Understanding the Solar System and the Names of the Planets Within It

If you look at the sky at night, you will find many twinkling stars. When looking at the sky, many people only recognize the sun, moon, and stars. However, there are actually various celestial objects that have different characteristics and traits.

Although they all emit light, not all of the twinkling lights in the night sky are stars. The solar system is the term for a collection of celestial objects that orbit the sun. Let's continue to learn more about the celestial objects in the solar system.

Objects that Form the Solar System

As mentioned earlier, the sky is not only made up of the moon and stars; there are many other objects that form the solar system. Each celestial object also has characteristics that differentiate them, even if some look similar. Now, to learn more, here are some objects that form the solar system.

Stars

As one of the most visible celestial objects, stars have the ability to emit their own light. Did you know that the sun is considered a star because it can emit its own light?

Not only that, the sun has the largest mass compared to other stars in the solar system. Therefore, the sun has gravity that affects other celestial objects. All celestial objects orbit in specific paths due to the sun's gravity.

Planets

Now, planets are one of the celestial objects where we live. Planets have enough mass and gravity to form a round structure with orbits that are not crossed by other celestial objects. Initially, there were nine planets in the solar system before Pluto was no longer considered a planet because its orbit is not clean.

However, the nine planets in the solar system are also studied as important celestial objects. The characteristics of the planets will also be discussed in this article.

Satellites

If celestial objects that are popularly known for shining are the moon and the sun, did you know that the moon is Earth's satellite? Yes, every planet has satellites that orbit around them. Planets are also distinguished into natural and artificial satellites. The moon is a natural satellite of Earth and reflects light from the sun.

All satellites move around the sun along with the planets they orbit. Meanwhile, satellites also rotate on their own axes and orbit the planets they accompany.

Asteroids

Unlike the previous celestial objects, asteroids are small rocky bodies that are also smaller than planets. In the solar system, the asteroid belt is located between Mars and Jupiter. Asteroids are also called minor planets and orbit the sun.

Comets

This celestial object consists of a number of particles of rock, crystals, ice, and gas. Comets have three parts: the nucleus, coma, and tail. Because of this, many people refer to comets as "tailed stars." This is due to the glowing shape of comets when they appear in the night sky.

Meteoroids

This term for celestial objects is often confused with meteorites and meteors. However, these three types of celestial objects are actually different. Meteoroids are small rocks or debris that exist within the solar system. The size of meteoroids can even be very small, like dust.

What about meteors? Meteors are meteoroids that burn up when passing through Earth's atmosphere and appear as falling star lights. When they successfully pass through the atmosphere and fall to Earth's surface, meteoroids are known as meteorites.

Planets in the Solar System and Their Characteristics

In astronomy, planets are one of the celestial objects that are characterized by their relatively large size. With their diverse characteristics, planets are studied as a general science.

Each planet has different rotation and revolution periods. Rotation is the spinning of a planet on its own axis. Meanwhile, revolution is the movement of a planet or satellite that orbits around the sun. Now, to learn more about planets, let's take a brief look at each planet.

Mercury

Mercury is the planet closest to the sun. The name of this planet is derived from the name of the Roman messenger to the gods. After Pluto was no longer considered a planet in the solar system, Mercury became the smallest planet. Mercury has a rotation period of 59 days and a revolution period of 88 days.

Venus

Venus is a celestial object that can be seen with the naked eye and is often thought to resemble the moon. This planet is referred to as the morning star or evening star because it is clearly visible before sunrise or after sunset. Venus has a rotation period of 243 days in the opposite direction of the clock.

Earth

Now, this planet is the one where humans live. Earth has the ability to constantly and dynamically recycle its planetary composition. Earth rotates for 24 hours, causing differences in time zones, while its revolution period is 365 – 366 days.

Mars

Mars is one of the planets that is also considered capable of supporting life. This is triggered by the discovery of water made by the United States Space Agency while on Mars. Mars has a rotation period of only 4.6 hours with a revolution period of 687 days.

Jupiter

This fifth planet is also quite famous for being the largest compared to other planets. If compared, Jupiter is twice the size of all the planets in the solar system combined. Jupiter has a rotation period of about 10 hours with a revolution period of 11 years and 315 days.

Saturn

As the second largest planet, Saturn also has rings that orbit it. Most of Saturn's composition is gas and liquid with low density. Its rotation period is 10 hours and 20 minutes, while its revolution period is 29 years and 5 months. Saturn has a natural satellite known as Titan.

Uranus

Uranus has a bluish color and was discovered by Wilhelm Herschel in 1781. This planet has the second lowest density after Saturn. Uranus has a rotation period of 17 hours, while its revolution period is 84 years.

Neptune

Now, this eighth planet is the last one in the solar system. Neptune's characteristics are similar to Uranus, especially in terms of color. For this reason, these two planets are often referred to as twin planets. Neptune is 17 times larger than Earth. Its rotation period is 16.1 hours and its revolution period is 164 years and 9 months.

So, those are various facts you need to know about the solar system and the celestial objects within it. Not just the moon, stars, and sun, but there are various other celestial objects that you can recognize as part of the solar system.

Author: Rizkita Darajat