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What is the solar system. Investigation of the solar system. New Planets of the Solar System

What is the solar system? This is our common home. What does it consist of? How and when was it formed? Everyone needs to know more about the corner of the Galaxy in which we live.

From high to low

The lesson "Solar System" should start with the fact that the latter is part of a huge and boundless universe. The scale of its human mind can not be comprehended. The stronger our telescopes become, the deeper we look into space, the more we see stars and galaxies there. According to modern ideas, the universe has a certain structure. And it consists of galaxies and their clusters. The place where the solar system is located is the Milky Way galaxy. It consists of one hundred billion stars, many of which are similar to the Sun. Our star was a rather ordinary yellow dwarf. But in many respects thanks to the modest size and stable temperature in his system, life was born.

Occurrence

Modern theories of the emergence of the solar system are inherently associated with hypotheses about the evolution of the universe. The emergence of it still remains a mystery. There are only different mathematical models. By the most common of these, our universe arose seventeen billion years ago as a result of the Big Bang. It is believed that our star is 4.7 billion years old. The solar system is about the same age. How long does she have to live? In a billion years, the Sun will move into the next cycle of its development and turn into a red giant. According to the calculations of the majority of scientists, the upper limit of its atmosphere will be just at the distance of the Earth's orbit. And if through such a huge period of time mankind will still exist, then for people it will become a catastrophe of truly universal scale. But all this in the distant future. What is the situation today?

The bodies of the solar system

So, first of all, this, of course, is our star. People from ancient times gave her a name and called the Sun. It is concentrated ninety-nine percent of the mass of all systems. And only one falls on the planets, their satellites, meteorites, asteroids, comets and bodies of the Kuiper belt. So what is the solar system? It's the Sun and everything around it. But first things first.

The sun

As already mentioned above, the star is the center of our system. Its dimensions are amazing. The sun is heavier than the Earth in three hundred thirty thousand times! And its diameter exceeds the ground one hundred and nine times. The average density of the Sun's matter is only 1.4 times higher than the density of water. But this should not be misleading. In fact, in the central regions of the star density is one hundred and fifty times greater, because of colossal pressure and nuclear reactions begin. Helium is formed from hydrogen.

Then the energy released as a result of this is transferred by convection to the outer layers and dissipated in outer space. According to scientists, our Sun is now seventy-five percent composed of hydrogen, and approximately 25% of helium, the remaining elements are not more than 1%. First of all, this indicates that the Sun is in full bloom, because there are still a lot of fuel. Usually the lifetime for a star of this class (yellow dwarf) is ten billion years. It is impossible not to say a few words about the structure of the Sun. In its center is a massive nucleus, followed by radiative energy transfer zones, convection, photosphere and chromosphere. On the latter often appear prominences. Sunspots are zones on the surface of a star, where the temperature is noticeably lower, because they look darker. Our luminary revolves around its axis with a period of twenty-five earth days. It is hardly an exaggeration to say that the entire solar system depends on the state of this star. Photolaboratories to study the processes on it are created even in orbit.

Mercury

This is the first cosmic body that we will meet, moving away from the Sun. And as a consequence of its proximity, the surface is very hot and there is almost no atmosphere. It refers to the so-called planets of the terrestrial group. Their general characteristics: a rather high density, the presence of a gas-water atmosphere, a small number of satellites, the presence of a core, mantle and crust. However, as already mentioned above, the atmosphere of Mercury is practically deprived - the solar wind blows it away. Recall that the Earth from him protects a strong magnetic field and distance. But despite this, the gas shell on Mercury can still be found, it consists of metal ions, which evaporate from the surface of the planet. There are (in small quantities) oxygen, nitrogen and inert gases.

Around the Sun, Mercury moves along an elongated orbit. The period of its circulation is 88 terrestrial days. But to turn around the axis of the planet takes almost 59 days. Largely due to this, a big temperature difference is observed on Mercury: from minus 183 0 to plus 427 0 Celsius.

The surface of the planet is covered with craters, low mountains and valleys. There are also traces of compression of Mercury (due to the cooling of the metal core) - in the form of extended ledges). Scientists suggest the presence of water ice in some shaded areas of the planet.

Venus

The second planet of the Earth type from the Sun. It is much larger in size than Mercury, but slightly smaller than Earth, both in mass and diameter. Satellites are absent. But in the presence of a dense atmosphere, which almost completely hides from our eyes the surface of Venus. Thanks to it, the temperature on the surface is much higher than on Mercury: the average values reach +475 0 Celsius, without significant daily fluctuations. Another feature of the atmosphere is the strongest winds at an altitude of several kilometers (up to one hundred and fifty meters per second), real hurricanes. What causes them is still unclear. There is an atmosphere of ninety-six percent of carbon dioxide. Oxygen and water vapor are negligible. Thanks to flights to the planet of several spacecraft, scientists managed to compile a rather detailed map of Venus. The surface of the planet is divided into plains and elevations. There are two major continents. There are many impact craters.

Earth

We will not dwell on our planet in detail, since it is the most studied and known to the reader. But what is the solar system without the Earth? .. I must say that our house still contains many mysteries. In addition, the Earth is the planet of the solar system, which by mass is second only to gas giants, and the only one that has a water shell. The period of revolution around the star is 365 days, and the distance to it - 150,000,000 kilometers - is taken for an astronomical unit. We will also say that the Earth is a planet of the solar system, which has a significant single satellite, and will move on.

Mars

And here we have a red planet - a dream of all science fiction and a heavenly body, about which a person does not cease to think. Now the spacecraft is working on the surface of Mars. And in ten years they are already going to send a manned spacecraft. Why are people so interested in Mars? Yes, because according to conditions this planet is closest to the Earth. Astronomers of the past generally assumed that Mars has water channels and plant life. By the way, the search for the latter is still going on. Perhaps this will be the first planet with which a person will begin to explore the solar system.

By mass, Mars is half the size of the Earth. Its atmosphere is rather rarefied and consists mainly of carbon dioxide. The average surface temperature is minus 60 degrees Celsius. True, in some areas of the equator, it can rise to zero. The Martian year lasts six hundred and eighty-seven earth days. And since the orbit of the planet is quite stretched, the seasons on it are different in duration. The poles of the planet are covered with thin ice caps. The surface of Mars is rich in craters and elevations. On the Red Planet is the highest mountain in the solar system - Olympus. Its height is about 12 kilometers. And also Mars has two small moons - Phobos and Deimos.

Belt of asteroids

It is located between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. In fact, this is a very extensive and interesting zone. It can detect a million different objects, mostly small ones - up to several hundred meters. But there are also giants, such as Ceres (diameter - 950 km), Vesta or Pallas. At first they were also considered asteroids, but in 2006 they were recognized as dwarf planets, like Pluto. All these objects were formed at the time of the formation of the solar system. Perhaps all asteroids are something that has not become a planet because of the strong influence of the rapidly formed Jupiter. There are many different types and families of asteroids. Among them there are composed of different metals, so that in the distant future they can be used in industry.

The giant planets

Unlike such a cosmic body as the Earth, the planets of the solar system, located behind the asteroid belt, have a much larger mass. And first of all it, of course, Jupiter and Saturn. These giants have many satellites, some of which generally resemble the size of the terrestrial planet. Saturn is famous for its rings, which actually consist of many small objects. The density of these planets is much less than terrestrial. The substance of Saturn, in general, is lighter than water. Virtually all giants have a solid core. Their atmospheres consist of hydrogen, helium, ammonia, methane and a small amount of other gases. And the composition of Jupiter and Saturn in many ways is similar to the composition of our Sun.

Therefore, it is not surprising that they are considered to be unformed stars. They simply did not have enough weight.

The true gas giants Uranus and Neptune can only be considered conditional, since they have a powerful atmosphere. However, apparently, they still have a solid surface. But where it starts with Jupiter - hard to say. It is assumed that the core of the largest planet of the solar system consists of metallic hydrogen. Virtually all giants emit their own energy (heat), and in quantities greater than they receive from the Sun. Everyone has rings and a lot of satellites. In their atmospheres, hurricanes, unprecedented in their power, are raging (the farther the planet from the Sun, the stronger).

Kuiper Belt

Quite already the backyard of the solar system. Here is the former planet Pluto (in 2006 it was deprived of this status), as well as comparable to it by the mass and size of Makemake, Eris, Huamea. These are the so-called new planets of the solar system. And also thousands, if not millions of other bodies of smaller size. Apparently, the Kuiper belt does not extend beyond 100 astronomical units. According to scientists, short-period comets are coming from here. Oort cloud ends the solar system. Photo-report from these places, it is quite possible, we will soon receive from the spacecraft "New horizons".

So, in short, we showed what the solar system is, and what elements it consists of. Now it includes five large planets, our star, and many smaller objects. However, modern science is actively developing. And probably tomorrow we will be able to find out that new planets of the solar system have been discovered.

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