Our Solar System
The sun, all the planets and their satellites that revolve around makes a Solar System. Our Solar System consists of the Sun, eight planets and their natural satellites such as our moon, dwarf planets, asteroids and comets. It is located in an outward spiral of the Milky Way galaxy. Scientists believe that there are stars like Sun with their Solar Systems. Our Solar System is located in the Orion Arm, 26,000 light years away from the center of the Milky Way.
The Sun is a star stationed at the center of our Solar System. Objects revolve around due to its gravitational force. Planets like Mercury. Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter. Saturn, Uranus and Neptune revolve around the Sun in their respective orbits. The greater the distance of a planet from the Sun, the greater is its period of revolution.
Mercury is the smallest planet of our Solar System. As it is very close to the Sun, it takes 88 days to complete its period of one revolution. It can be seen at sunrise or sunset on the horizon. It does not have any satellite or a moon. However, the planet nearest to the Earth is Venus. It is also
called the Morning or Evening Star. It appears very bright early in the morning and in the evening. Even Venus has no moon. As it rotates from East to West, many scientists are eager to know more about Venus.
From all the other planets, only Earth has living conditions. The factors required for life such as the right temperature, air, water, atmosphere, different seasons, etc. are found only on Earth. The forth planet from the Sun is Mars. It has two moons. It is rich in iron that makes it appear red. Thus, it is called the ‘Red planet’.
Jupiter is the largest planet in the Solar System. It is big enough to hold 1397 Earths within itself. It revolves very fast, completing its one turn in just ten hours. It has 63 satellites but only four can be seen through a telescope. Saturn is the next planet. It has rings around it, which cannot be seen by unaided eyes.
Uranus and Neptune are the outermost planets. Just like Venus, Uranus too revolves from east to west. It has a much colder core. It radiates very little heat into space. Neptune is the fourth-largest planet by diameter and third-largest by mass. It is accompanied in its orbit by several minor planets.
Small leftovers of celestial bodies revolving between the two planets are called asteroids. Even comets are heavenly bodies that revolve around the Sun in oval orbits. They consist a sphere called its head and a long tail. As the comet moves nearer to the Sun, its tail gets longer.
