Solar System Objects

Introduction to solar system objects

The part of the universe in which we live is called the solar system. The solar system consists of planet, moons, asteroids, comets, etc. The sun, its planets, moons and all heavenly bodies revolving around the sun, collectively called the solar system. The center of our solar system is sun and all the planets revolve around the sun in the fixed orbits due to the influence of gravitational force of the sun.

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Solar System Objects : Planets


There are nine planets in our solar system. Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto. Planets are the heavenly bodies which revolves around the sun in an elliptical orbits. Planets have no light of their own. The brightest planet in our solar system is Venus and Pluto is the smallest planet in our solar system. The biggest of all is Jupiter . The red planet is Mars because the colour of Mars is reddish-orange. The first four planets, Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars are called the terrestrial planets, because they all have well defined surface containing rocks and soil. The other five planets – Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto are called Jovian planets, because they are like the Jupiter and they are gaseous in nature. All the planets revolve west to east around the sun except Uranus. Four planets Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune have rings around them.


Solar System Planets : Moons


A solid heavenly body, which revolves around the planets, are called the natural satellites or moons. Moon is the name specifically given to the artificial satellites. Moons do not have their own light. They reflect the light of sun falling on them. Earth has only one moon, whose size is one fourth of the earth and mass is one eighth of the earth. Our moon has no atmosphere and the temperature is 110° C at the daytime and – 150 °C at the nighttime. Our moon completes one revolution around the earth in 27.33 days. The surface of our moon is rocky and mountainous. Mars has two moons, Jupiter has fifty-eight moons, Saturn has thirty moons, Uranus has twenty one moons, Neptune has eleven moons, Pluto has one moon.


Solar System Objects : Asteroids


The orbits between the Mars and Jupiter, there are millions of small rocky, irregular objects which revolve around the sun are called the asteroids. The belt in which the asteroids revolve around the sun is called asteroid belt. They are also called as minor planets or planetoids. The largest asteroid is of 940 km in diameter, this asteroid is named as Ceres, given by the scientist Giuseppe Piazzi in 1801. Some of the asteroids have moons also.

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Solar System Objects : Comets


A wandering lump of ice and dust from the solar system or outside which move around the sun in very large orbits are called comets. Halley’s comet is the famous comet which was last seen in 1986, it has a period of 76 years.