The closest to the Sun planet: a description and features

It is almost not a secret for anyone that around the Sun there is a rotation of a multitude of celestial bodies, to which, besides the planets, their satellites, comets, asteroids and other particles also belong. Modern scientists have managed not only to observe them through telescopes and other devices, but even to carry out studies of their samples obtained by using probes. All this now allows us to confidently answer many questions about the planets close to the Sun, their satellites and other celestial bodies.

General description of the planets of the solar system

In total, there are nine planets in our solar system. Each of them is distinguished by its astronomical and structural characteristics. Similar to the Earth, they all rotate not only around their own axis, but also around a common heavenly body. The planets nearest to the Sun are Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars. They are also called "planets of the terrestrial group". Their common characteristics are a relatively small size, the predominance of solid elements in the structure, the absence of rings, and a small number of satellites. After them go the planets of the group of Jupiter, which includes Jupiter itself, as well as Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. They are characterized by a fairly dense atmosphere, as well as light components surrounding the nucleus. Around each of them there are rings consisting of crushed substances, and numerous satellites rotate. As for Pluto, he is constantly in the dark, and some of the scientists at all do not consider him a planet.

Mercury

Almost every schoolboy knows about which closest planet is to the Sun. This is Mercury. By its size from all the representatives of the system it is in the eighth place. An interesting fact is that satellites of Saturn and Jupiter (Titan and Ganymede respectively) are larger in size. The diameter of Mercury is 4880 kilometers, and its orbit passes at a distance that is almost 58 million kilometers from the Sun. In all of history, only one ship flew to this planet ("Mariner 10" in 1974-1975), so now only 45 percent of its surface is known. According to researches of scientists, temperature fluctuations here are in a range from 90 to 700 ^о К.

The nearest planet to the Sun is something like the Moon. The fact is that there is no tectonic plate in it , and there are a large number of craters and huge abysses on the surface. For such a parameter as density, Mercury in the system is in second place after the Earth. The magnetic field of this planet is weak. Its power compared with the Earth is a hundred times smaller. Mercury does not have satellites, and you can see it even with the naked eye.

Venus

The second planet, judging from the distance from the Sun, is Venus. In the case when such a criterion as magnitude is taken as a basis, it is in sixth place. Its diameter is more than 12 thousand kilometers, and the orbit passes in 108 million kilometers from the Sun. The first spacecraft that flew to Venus, was in 1962, "Mariner-2."

Compared to the Earth, Venus rotates very slowly. In connection with the synchronization of its orbit and the period of rotation, only one side of this planet is always turned towards us. Very often Venus is called the "sister of the Earth", which is associated with their great similarity. And the truth is, its diameter is 95% from our planet, and the mass is 80%. Quite similar are the density and chemical composition. At the same time, one can not but note the fact that in many other parameters there are radical differences. There is every reason to believe that once on Venus there was a large amount of water, which eventually boiled away, so now it is completely dry. The planet does not have a magnetic field (due to slow rotation), as well as satellites. You can see it with the naked eye, because in our sky it is the brightest "star".

Earth

The third in the account from the Sun is the Earth. Its diameter is 12 756.3 km, and the orbit passes at a distance of 149.6 million km from the heavenly body. Like other planets close to the Sun, it has a history of about 5.5 billion years. In the system, the Earth is considered to be the densest celestial body. Water covers 71% of its area. An interesting feature is that only here it exists in liquid form on the surface. Scientists suggest that this is largely related to the stability of temperature on our planet. The only natural satellite of the Earth is the Moon. In addition to it, many artificial bodies were put into orbit.

Mars

On the fourth place in terms of the distance from the Sun and the seventh position in size is Mars. Its orbit is located at a distance of almost 228 million km from the sky, and the diameter is 6794 km. The first ship that flew to him was the Mariner 4 in 1965. Like the rest of the planet close to the Sun, Mars can boast a rather original and interesting terrain. There are many craters, mountain ranges, planes and hills. The average temperature on Mars is about minus 55 degrees. You can see it even with the naked eye. As for the satellites, this planet has two of them: Deimos and Phobos, which rotate near its surface.