Planets That Make Up Our Solar System and Their Characteristics

The Sun, which gives life to the planet Earth, which we have been living on for a long time, also influences many different planets. The system built on this effect is called the Solar System. There are eight planets that make up the Solar System. Yes, Pluto, discovered almost a hundred years ago, was decided in 2006 that it was not a planet, but just a dwarf planet.

There is a distance of about 15 billion light years between the Sun and the end point of the Solar System, which is built on it. At this edge is the Heliopause, and beyond it the Oort Cloud. After that, it’s pretty complicated. However, our subject is not beyond, but the planets in the Solar System themselves. Let’s take a closer look at the planets that make up our Solar System and see the prominent features of each.

Planets that make up the Solar System and their prominent features:

Smallest planet: Mercury

Mercury, which is the closest planet to the Sun, is also the smallest planet in our Solar System. With a diameter of about 4,878 kilometers, the planet is only slightly larger than the Moon. Since it is much closer to the Sun, it completes its orbit around the Sun in 88 days. Since it is a planet that can be seen with the naked eye, it was discovered during the Ancient Greek period.

On the planet Mercury, the daytime temperature is 450 degrees, while the night temperature is minus 180 degrees. Its extremely thin atmosphere consists of oxygen, sodium, hydrogen, helium and potassium. Since this thin atmosphere cannot prevent meteors, its surface is full of holes just like the Moon. NASA’s Messenger spacecraft has detected frozen water and frozen organic compounds at Mercury’s north pole.

Hottest planet: Venus

The surface temperature of Venus, the hottest planet in the Solar System, averages 464 degrees. An extreme example of the greenhouse effect is observed, the planet’s atmosphere consists of clouds of poisonous sulfuric acid. The pressure on the Venusian surface is so high that a person could easily be crushed to death. Unlike most planets, it rotates extremely slowly from east to west.

Despite all these extraordinary features, Venus is called Earth’s twin. Because they’re nearly the same size, and more importantly, when you scrape off the nasty clouds of the atmosphere, the landscape underneath is very similar to Earth. Venus, with a diameter of 121,204 kilometers, completes its orbit around the Sun in 225 days. It is often mistaken for a UFO because it is much brighter than other planets.

Our planet: Earth

Our soul, our liver, which gives us life, is the third planet closest to the Sun in the Solar System. Two-thirds is covered with water, its atmosphere is rich in nitrogen and oxygen. With a diameter of 12,760 kilometers, the Earth completes its orbit around the Sun in 365.24 days. Our Earth, revolving around the Sun at 29 kilometers per second, is the only planet known to have life.

Ideal planet for bacteria and microbes: Mars

Mars, a cold, desert-like planet covered in iron oxide dust, is referred to as the red planet because of its red surface color. The rocks, mountains, valleys, canyons and hurricanes found on the surface of Mars are similar to those of Earth. According to studies on the red planet, Mars used to be much hotter and had rivers and even oceans on it.

Since the atmosphere of Mars is extremely thin, there is no liquid on the surface. However, quite large water ice has been found at both the north and south poles of the planet. Even if it doesn’t seem very suitable for humans, conditions on Mars seem suitable for many bacteria and microbes. On Mars, which is 6,787 kilometers in diameter, the days are slightly longer than ours.

Largest planet: Jupiter

Jupiter, the largest planet in the Solar System, is referred to by NASA as a gas giant. Even if you add the mass of all the planets in the system, it is only half of Jupiter. With a diameter of 139,822 kilometers, Jupiter has nearly 80 moons. The clouds swirling around it are composed of ammonia ice, ammonia hydrosulfide crystals, water ice, and water vapor.

This giant gas cloud orbiting Jupiter was first discovered in 1831 by astronomer Samuel Heinrich Schwabe. These clouds form a storm about 10,000 miles wide. In the last century, this storm has accelerated many times over. The reason why Jupiter has so many moons is because it has a strong magnetic field.

Ringed planet: Saturn

Saturn, which has the most prominent rings in the Solar System, is 120,500 kilometers in diameter. First discovered by Galileo in the first quarter of the 17th century, Saturn’s rings were so large and its two moons next to it were so large that it was thought to have a special three-part system.

How these giant peoples of Saturn formed is still unknown, but it is certain that they were made of ice and rocks. Rich in hydrogen and helium, the planet has more than 80 moons.

Slightly crooked planet: Uranus

Uranus can be called the most unusual planet in the Solar System because it is tilted a bit. Just like Venus, it rotates from east to west. But what makes it unique is that its equator is at right angles to its orbit. So we can say that it revolves around its own orbit.

Covered with clouds made of hydrogen sulfide, Uranus probably smells like a giant rotten egg. Although the reason for its smell is unknown, the reason for its sideways standing is estimated. According to experts, 4 billion years ago, a celestial body twice the size of our Earth collided with Uranus. After this impact, Uranus bent. As a result of this tilting, the seasons on the planet last more than 20 years. Although the average temperature of Uranus is minus 195, it has also seen a record temperature of minus 224 degrees in the Solar System.

Coldest planet: Neptune

The average temperature of Neptune, the coldest planet in the Solar System, is minus 210 degrees Celsius. Neptune, which is almost the same size as Uranus, with a diameter of 49,530 kilometers, is known for its winds strong enough to end life even on Earth. Neptune is 30 times further from the Sun than Earth.

It took us a long time to visually detect Neptune, but long before that, as a result of mathematical calculations, it was determined that this planet exists. Thanks to these calculations, we can say that Neptune was found. Neptune’s core is 17 times larger than Earth’s core.

Bonus: dwarf planet Pluto

First discovered in 1930, Pluto is only 2301 kilometers in diameter. Known as a cold and rocky dwarf planet with a thin atmosphere, Pluto has icy lava-spewing volcanoes. It was decided to be classified as a dwarf planet in 2006, since it does not resemble a planet by its structure.

We listed the planets that make up the Solar System, including our Earth, and briefly talked about the prominent features of each. As space studies on both outer space and our own system increase, the density of the information we learn will increase even more. You can share your thoughts in the comments.