El solar system It is made up of planets and asteroids that rotate around a single star that is the consistency of everything. The star is known as the sun. We all know the planets and celestial bodies that revolve directly or indirectly around the sun, but there are many doubts regarding the order of the planets. When we talk about the order of the planets, we are referring to the distance at which each celestial body revolves around the sun.
Therefore, we are going to dedicate this article to tell you everything you need to know about the order of the planets and characteristics of the solar system.
Formation of the solar system
We know that the solar system is made up of all the planets that revolve around the sun. It is worth noting that was formed approximately 4.600 billion years ago because of a gravitational collapse that occurred in a giant molecular cloud. This event led to the formation of other billions of stars, the number of which is still unknown. There are many scientists who study all the characteristics of the solar system to know the order of the planets in addition to other fundamental characteristics.
Among the main elements that give shape and life to the solar system are the major and minor planets. There are some elements such as star dust, interstellar gas, satellites and the asteroids that are also part of the solar system. The whole set of these elements forms what we know as Milky Way. The Milky Way is made up of billions of stars and the solar system is located in one of the arms that it is called Orion.
Among the main characteristics of the solar system we have that the sun accounts for 99% of the total mass of the system, since it has a diameter of 1.500.000 kilometers. The rest of the planets are divided into several types known as inner planets y Outer planets. There are numerous planets that have rings and other dwarf planets that are in a category as smaller celestial bodies. In this case, we go to Pluto in the group of Tiny planets.
Another important element in the formation of the solar system are the satellites. These are larger bodies that orbit a larger planet. Planets like Jupiter have numerous satellites, or, conversely, we have our planet that It only has the moon as a satellite. We found the Little Brothers of the satellites known as asteroids found in the asteroid belt. That center is between Mars y Jupiter. This belt is made up of frozen, liquid, gaseous objects, cosmic dust, meteoroids and comets. They represent the rest of the elements that exist in the solar system.
The three categories of the order of the planets
Let's establish the different categories by which the planets are arranged. To better understand this system, scientists have decided to classify the solar system into three categories. Let's analyze each of them:
- First category: In this category, the eight planets that make up the solar system are indicated. We point out the terrestrial planets such as Earth, Mars, (Venus y Mercury. These 4 planets are known as inner planets. On the other hand, we have the planets that have satellites that orbit around them and are Neptuno, Uranus, Jupiter and Saturn. They are considered as outer planets.
- Second category: here are the so-called dwarf planets. Dwarf planets are celestial bodies that also orbit the sun and that have a spherical shape. However, its mass is not sufficient to be able to clear the vicinity of its orbit. From here the reason for the nomenclature is derived. Some of the dwarf planets that make up this category are Ceres, Eris, Haumea, Pluto and Eris. Previously, Pluto was considered a planet of the first category.
- Third category: here are included the so-called minor bodies of the solar system. They are all the remaining objects that we have mentioned in the previous categories. It is made up of asteroids, all objects that circulate in the Kuiper belt, meteoroids, and some icy comets.
Order of the planets
The planets are ordered by their distance from the sun. Let's take a closer look at each of them. We'll list them in order from closest to farthest orbiting the sun. We'll also mention some of the main characteristics of each planet.
- Mercury: This planet is the closest to the sun. Despite being smaller than the others, it bears a resemblance to our planet. Its composition is 70% metallic elements and the remainder silicates.
- (Venus: Number two in terms of distance from the sun. Venus is known as Earth's sister planet because of its strong resemblance to Earth. Its mass and rocky, melt-like composition are similar to our own.
- Earth: It is the largest of the so-called rocky planets and was formed 4600 billion years ago. Water makes up 71% of the planet. This fact has differentiated the fundamental characteristics of the planet from others. Water is what has determined the existence of life. It is also interesting to observe the solar radiation on Earth.
- Mars: It is the second largest of the rocky planets and the fourth farthest from the sun. It has long been known as the Red Planet because of its reddish surface. This color is due to the iron oxide that covers most of its surface.
- Jupiter: It is one of the gas giants, named after the god Zeus of Greek mythology. It is already 1300 times the size of Earth and is considered the oldest planet in the solar system.
- Saturn: It's the most famous planet in the solar system for its ring. It was first discovered in 1610, and most of its surface is composed of hydrogen and the remainder of ice.
- Uranus: It is a planet considered one of the first to be discovered by a telescope. Its particularity of its atmosphere. It reaches temperatures of -224 degrees Celsius.
- Neptuno: It is composed of molten rock, water, methane, hydrogen, ice and liquid ammonia and was discovered in the year 1612.
I hope that with this information you can learn more about the order of the planets and the characteristics of the solar system.