Why Venus is the most mysterious planet.

This is a system of planets, in the center of which there is a bright star, a source of energy, heat and light - the Sun.
According to one theory, the Sun was formed along with the Solar System about 4.5 billion years ago as a result of the explosion of one or more supernovae. Initially, the Solar System was a cloud of gas and dust particles, which, in motion and under the influence of their mass, formed a disk in which a new star, the Sun, and our entire Solar System arose.

At the center of the solar system is the Sun, around which nine large planets revolve in orbit. Since the Sun is displaced from the center of planetary orbits, during the cycle of revolution around the Sun the planets either approach or move away in their orbits.

There are two groups of planets:

Terrestrial planets: And . These planets are small in size with a rocky surface and are closest to the Sun.

Giant planets: And . These are large planets, consisting mainly of gas and characterized by the presence of rings consisting of icy dust and many rocky pieces.

But does not fall into any group, because, despite being in solar system, is located too far from the Sun and has a very small diameter, only 2320 km, which is half the diameter of Mercury.

Planets of the Solar System

Let's begin a fascinating acquaintance with the planets of the Solar System in order of their location from the Sun, and also consider their main satellites and some other space objects (comets, asteroids, meteorites) in the gigantic expanses of our planetary system.

Rings and moons of Jupiter: Europa, Io, Ganymede, Callisto and others...
The planet Jupiter is surrounded by a whole family of 16 satellites, and each of them has its own unique features...

Rings and moons of Saturn: Titan, Enceladus and others...
Not only the planet Saturn has characteristic rings, but also other giant planets. Around Saturn, the rings are especially clearly visible, because they consist of billions of small particles that revolve around the planet, in addition to several rings, Saturn has 18 satellites, one of which is Titan, its diameter is 5000 km, which makes it the largest satellite in the solar system...

Rings and moons of Uranus: Titania, Oberon and others...
The planet Uranus has 17 satellites and, like other giant planets, there are thin rings surrounding the planet that have practically no ability to reflect light, so they were discovered not so long ago in 1977, completely by accident...

Rings and moons of Neptune: Triton, Nereid and others...
Initially, before the exploration of Neptune by the Voyager 2 spacecraft, two satellites of the planet were known - Triton and Nerida. Interesting fact that the Triton satellite has a reverse direction of orbital motion; strange volcanoes were also discovered on the satellite, which erupted nitrogen gas like geysers, spreading a dark-colored mass (from liquid to vapor) many kilometers into the atmosphere. During its mission, Voyager 2 discovered six more moons of the planet Neptune...

The solar system is a group of planets revolving in specific orbits around a bright star - the Sun. This star is the main source of heat and light in the solar system.

It is believed that our planetary system was formed as a result of the explosion of one or more stars and this happened about 4.5 billion years ago. At first, the Solar System was an accumulation of gas and dust particles, however, over time and under the influence of its own mass, the Sun and other planets arose.

Planets of the Solar System

At the center of the solar system is the Sun, around which eight planets move in their orbits: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune.

Until 2006, Pluto also belonged to this group of planets; it was considered the 9th planet from the Sun, however, due to its significant distance from the Sun and small size, it was excluded from this list and called a dwarf planet. More precisely, it is one of several dwarf planets in the Kuiper belt.

All the above planets are usually divided into two large groups: terrestrial group and gas giants.

The terrestrial group includes such planets as: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars. They are distinguished by their small size and rocky surface, and in addition, they are located closest to the Sun.

Gas giants include: Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune. They are characterized by large sizes and the presence of rings, which are ice dust and rocky pieces. These planets consist mainly of gas.

Sun

The Sun is the star around which all the planets and satellites in the solar system revolve. It consists of hydrogen and helium. The Sun is 4.5 billion years old and is only halfway through its life cycle, gradually increases in size. Now the diameter of the Sun is 1,391,400 km. In just the same number of years, this star will expand and reach the orbit of the Earth.

The sun is the source of heat and light for our planet. Its activity increases or becomes weaker every 11 years.

Due to the extremely high temperatures on its surface, a detailed study of the Sun is extremely difficult, but attempts to launch a special device as close to the star as possible continue.

Terrestrial group of planets

Mercury

This planet is one of the smallest in the solar system, its diameter is 4,879 km. In addition, it is closest to the Sun. This proximity predetermined a significant temperature difference. The average temperature on Mercury is daytime is +350 degrees Celsius, and at night - -170 degrees.

If we take the Earth year as a guide, Mercury makes a full revolution around the Sun in 88 days, and one day there lasts 59 Earth days. It was noticed that this planet can periodically change the speed of its rotation around the Sun, its distance from it and its position.

There is no atmosphere on Mercury; therefore, it is often attacked by asteroids and leaves behind a lot of craters on its surface. Sodium, helium, argon, hydrogen, and oxygen were discovered on this planet.

A detailed study of Mercury is very difficult due to its close proximity to the Sun. Sometimes Mercury can be seen from Earth with the naked eye.

According to one theory, it is believed that Mercury was previously a satellite of Venus, however, this assumption has not yet been proven. Mercury does not have its own satellite.

Venus

This planet is the second from the Sun. In size it is close to the diameter of the Earth, the diameter is 12,104 km. In all other respects, Venus differs significantly from our planet. A day here lasts 243 Earth days, and a year lasts 255 days. The atmosphere of Venus is 95% composed of carbon dioxide, which creates a greenhouse effect on its surface. This results in an average temperature on the planet of 475 degrees Celsius. The atmosphere also contains 5% nitrogen and 0.1% oxygen.

Unlike the Earth, most of whose surface is covered with water, there is no liquid on Venus, and almost the entire surface is occupied by solidified basaltic lava. According to one theory, there used to be oceans on this planet, however, as a result of internal heating, they evaporated, and the vapors were carried away by the solar wind into outer space. Near the surface of Venus, weak winds blow, however, at an altitude of 50 km their speed increases significantly and amounts to 300 meters per second.

Venus has many craters and hills that resemble earth's continents. The formation of craters is associated with the fact that the planet previously had a less dense atmosphere.

A distinctive feature of Venus is that, unlike other planets, its movement occurs not from west to east, but from east to west. It can be seen from Earth even without the help of a telescope after sunset or before sunrise. This is due to the ability of its atmosphere to reflect light well.

Venus has no satellite.

Earth

Our planet is located at a distance of 150 million km from the Sun, and this allows us to create on its surface a temperature suitable for the existence of liquid water, and, therefore, for the emergence of life.

Its surface is 70% covered with water, and it is the only planet to contain such an amount of liquid. It is believed that many thousands of years ago, steam contained in the atmosphere created the temperature on the Earth's surface necessary for the formation of water in liquid form, and solar radiation contributed to photosynthesis and the birth of life on the planet.

The peculiarity of our planet is that under the earth’s crust there are huge tectonic plates, which, moving, collide with each other and lead to changes in the landscape.

The diameter of the Earth is 12,742 km. An earthly day lasts 23 hours 56 minutes 4 seconds, and a year lasts 365 days 6 hours 9 minutes 10 seconds. Its atmosphere is 77% nitrogen, 21% oxygen and a small percentage of other gases. None of the atmospheres of other planets in the solar system has such an amount of oxygen.

According to scientists, the age of the Earth is 4.5 billion years, approximately the same age that its only satellite, the Moon, has existed. It is always turned to our planet with only one side. There are many craters, mountains and plains on the surface of the Moon. It reflects sunlight very weakly, so it is visible from Earth in the pale moonlight.

Mars

This planet is the fourth from the Sun and is 1.5 times more distant from it than the Earth. The diameter of Mars is smaller than Earth's and is 6,779 km. The average air temperature on the planet ranges from -155 degrees to +20 degrees at the equator. The magnetic field on Mars is much weaker than that of Earth, and the atmosphere is quite thin, which allows solar radiation to unimpededly affect the surface. In this regard, if there is life on Mars, it is not on the surface.

When surveyed with the help of Mars rovers, it was found that there are many mountains on Mars, as well as dried river beds and glaciers. The surface of the planet is covered with red sand. It is iron oxide that gives Mars its color.

One of the most frequent events on the planet are dust storms, which are voluminous and destructive. It was not possible to detect geological activity on Mars, however, it is reliably known that significant geological events previously occurred on the planet.

The atmosphere of Mars consists of 96% carbon dioxide, 2.7% nitrogen and 1.6% argon. Oxygen and water vapor are present in minimal quantities.

A day on Mars is similar in length to those on Earth and is 24 hours 37 minutes 23 seconds. A year on the planet lasts twice as long as on Earth - 687 days.

The planet has two satellites Phobos and Deimos. They have small sizes and an uneven shape reminiscent of asteroids.

Sometimes Mars is also visible from Earth with the naked eye.

Gas giants

Jupiter

This planet is the largest in the solar system and has a diameter of 139,822 km, which is 19 times larger than Earth. A day on Jupiter lasts 10 hours, and a year is approximately 12 Earth years. Jupiter is mainly composed of xenon, argon and krypton. If it were 60 times larger, it could become a star due to a spontaneous thermonuclear reaction.

The average temperature on the planet is -150 degrees Celsius. The atmosphere consists of hydrogen and helium. There is no oxygen or water on its surface. There is an assumption that there is ice in the atmosphere of Jupiter.

Jupiter has a huge number of satellites - 67. The largest of them are Io, Ganymede, Callisto and Europa. Ganymede is one of the largest moons in the Solar System. Its diameter is 2634 km, which is approximately the size of Mercury. In addition, a thick layer of ice can be seen on its surface, under which there may be water. Callisto is considered the most ancient of the satellites, since it is its surface that has greatest number craters.

Saturn

This planet is the second largest in the solar system. Its diameter is 116,464 km. It is most similar in composition to the Sun. A year on this planet lasts quite a long time, almost 30 Earth years, and a day lasts 10.5 hours. The average surface temperature is -180 degrees.

Its atmosphere consists mainly of hydrogen and a small amount of helium. Thunderstorms and auroras often occur in its upper layers.

Saturn is unique in that it has 65 moons and several rings. The rings are made up of small particles of ice and rock formations. Ice dust perfectly reflects light, so Saturn's rings are very clearly visible through a telescope. However, it is not the only planet with a diadem; it is just less noticeable on other planets.

Uranus

Uranus is the third largest planet in the solar system and the seventh from the Sun. It has a diameter of 50,724 km. It is also called the “ice planet”, as the temperature on its surface is -224 degrees. A day on Uranus lasts 17 hours, and a year lasts 84 Earth years. Moreover, summer lasts as long as winter - 42 years. This natural phenomenon is due to the fact that the axis of that planet is located at an angle of 90 degrees to the orbit and it turns out that Uranus seems to be “lying on its side.”

Uranus has 27 moons. The most famous of them are: Oberon, Titania, Ariel, Miranda, Umbriel.

Neptune

Neptune is the eighth planet from the Sun. It is similar in composition and size to its neighbor Uranus. The diameter of this planet is 49,244 km. A day on Neptune lasts 16 hours, and a year is equal to 164 Earth years. Neptune is an ice giant and for a long time it was believed that no weather phenomena occurred on its icy surface. However, it was recently discovered that Neptune has raging vortices and wind speeds that are the highest among the planets in the solar system. It reaches 700 km/h.

Neptune has 14 moons, the most famous of which is Triton. It is known to have its own atmosphere.

Neptune also has rings. This planet has 6 of them.

Interesting facts about the planets of the solar system

Compared to Jupiter, Mercury seems like a dot in the sky. These are the actual proportions in the solar system:

Venus is often called the Morning and Evening Star, since it is the first of the stars visible in the sky at sunset and the last to disappear from visibility at dawn.

An interesting fact about Mars is the fact that methane was found on it. Due to the thin atmosphere, it constantly evaporates, which means that the planet has a constant source of this gas. Such a source could be living organisms inside the planet.

There are no seasons on Jupiter. The biggest mystery is the so-called “Great Red Spot”. Its origin on the surface of the planet has not yet been fully elucidated. Scientists suggest that it was formed by a huge hurricane, which rotates with very high speed for several centuries now.

An interesting fact is that Uranus, like many planets in the solar system, has its own ring system. Due to the fact that the particles that make up them do not reflect light well, the rings could not be detected immediately after the discovery of the planet.

Neptune has a deep blue color, which is why it was named after ancient roman god- master of the seas. Due to its distant location, this planet was one of the last to be discovered. At the same time, its location was calculated mathematically, and after time it was able to be seen, and precisely in the calculated place.

Light from the Sun reaches the surface of our planet in 8 minutes.

The solar system, despite its long and careful study, is still fraught with many mysteries and secrets that have yet to be revealed. One of the most fascinating hypotheses is the assumption of the presence of life on other planets, the search for which is actively continuing.

Planet Mercury. This is the planet closest to the Sun (Fig. 56). Named after the ancient Roman god of trade. Mercury is similar in size and mass to the Moon. He also resembles her in appearance. On the surface of this planet there are mountains and craters, like on the Moon.

Craters are rounded depressions 100-200 km wide and several kilometers deep. Since Mercury is close to the Sun (58 million km), its surface heats up to 400 °C. Mercury rotates very slowly around its axis - a day on it is about 176 Earth days, and a year lasts only 88 days.

Rice. 57. Venus

Planet Venus named after the ancient Roman goddess of love and beauty (Fig. 57). In the sky it shines brighter than the stars and is clearly visible to the naked eye. Venus is smaller in size than Earth and has a dense cloudy atmosphere consisting mainly of carbon dioxide. This allows heat to be retained, so the temperature on Venus is even higher than on Mercury. The surface of Venus is mostly plains with low hills, but there are mountainous areas and even a huge volcano 12 km high. A year on Venus is 224.7 Earth days, and a day is almost 117 times longer than on Earth.

Planet Earth- the largest planet of the terrestrial group and the only one with an air envelope (Fig. 58). The air envelope of the planet is called the atmosphere. It consists primarily of nitrogen, oxygen and carbon dioxide. More than 70% of the Earth's surface is covered with water. The presence of atmosphere, water, and moderate temperature create ideal conditions for the existence of life on planet Earth. Other planets do not have such conditions.

The Earth rotates around the Sun in 365.3 days, and a day is 24 hours long. Material from the site

Rice. 59. Mars

Planet Mars- the fourth planet of the Solar system (Fig. 59). Named after the ancient Roman god of war. The surface of Mars is rich in iron, which is why the planet has a red color. Mars is half the size of Earth. The atmosphere of Mars consists predominantly of carbon dioxide. The average temperature on the surface is -70 °C and only at the equator rises slightly above 0 °C. The surface of the planet is deserts, craters, mountains. Some of them are quite tall. For example, the height of the extinct Olympus volcano is 27 km. A year on Mars is 1.9 Earth years, and the length of a day is 24 hours 39 minutes.

The largest planet in our solar system is Jupiter. Along with Neptune, Saturn and Uranus, this planet is classified as a gas giant. Jupiter has been known to mankind since the times of ancient civilizations; it is reflected in religious beliefs and mythology. Its name comes from the name of the supreme thunder god of Ancient Rome.

The diameter of this giant is more than 10 times the diameter of our planet, and its volume exceeds all the planets in our solar system. It will fit 1300 planets like ours. The gravitational force of Jupiter is such that it can change the trajectory of comets, and in the end this celestial body can leave the solar system altogether. The magnetic field of the planet Jupiter is also the strongest among all the planets in the system.

It is 14 times higher than ours. Many astronomers are inclined to believe that this field is created due to the movement of hydrogen inside the giant. Jupiter is a very strong radio source, it can damage any existing spacecraft flying too close.

Despite its enormous parameters, Jupiter is the fastest planet in the solar system. Ten hours is enough for its complete rotation. But in order to fly around the Sun, the giant spends about 12 years.


This is interesting: there are no seasons on the planet!
In principle, the giant can be considered as a separate system, such a unique system of Jupiter in the solar system. The thing is that more than 60 satellites revolve around it. They all rotate in the opposite direction from the rotation of the planet itself. It is quite possible that the true number of Jupiter’s satellites exceeds a hundred, but, alas, they are still unknown to scientists. Among all the celestial bodies revolving around this giant, four can be distinguished: Callisto, IO, Europa and Ganymede. All of the above satellites are at least 1.5 times larger than our Moon.


Jupiter has 4 rings. One, the most important thing, appeared due to the collision of a meteorite with 4 satellites of this planet: Metis, Almathea, Thebe and Adrestea. The rings of Jupiter have one difference: no ice was found in them. Relatively recently, scientists discovered another ring, which is located closest to the giant planet; it is called the Halo.


An amazing fact is that the planet Jupiter is home to the Great Red Spot, which is actually a three hundred and fifty year anticyclone. Perhaps he has even more than we think. It was discovered by astronomer J. Cassini in 1665. It reached its maximum a century ago: 14 thousand km wide and 40 thousand km long. At the moment, the anticyclone has halved. The red spot is a kind of vortex that rotates at a speed of 400-500 km/h counterclockwise.
Earth and Jupiter are somewhat similar to each other. For example, storms on this huge planet do not last long, up to 4 days, and hurricanes are always accompanied by storms and lightning. Of course, the power of these phenomena is much greater than ours.


It turns out that Jupiter can “talk.” It makes strange sounds similar to speech, also called electromagnetic voices. This strange phenomenon was first recorded by the NASA-Voyager probe.
Jupiter is a rather strange planet. Scientists cannot accurately answer why natural phenomena behave differently on it. For example, Jupiter is characterized by one interesting phenomenon - the phenomenon of “hot shadows”. The thing is that usually in the shade the temperature is lower than in the illuminated areas. However, on this giant, where the surface is in the shade, the temperature is higher than in the open surrounding area. There are many explanations for this anomaly. The most plausible theory is that all planets absorb most of the energy of our star, but reflect a small part. It turns out that Jupiter, on the contrary, reflects more heat than it receives from the Sun.

The weirdness doesn't end there. Recently, volcanic activity was recorded on one of Jupiter’s moons, Io! Eight active volcanoes have been discovered on the surface of the satellite. This news became a sensation, because there are no volcanoes anywhere except Earth. On another satellite, Europa, scientists discovered water located under a very thick layer of ice.


Jupiter can rightfully be considered the richest planet. According to scientists, there may be a hail of diamond pieces on this giant. The fact is that on Jupiter carbon in crystalline forms is far from uncommon. First, lightning turns methane into carbon, then when it falls, it hardens and turns into graphite. Falling even lower, graphite eventually becomes diamond, which still has 30 thousand km to fall. At the very end, the stones reach such great depths that high temperature the core of the gas giant melts them and, quite possibly, a huge ocean of liquid carbon is created inside.


Are there signs of life on Jupiter? Alas, today the presence of life on this planet is unlikely, because there is a low concentration of water in the atmosphere and there is basically no solid surface.
Re-reading the above facts, one gets the impression that these are not all sensations; the most interesting ones await us ahead. Many researchers and scientists believe that life is quite possible on Jupiter. The atmosphere of this giant is very similar to our atmosphere in the distant past. Therefore, I think this is not the last article and these are not the last facts that we still have to consider.

This is the largest planet in the solar system. At night, Jupiter is easy to see - the only thing that shines brighter than it is the Moon. Even ancient astronomers knew this planet very well. It received its name in honor of the most important ancient Roman god, the thunderer.

The mass of this planet is very large. In addition to it, there are 7 different, large and small planets in the solar system. One Jupiter weighs two and a half times more than all the other planets combined. Earth is considered a small planet, and it weighs 318 times more than it.

Position in the Solar System

In order from the Sun, this is fifth planet. It revolves around the Sun in 12 Earth years. A day on Jupiter is 10 hours long - during this time it manages to rotate once around its axis.

The distance to the Earth changes because the orbits of the planets are not exactly circular, but elongated. Therefore, the distance in different times can range from half a million to almost a million kilometers.

Structure

This planet belongs to the gas giants, that is, only the inner core can be dense. There are no continents there, because... there is no surface as such; according to scientists’ reports, it is gaseous and represents boiling ocean of liquid hydrogen. On Jupiter so much high blood pressure that hydrogen becomes liquid there. And since this planet also has a very high temperature, the same as on the surface of the Sun: +6000 degrees Celsius (and the core is even hotter), then life cannot exist there.

The atmosphere contains mainly hydrogen and helium; other gases: nitrogen, hydrogen sulfide, and ammonia are present in small quantities.

Surprisingly, the temperature in the clouds of the atmosphere is negative (-150°C) - this is the difference.

Red Spot and other giant hurricanes

Since Jupiter rotates very quickly winds there can reach speeds of 600 km/h. On this planet Hurricanes happen all the time powerful thunderstorms and auroras.

One of the most famous hurricanes has lasted for almost 350 years. In 1664, he saw a “great red spot” through a simple telescope. Scientists have been trying for many years to understand what it is, and only in the 20th century did they find out that it is a long-lived atmospheric vortex. Now it is twice as large as the Earth, and a hundred years ago it was four times larger than it.

In addition to the large red spot, three more white ovals were noticed in 1938 - these are also hurricanes. In 1988, two of them merged into one vortex, and in 2000, they were joined by a third white oval. In 2005, this large hurricane, formed from three small ones, began to change color and turned red. Now it is called the “small red spot”.

Satellites

Jupiter has 67 moons. 4 large satellites can be seen from Earth with ordinary binoculars. The largest, Ganymede, is the size of half the Earth. Ganymede is generally the largest satellite in the Solar System.

10 largest moons of Jupiter:

• Ganymede (size 5260 km);
• Callisto (4820 km);
• Io (3642 km);
• Europe (3122 km);
• Amalthea (250 km);
• Himalia (170 km);
• Thebes (116 km);
• Elara (86 km);
• Pasife (60 km);
• Karme (46 km);
• Lysithea (36 km).

The five smallest satellites are 1 km in size.

Planetary ring system

When many satellites revolve around a planet and sooner or later they can collide with each other, breaking into pieces. They are ejected into the surrounding outer space as a result of such collisions. huge masses of dust.

Also, a large planet attracts comets, which also leave a lot of dust.

All these dust clouds, due to the rotation of the planet, gradually shift towards the equator and take the form of rings.

Around Jupiter, like around another large planet, there is a planetary ring system. It consists of five rings:

• Halo. It is the closest to the planet and the thickest, its width is 30 thousand km.
• The main ring is the most noticeable and brightest. Its width is 6 and a half thousand km.
• Arachnoid ring of Amalthea. Called arachnoid because it is transparent. The same weight as the Main Ring, but thinner.
• Web ring of Thebes. It is the dimmest and most transparent.
• The Himalia ring is the youngest and thinnest. It arose after 2000, when one of the newly discovered satellites crashed into another, Himalia, and crumbled into small pieces and dust.

4 closest satellites: Adrastea, Thebe, Metis and Amalthea rotate within and among these rings. The remaining satellites are located much further from the planet, behind the rings.

Jupiter Research

With the development of modern astronomy, scientific research giant planet: the interplanetary probes Voyager, Pioneer, and Galileo were sent to it. Research is being conducted using orbital (located on artificial satellites around the Earth) and ground-based telescopes.

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