Call the nearest planet to the Sun!

Call the nearest planet to the Sun! And the largest planet of our system? And how many of them, in fact? Not everyone will immediately remember the answers to these questions. Even more will be surprised those who sincerely believed that they knew such simple things. In actual fact, it turns out that astronomy is a very dynamic science and knowledge is becoming obsolete incredibly fast: it would seem that indisputable facts after a few years receive their refutation or addition. And the picture of the universe looks quite perfect In a different way!

Call the nearest planet to the Sun

The nearest planet to the luminary is Mercury. It has very small dimensions, a stony structure. And the proximity to the Sun causes an incredibly high temperature on the surface of the planet. Mercury is the fastest planet in our system. The duration of its rotation around the Sun is 88 terrestrial days.

And now, name the planets of the terrestrial group! The nearest planet to the Sun we already remembered. Hint: in addition to Mercury, even Venus, Earth and Mars are separated from other planets orbiting the star, a belt of asteroids. Therefore, they are called planets of the terrestrial group.

All about the planet Venus

By its size, Venus is close to the Earth, only slightly inferior to it. However, the atmosphere on this planet is very dense, tens of times denser than the terrestrial, and incredibly hot. These features of the atmosphere determine the characteristic gentle color of the planet, for which it was identified with the female deity of love. It is interesting that 243 earth days last here, but the Venusian year is shorter - only 225 days. In addition, it is the only planet in our star system that rotates counter-clockwise. There is no universally accepted explanation for this phenomenon.

Mars is the personification of war.

The reddish body in the starry sky in many ancient peoples was associated with fire and destruction. Actually, thanks to its sinister appearance, Mars got its name, becoming a god of war in Roman mythology. On this planet is the highest mountain of the entire solar system. Mount Olympus reaches almost 27 km in height, this is three times our earthly Everest. The surface of Mars is strongly dotted with a multitude of canyons and mountain ranges. Some of them are so bizarre that people who have observed them in a telescope have repeatedly rushed to state the artificial origin of these formations.

Jupiter and Saturn - giant planets

That's right - these heavenly bodies are real giants among the planets. Jupiter exceeds the mass of the Earth by 318 times. It is interesting that it is a gas cluster. The spacecraft can not land on the planet, since it does not have a solid ground, but consists mainly of active hydrogen and helium. Saturn exceeds the mass of the Earth by about 95 times, although it is also not a solid body in the earthly view. He is famous for his rings, which are clearly visible around the planet. They are formed from dust and small satellites orbiting. Only more or less large satellites in Saturn there are 62.

Uranus is a planet with many satellites.

Of all the planets, Uranus is the easiest. Its interesting feature is that it rotates as if lying on its side.

Neptune - the planet of the solar system

The mass of Neptune is 17 times greater than the earth's. At the same time, its density is also higher than that of the earth. Neptune has thirteen satellites, the largest of which is called Triton. It is the only planetary satellite in our system that moves in the opposite direction.

And what is the body that closes this series?

And now I ask you, the last planet revolving around the Sun, name it! The nearest planet to the Sun, the gas giants, the planet with the ring and the largest satellite of Neptune, we already called, but what about the boundaries of our star system? If you think that this is Pluto, then you are mistaken. A few years ago such an answer would have been true, but not today. After the discovery of some others beyond Pluto, which are not inferior in size to bodies that do not move in a clear planetary orbit, the scientific world was faced with the question: "What, in fact, is it legitimate to call a planet?" The consensus was as follows. The planet must:

1) go in the Sun's orbit;

2) have sufficient dimensions to assume a spherical shape under the action of its own gravity;

3) clear the path for themselves in orbit, and not leave it under the influence of other bodies.

Alas, Pluto does not correspond to these parameters, as well as a multitude of bodies in the so-called Kuiper belt, discovered on the outskirts of the solar system in the last decade: Eris, Sedna and others.