FACTS OF SOLAR SYSTEM
In this article we’re discussing about 10 amazing facts about the solar system. Which are just mind blowing!!
SOLAR SYSTEM IS TOO BIG
10th Facts of Solar System: The Voyager mission was launched by NASA in 1977. Voyager 1, the first spacecraft, achieved the remarkable feat of becoming the first human-made object to enter interstellar space in 2012. The duration of the trip is truly astounding. Voyager-1 had to traverse the planets and then cross the heliopause, which is the boundary where most of the Sun’s ejected particles and magnetic fields dissipate. To reach the heliopause, Voyager had to travel a distance of 121 Astronomical Units, which is equivalent to 11.18 billion miles. Despite this vast distance, it pales in comparison to the overall size of the solar system. In fact, Voyager 1 will remain within the boundaries of the solar system until it emerges from the Oort Cloud, a period estimated to be another 14,000 to 28,000 years from now. This means that you, your children, and your grandchildren will have long passed away by then.
URANUS SPINS SIDEWAYS
9th Facts of Solar System: Uranus is commonly described as a cute ball, but it is actually a peculiar planet with a hidden secret. Its unusual rotation causes it to appear as if it’s rolling around the sun like a ball. Scientists are unsure of the exact reason for this strange behavior, but it’s believed that a colossal collision in its ancient history may have caused its extreme tilt, which is about 90 degrees sideways compared to the other planets. This extreme tilt leads to what NASA considers to be the most extreme seasons in the solar system. A year on Uranus is equivalent to 84 Earth years, and for a quarter of this time, the sun shines directly over the north or south pole, resulting in one hemisphere always being colder than the other. If one were to live on the North pole of this unusual blue planet, they would experience more than 20 years without seeing the sun, while their counterpart on the other pole would have the sun in view.
MOON HAS NO ATMOSPHERE
8th Facts of Solar System: The Earth is surrounded by an atmosphere that protects us from harmful radiation, but not every celestial body in the solar system benefits from this protection. For example, our magnificent moon lacks an atmosphere, meaning there are no atmospheric movements on its stunning surface. This has intriguing implications. If you were to inhabit the moon and place a lightweight object on its surface, there would be no natural forces, aside from asteroid and meteorite impacts, to displace the object. This characteristic turns the Moon into a type of time capsule, where objects that land on it can remain undisturbed for countless millions of years. When Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin explored the Moon during the Apollo 11 mission, they left lasting footprints on its surface, which will persist unless they are obliterated by an impact. Essentially, asteroids serve as erasers, wiping away valuable evidence of past events on the moon’s surface.
THE MASS OF SUN
7th Facts of Solar System: The Solar System‘s mass is primarily made up of the sun, accounting for 99.8%. In comparison to Earth, the sun is incredibly large! Earth has a radius of approximately 6371 km, while the sun’s radius measures around 0.7 million km. However, the disparity doesn’t end there. Our magnificent star is approximately 333,000 times heavier than Earth. The sun’s size is so immense that it could accommodate over one million Earths within it. It’s truly massive, isn’t it? Despite this, in the grand scheme of the universe, the sun is just an average star. There are numerous stars that surpass the sun in both size and mass. For instance, the star UY Scuti is one of the largest known stars in terms of physical size, with a mass only 30 times that of the sun but a radius over 1,700 times greater.
NUMBER OF MOONS
6th Facts of Solar System: The Solar System likely has over 200 moons, and there could be even more. Scientists are continually discovering additional moons in our Solar System and debating which planet, Saturn or Jupiter, has the most moons. Moons, also called natural satellites, orbit planets and asteroids within our solar system. All of the major planets, except Mercury and Venus, have moons. Additionally, some dwarf planets like Pluto and numerous asteroids have small moons. Saturn and Jupiter boast the highest number of moons, with several orbiting each of these colossal planets. The exploration of moons in our solar system has become increasingly crucial in comprehending the origins of life as we know it. For instance, water is recognized as a vital component for life. Interestingly, researchers believe that there is a substantial amount of water on the moons of both Saturn and Jupiter.
ULTIMA THULE
5th Facts of Solar System: In the outer solar system, scientists have recently found a small object orbiting the Sun in a region known as the Kuiper Belt, and it has the appearance of a snowman, known as Ultima Thule. The Kuiper Belt is situated well beyond Neptune’s orbit, and as Ultima Thule lies in this region, it is categorized as a “trans-Neptunian object”. Objects in the Kuiper belt are primarily made of ice, and Ultima Thule is no different. Its orbit lasts for 298 Earth years, and it is positioned so distantly that it only receives a minute amount of sunlight. Planetary scientists believe that this object could hold the key to understanding the formation of planets in our solar system. The distant orbits help to preserve these types of objects in extremely cold temperatures, which in turn preserves valuable scientific information about the conditions present some 4.5 billion years ago when the Sun and planets were taking shape. The New Horizons mission provided us with information about the size and shape of this small object. To accomplish this, the spacecraft had to pass by this unique object in the Kuiper Belt, and in order to do so, scientists utilized ground-based observations as it passed in front of a more distant set of stars during its orbit. These observations provided New Horizons with a clear understanding of the size and shape of Ultima Thule. Subsequently, starting from January 1, 2019, the data from New Horizons’ flyby began to be transmitted back to Earth, and this continued until late 2020. Based on the data and images captured at Ultima Thule, planetary scientists discovered that it was the first contact binary object ever studied in the Kuiper Belt. It measures 31 kilometers in length and consists of two “lobes” connected to form a “collar” around one part of the object. The lobes are named Ultima and Thule, representing the small and large components. These two parts give Ultima Thule the appearance of a snowman.
PLUTO ISN’T THE ONLY DWARF PLANET IN OUR SOLAR SYSTEM
4th Facts of Solar System: The term ‘dwarf planet’ may have first come to your attention when Pluto was reclassified as one in 2006. So, how many planets do we have in our solar system? We have Ceres, Makemake, Haumea, and Eris. These were the only five we knew about until very recently. However, a new dwarf planet has been discovered recently, officially named 2015 TG387, but affectionately called ‘The Goblin’. The size of The Goblin depends on its assumed albedo, which is essentially the reflectivity of an object. A darker object would need to be larger, while a higher albedo would indicate a smaller size. This faint object has a visual magnitude of 24.64, similar to the visual magnitudes of Pluto’s smaller moons – it’s incredibly dim! Initially, its diameter was estimated to be 190 miles, but more precise observations suggested a smaller diameter of 140 miles, corresponding to a higher albedo of 0.21.
JUPITER'S GREAT RED SPOT IS SHRINKING
3rd Facts of Solar System: Jupiter is widely recognized as the largest planet in the solar system, but were you aware that it is also home to the solar system’s most colossal storm? This storm, known as the Great Red Spot, has been under observation through telescopes by astronomers since the 1600s. Recent studies utilizing modern instruments such as NASA’s Juno probe have revealed the storm’s towering height of hundreds of miles. What is currently unfolding as new information is that the spot is undergoing a reduction in size. This storm has been raging for centuries, and there is a possibility that it may be reaching its conclusion. The shrinkage is presently being monitored by both professional telescopes and amateur astronomers. All we can do now is patiently wait and observe the developments!
OLYMPUS MONS IS THE TALLEST MOUNTAIN IN THE SOLAR SYSTEM
2nd Facts of Solar System: Mount Everest, standing at 29,031.69 feet high, is the tallest mountain on Earth. However, the tallest mountain in the solar system is the massive volcano Olympus Mons on Mars, which towers at 15.5 miles in height and spans 374 miles in diameter. Olympus Mons is situated near three other volcanoes called the Tharsis Montes, and all the volcanoes in this region are 10 to 100 times larger than Earth’s largest volcanoes.
THE SUN LIES ABOUT 8 KILOPARSECS AWAY FROM THE GALACTIC CENTER
1st Facts of Solar System: The galactic center, where the Solar System (including Earth) is located, is approximately 25,000 light-years or 8 kiloparsecs away. If you were to visualize the Milky Way as a large record, we would be situated about halfway between the center and the edge. Astronomers believe that the Milky Way is a spiral galaxy with two primary spiral arms known as the Perseus arm and the Scutum-Centaurus arm, along with several smaller arms and spurs. However, our Solar System is positioned in a region between these two arms called the Orion-Cygnus arm, which spans 3,500 light-years across and is 10,000 light-years in length. It takes the Sun 250 million years to complete one rotation around the Milky Way, referred to as a “Galactic Year” or “Cosmic Year”. If you consider it, the last time the Solar System occupied this position in the Milky Way, dinosaurs still roamed the Earth. It’s truly remarkable, isn’t it?