1976, by the NASA space vehicles Viking 1 and Viking 2.
The planet is now widely explored by NASA. This American organization has placed Rovers on the planet. A Rover is a small space robot that can drive around and explore the planet Mars.
The asteroid belt
Most of the asteroids in the solar system are found in a region between Mars and Jupiter. All these asteroids together are called the asteroid belt. Only a few of these asteroids change orbit. The four largest asteroids in the belt are Ceres, Vesta, Pallas and Hygiea. Together they account for half the mass of the asteroid belt. There was once even a theory about the asteroid belt that said that at the site of the asteroid belt there used to be a fifth stony planet. In addition to the four large asteroids, there are many smaller objects in the asteroid belt. Scientists estimate that bringing all the objects in the asteroid belt together will create a world slightly smaller than the moon.
Extracting minerals from asteroids
The solar system contains several types of asteroids. They are made of different minerals. Some examples are nickel, iron, water and titanium. Asteroids are thus attractive targets for mining operations once humanity expands its existence into international space travel. The asteroids can provide any space colonies with minerals. Since 2013, several companies have become interested. Plans are still being made, NASA is also working on this. The biggest obstacle at the moment is that space travel is too expensive. When affordable space travel becomes available, people can start extracting minerals from asteroids.
The planet Jupiter
Jupiter is the largest planet. In fact, the planet is so big that all other planets in the solar system combined would not be as big as Jupiter. The Earth alone would fit the size of the planet Jupiter more than 1,300 times. Jupiter is the fifth planet from the sun. From Earth, Jupiter is almost always one of the clearest planets in the sky, this is because Jupiter is so enormous. The only planet that can be seen more clearly is Venus. Jupiter consists of different types of gases, just like stars. However, the planet Jupiter is too small to be counted as a star; it would have to be 80 times as big.
How are things on Jupiter?
The planet Jupiter is a big ball of gas. Jupiter is a gas planet. The planet Jupiter looks colorful because it consists of red, brown, yellow and white clouds. The winds on Jupiter have a speed of more than 600 kilometers per hour, which is faster than tornadoes. The gas clouds are constantly pushed forward by the strong winds, making Jupiter appear to have stripes.
Jupiter is known for the Great Red Spot. The place was created because there is a big storm there that has been going on for a long time. The place is so big that it would fit more than three times the size of the Earth. The planet Jupiter also has rings of material floating in orbit around the planet. They are three very thin rings that are not that noticeable.
Jupiter rotates very quickly on its own axis, the fastest of all planets in the solar system. This ensures that a day on Jupiter only lasts 10 hours. The planet orbits the sun in a larger orbit than the Earth, so a year lasts longer. A single year on Jupiter lasts 12 Earth years. Jupiter has a very cold atmosphere. In addition, gravity is also different from what we are used to on Earth. This ensures that a 100 kilo object on Earth would weigh 240 kilos on Jupiter.
History of Jupiter
Jupiter is named after a god from Roman mythology. Jupiter was the supreme god. He was also the ruler of heaven and thunder.
How many moons does Jupiter have?
Jupiter has 53 named moons. Researchers later found 14 more, but these new moons were not given official names. The last moon was found in 2011. Jupiter's four largest moons are Ganymede, Callisto, Io, and Europa. These moons were discovered a long time ago, in 1610.
Ganymede is the largest moon of Jupiter, and therefore the largest moon in the solar system. Ganymede is even larger than Mercury and Pluto. Callisto is covered with several craters, the moon Io has a large number of volcanoes and Europa is completely covered in ice.
The planet Saturn
Saturn is the sixth planet from the sun and the second largest, after Jupiter. The most spectacular thing about this planet are its rings. In addition to the impressive rings, Saturn also has 62 named moons and 9 unnamed moons.
How are things on Saturn?
The structure of Saturn is a lot less solid compared to Earth. Saturn consists largely of helium (25%) and hydrogen (75%). There are also traces of water, methane and ammonia. Like Jupiter, Saturn is a gas giant. As a human being you will not survive a moment here.
History of Saturn
In Roman mythology, Saturn is the god of agriculture. The planet has been known to humans since prehistoric times. Galileo first observed the planet properly with a telescope in 1610. He was confused by Saturn's strange shape because he had no explanation for the rings. Until 1659, because that is when Christiaan Huygens discovered the rings. Saturn's rings remained unique until 1977, when less bright rings were also discovered around Uranus, Jupiter and Neptune. Saturn was first visited by Pioneer 11 in 1979.
See Saturn for yourself
In the evening Saturn is clearly visible with the naked eye. Even though Saturn is not nearly as bright as Jupiter, you can quickly find the planet. There are several websites that can display the current position of Saturn from your location. Saturn's rings and large moons can be seen with a small, simple telescope.
Rings of Saturn
The two most notable rings are ring A and ring B. These two rings are closest to Saturn. Then there is a small space, after which ring C follows. The space between ring B and ring C is called the Cassini division. The space between Jupiter and ring A is called the Encke division. A space vehicle called “The Voyager” has taken pictures of Saturn showing that there are four additional rings. These are less visible than the other rings.
The rings look from Earth as if they are made of one block. This is not true. Saturn's rings are made of countless tiny particles that travel in independent orbits around the giant planet. The size of these particles varies from centimeters to meters. It is likely that there are also a number of kilometer-sized chunks floating among them. The particles consist mainly of ice and pieces of rock covered with ice.
Saturn's rings are extremely thin. They are 250,000 kilometers in diameter, but less than half a kilometer thick.
The planet Uranus
Uranus is the seventh planet from the sun in the solar system. It is the third largest planet in diameter. Uranus has a large diameter, but a surprisingly small mass. This makes the planet larger in diameter than Neptune, but smaller in mass. The planet Uranus is the first planet discovered in modern times. William Herschel made this discovery in 1781 with his telescope. The planet has been seen and even mentioned several times before this, but Uranus was always seen as a star and had therefore not yet been discovered. The only time Uranus was visited was in 1986, by the American Voyager 2.
How are things on Uranus?
The planet Uranus is generally composed of various types of rock and ice, with only 15 percent hydrogen and some helium. The planets Jupiter and Saturn consist largely of gases, while Uranus has a solid surface.
Uranus has large gas clouds covering its surface. These gas clouds are not clearly visible, yet the clouds absorb all the red light. The light is absorbed because the gas clouds are rich in methane. This makes Uranus look like a completely blue planet.
History of Uranus
The planet Uranus is named after a god from Greek mythology. Uranus was the first god and therefore one of the most powerful. In 1850 the planet was officially named Uranus.
The rings of Uranus
Uranus also has rings, 13 in total! Like Jupiter, the planet's rings are very dark and difficult to see. They contain more material than Jupiter's rings, ranging from small chunks of dust to large rocks up to 10 meters in diameter. The ring that is most visible is called the Epsilon ring. Researchers expect that there are still undiscovered moons in Uranus' rings, in addition to the 27 recognized moons that the planet already has.
The planet Neptune
It is the planet furthest from the sun. Neptune is the fourth largest planet in the solar system. The planet looks blue.
History of Neptune
The planet Neptune was discovered in 1846 by French researchers at a place where English researchers had predicted the planet. This sparked a debate about who had the right to name the planet. Both countries were ultimately rewarded for the discovery of the planet. Neptune is named after a god from Roman mythology, Neptune. This was the god of the sea.
How are things on Neptune?
Neptune has an atmosphere very similar to that of Uranus. There are various types of rock and ice present with a low amount of hydrogen. The biggest difference with Uranus is that Neptune has a core. Neptune's core consists of rocky material and is approximately the same size as Earth. Neptune has the same layer of gases as Uranus, with the presence of methane. As a result, no red light passes through Neptune, and the planet appears completely blue.
Like other gas planets, Neptune also has a strong wind presence. There are many large storms, these storms are the fastest in the entire solar system with a speed of 2000 kilometers per hour. Neptune has an internal heat source, this is something that the planets Jupiter and Saturn do not have. This internal heat source provides twice as much heat as the heat that the sun brings to Neptune.
The rings of Neptune
Neptune has two different rings. The rings are not clearly visible, and they were only discovered to be complete rings when the American Voyager 2 came closer to examine the planet. The outer ring of Neptune is called Adams. This ring is divided into three different arcs. These three arcs are called Liberty, Equality and Fraternity. The names stand for freedom, equality and brotherhood.
The dwarf planets
Dwarf planets are similar to normal planets in many ways, yet they are not the same. The international definition of a dwarf planet is:
- A dwarf planet is in orbit around the sun
- A dwarf planet has enough mass to form an (almost) round shape thanks to its own gravity.
- A dwarf planet has nearby asteroids in its orbit
- A dwarf planet is not a satellite of another planet
The biggest difference is that a planet has cleared its orbit around the sun from other objects. There are 5 officially recognized dwarf planets in the solar system. These are Ceres, Pluto, Haumea, Makemake and Eris. Ceres is found in the asteroid belt, the other dwarf planets are in the outer part of our solar system.
Dwarf planet Pluto
Pluto is the most famous dwarf planet. Since the discovery of Pluto in 1930 until 2006, the dwarf planet was even classified as the ninth planet in the solar system. That Pluto was the ninth planet in the solar system is not entirely true. At times Pluto was closer to the sun than Neptune.
Planet Pluto changed in 2006, when several other 'planets' like Pluto were discovered. The International Astronomical Union (IAU) decided to no longer classify Pluto as a planet, but as a dwarf planet, just like the other objects.