The Solar System

1. SUN
At the center of the Solar System is the Sun. The Sun weighs about 300,000 times as much as the Earth and is 1.3
million times the volume. The Sun shines because it is continually producing energy in its core through hydrogen
fusion. At the center of the Solar System is the Sun. The temperature at the surface of the Sun is 5780 K. In the
core, the temperature is about 15 million degrees. The core extends from the Sun’s center to about one-quarter of
its radius, or about 175 million km. It contains about 1.6% of the Sun’s volume, but about one-half of its mass.
The convection zone takes up the outer 30% of the Sun’s radius: the heat is transported by giant bubbles of gas
circulating upwards, releasing their energy, then sinking down again. Sunspots can be many times larger than the
Earth. They appear dark because they are cooler than their bright surroundings, about 2000 K cooler. Most
sunspots remain visible for only a few days; others can last for weeks or months. The Sun emits a high-speed
solar wind, consisting primarily of electrons and protons, with a few heavier ions. It blows continuously at an
average velocity of 400 km/s.
2. PLANETS
Most of the planets (all except Mercury and Venus) have moons in orbit around them. The giant planets all have
large satellite systems, consisting of several large- and medium-size moons, as well as many smaller moons and
rings. All the planets (but not Pluto) orbit in the same direction and in the same plane: the ecliptic.
All the planets go around the Sun in the same direction. Most moons go around their primaries in the same
direction, and most (but not all) of the planets spin in the same direction as well. The four terrestrial planets:
Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars, showing the relative sizes. The terrestrial planets are small, dense, rocky worlds,
with much less atmosphere than the outer planets. They all lie in the inner solar system.

2.1 Mercury
Mercury is the smallest planet in the Solar System, only slightly larger than the Moon. It is extremely dense, so
must contain a very large core (~70% of its mass). Mercury orbits the Sun every 88.0 days, and rotates on its axis
once every 58.7 days. This combines to give Mercury a day of 176 (Earth) days long, twice the length of the year!
Mercury has almost no atmosphere. Mercury’s surface is dominated by impact craters and lava plains. It also has
long linear features: scarps and troughs. The scarps are between 500–1000 m in height and can be several
hundred km long. They are thought to have formed as the interior of Mercury cooled, causing the planet to
contract slightly.
2.2 Venus
Venus is almost exactly the same size as Earth. It is completely covered by clouds. The atmosphere on Venus
consists of 96% CO2, 3% N2, and trace amounts of other chemicals; the clouds are not water vapour, but sulphuric
acid. The pressure at the surface is 90 times the air pressure on Earth – the same pressure found at a depth of 1
km in Earth’s oceans. The temperature at the surface is 740 K (470o C), hot enough to melt lead. From the radar-
mapping mission Magellan (1990–1994), the surface of Venus is dominated by volcanoes: almost 90% of the
surface is occupied by volcanic landforms. More than 80% of the planet is covered by vast low-lying areas of
relatively featureless flows of lava. There are also about 150 giant volcanoes, up to 700 km in diameter and up to
5.5 km in height. Venus has hardly any impact craters; the surface density of craters indicates most of the surface
is only 600 million years old; but craters do not appear to be eroding. Where are all the older craters. Perhaps
Venus undergoes periodic catastrophic resurfacing. The last such event would have taken place about 600 million
years ago.
2.3 Earth
The surface of the Earth is concealed by the atmosphere, with its large cloud systems, by the large amounts of
liquid water which cover 70% of the planet, and by vegetation; the latter two are unique in the Solar System. The
Earth is the only planet which shows evidence of large-scale plate tectonics. The surface of the Earth is concealed
by the atmosphere, with its large cloud systems, by the large amounts of liquid water which cover 70% of the
planet, and by vegetation; the latter two are unique in the Solar System. The Earth is the only planet which shows
evidence of large-scale plate tectonics. Earth’s atmosphere is composed primarily of oxygen and nitrogen. This
composition has changed significantly the Earth’s history, principally because of the development of
photosynthesis. The Earth’s moon is the largest in relation to the planet of any object in the Solar System except
Pluto/Charon: the Moon is 1/4 the radius of the Earth, and 1/80 the mass.
2.4 Mars
Mars is half the radius of the Earth and about 10% of the mass. It takes nearly twice as long to orbit the Sun, but
the length of its day and its axial tilt are very close to Earth’s. Mars has a thin atmosphere – 1/150th the pressure
of Earth’s – which is primarily CO2, with small amounts of nitrogen and argon. The southern hemisphere of Mars
is several kilometres higher than the northern. Half the planet is heavily cratered and raised 1–4 km, the other is
relatively smooth. This is known as the crustal dichotomy. Mars is a planet of extremes. It has the tallest mountain
in the Solar System: Olympus Mons, 27 km high. Between Mars and Jupiter is the asteroid belt, which contains
probably 1–2 million objects. The largest are Ceres, Pallas, Vesta and Hygiea. Only 16 asteroids are larger than
240 km in size. Altogether, the total mass of asteroids would make an object only about a twentieth the size of the
Moon.
2.5 Jupiter
Jupiter is the most massive of the planets, 2.5 times the mass of the other planets combined. Jupiter's visible
surface is not solid: it is a gas giant. Everything visible on the planet is a cloud. Jupiter has (at least) 63 moons,
the four largest of which are known as the Galilean satellites. The different colours of the clouds represent
different chemicals: ammonia, ammonium hydrosulfide, and water. The reddish regions are the coolest: they sit
highest up in the atmosphere.
2.6 Saturn
Saturn is almost as large as Jupiter (85% of the diameter), but has only 30% of Jupiter’s mass. Like Jupiter, it is
a gas giant. The most obvious feature of Saturn are the immense rings. The ring system is remarkably complex,
and is still poorly understood. Saturn's equator is tilted relative to its orbit by 27º. As Saturn moves along its orbit,
first one hemisphere, then the other is tilted towards the Sun. From the Earth, we can see Saturn's rings open up
from edge-on to nearly fully open, then close again to a thin line as Saturn moves along its orbits. Beyond Saturn
are the two ice giants: Uranus and Neptune. They are very similar in size, though Neptune is slightly more
massive. Methane gives the planets their blue-green or blue appearance.
2.7 Uranus
Uranus was discovered in 1781 by William Herschel, musician and amateur astronomer. Herschel became the
first person in recorded history to discover a new planet, at a stroke doubling the size of the known Solar System.
In fact, Uranus had been detected, mistaken for a star, on 22 occasions during the preceding century. Unlike the
other planets, Uranus’ axis of rotation is tilted to lie almost in the plane of its orbit. This means it has very bizarre
seasons, with each pole being sunlit for 42 (Earth) years. During this time, the pole receives more light than the
equator, before being plunged into darkness for the next 42 years.

2.8 Neptune
Neptune was discovered by Johann Galle in 1846, leading to an international dispute over priority. On 12 July
2011, Neptune completed its first orbit since its discovery. Neptune has thirteen moons, only two visible from
Earth – Triton and Nereid. Both have peculiar orbits: Nereid’s orbit is highly eccentric, and Triton is unique
among large planetary satellites because it orbits backwards – opposite to the sense of the planet’s rotation.
Beyond Neptune, there is a large number of small icy worlds, collectively called the trans-Neptunian objects
(TNOs). As of 2015, there were nearly 1800 objects known beyond the orbit of Neptune, the largest of which are
Eris and Pluto.

SOURCE:

• Solar system; from Chandra Photo Journal http://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/2005/orion/najita.html

• Sun: SOHO image of the Sun, taken in ultraviolet light. http://sohowww.nascom.nasa.gov
• Sizes of orbits: from http://www.solarviews.com/eng/solarsys.htm
• Jupiter and Saturn families of moons: from NSSDC Photo Gallery,
http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/photo_gallery/
• Moons: from Paul Schenk, “Satellites of the Outer Planets”
http://www.lpi.usra.edu/research/outerp/moons.html
• Moons by size: http://www.solarviews.com/eng/solarsys.htm