The Solar System consists of a below average sized star, of average brightness, orbited by eight known planets and five (currently) known dwarf planets, in accordance with the definitions published by the IAU in 2006; as well as over one hundred and sixty known moons, and various smaller bodies including the asteriod belt, kupier belt, comets and interplanetary medium.
Not the most flattering introduction, and there is so much more to the Solar System, including a planet that would float in water, another that has suffered such a huge impacts that its effects can be seen on the other side, and a planet that is upside down.
The Aim of this page is to supply a brief overview of the Sun, Planets and other celestial bodies within the Solar System. Further information can be found using the embedded links.
If you have any comments, updates, questions or have spotted any mistakes please don't hesitate to contact me.
The Solar System is located in, and moves around, the Milky Way Galaxy, which itself is located in the "Local Group" of Galaxies including our sattelite galaxies the small and large Magellanic clouds, and the Andromeda Galaxy (M31).
The following figures detail the Solar System's movement and location.
For further information on the Solar System click here.
Our Sun (also known as Sol) is the crown jewel in what is our Solar System. A population I star comprising of over 99% of the material remaining from the birth of the solar system, it is a two point two thousand trillion tonne furnace, converting over four million tonnes of matter into pure energy every second.
The following figures give details on the Sun.
As we move away from the dazzling light of the Sun we come across the first four Planets in the Solar System; Mercury, Venus (the inferior Planets), Earth and Mars. Asides from being composed predominately of rocky silicates, these four planets exhibit huge variety even before we go onto the Gas and Ice Giants. All three (excluding Earth) are easily visible at the right time from Earth during twilight/night time, with the inferior planets displaying phases like the moon as they progress on their orbits.
The following figures give details on these Planets.
Mercury.
Venus.
Earth.
Mars.
These two planets inhabit the area past mars and the asteriod belt. These "failed suns" are immense balls of gas, producing more energy that then recieve from the Sun, powered by differentiation. Jupiter and Saturn are two popular targets for astromomers.
The following figures give details on these Planets.
Jupiter.
Saturn.
The Ice Giant are the last real planets (currently) known. Large conglomerated of elements slightly heavier than the gases that formed the Gas Giants, blown out further by the energy of the young Sun during the accretion of the Solar System. Neptune, like the Gas Giants, creates more energy that it recieves from the Sun, the differentiation process is believed to make it rain diamonds in the Neptunian atmosphere. Uranus on the other hand spins on its side relative to the plane of the Solar System, the event that caused this dramatic tilt is also believed to be the reason that Uranus is a cold world not generating as much heat relative to the other Giant planets, as well as the reason for the planets bizzare magnetic field.
The following figures give details on these Planets.
Uranus.
Neptune.
The outermost known region of the Solar System is an unconfirmed region known as the Oort Cloud/Opik-Oort Cloud, and is the hypothesised origin of all Halley-type comets. It is believed to inhabit a distance between 2000-5000 AU to approximately 50,000 AU, or almost one lightyear from the Sun. Other hypothesis put the outer limit to between 100,000 to 200,000 AU, these distances define the limit of the Solar Systems gravitational effect or boundary, and covers approximately one quarter to almost the entire distance to Proxima Centauri, the nearest star to the Sun.
The Oort Cloud is believed to comprise of two components, the outer being a spherical cloud extending to 50,000 AU, and the inner cloud comprising of a torus or doughnut shaped field of cometary material between 2000 to 20,000 AU . This second cloud is sometimes called the Hills Cloud and is thought to comprise of between tens to hundreds of times more bodies than the outer region.
The outer cloud is believed to have over 2 trillion cometary nuclei of a size greater than 1.5 kilometres, and over half a million with an absolute magnitude brighter than eleven. Using Halley's Comet as a benchmark it is estimated that the mass of the Oort Cloud is 3x1025 kilograms (3 with 25 zeros after it) or approximately 5 times the mass of the Earth. The inner Oort Clouds' mass is currently unknown.
