10 Solar System Facts

Our solar system consists of sun and 8 planets moving around it is pre-defined orbits. The sun is also spinning around its own. Every planet in our solar system has two rotations, the spinning and the rotation. The only planet with life is earth. The planet mars, also called the red planet is the most researched planet of our solar system.

1. Planets

There used to be 9 planets in our solar system sometimes ago. But then Pluto was removed from this system because of its distance and certain other characteristics.

2. Age of solar system

The solar system that we know is 5 billion years old. It does not only contain 8 rotating planets but also lots of dust, gas and asteroids. They also move around the earth. These all came into being with the big bang.

3. Milky Way

Our solar system is a small part of the galaxy Milky Way. The galaxy is the huge galaxy in which we are a small negligible part. The galaxy contains thousands of other solar systems some smaller and some larger. Milky Way is moving towards an unknown place along with the whole universe.

4. Sun

Sun is 333,000 times bigger than our planet earth. It makes up to 98.9 percent of the total mass of the solar system. It is said that earth was a part of sun before its birth. but then in the big bang, earth separated it from sun.

5. Closest planet

The closest planet to sun is mercury. It has no atmosphere like earth has. Its temperature during the day time reached 801 degree F while the same planet turns to a cold frozen ball with -279 F at night. The survival of any life at this planet with these characteristics is impossible.

6. Venus

Venus is the planet closest to our planet in the solar system. Its surface is covered with thick clouds which reflect light back to the system. This is the reason it is the brightest planet of our system. Its surface was not seen until 1992.

7. Circling Earth

There are some 8000 objects circling our planet. These are the man made satellites, 2500 of them are working or broken while others are parts of space craft etc.

8. The Mars

Planet Mars is also called the red planet due to its atmosphere. It is home to the biggest volcano of our solar system. The Olympus Mons is 3 times tall than the Mount Everest we have on earth. It is 27 km tall and 550 km in diameter.

9. Asteroids

There are 90 thousand asteroids in the asteroid belt between mars and Jupiter. Scientists counted each of them this is interesting.

10. Saturn rings

The planet Saturn has rings of thick gases around it. The Saturn is tilted towards earth so these rings disappear with the movement of Saturn and reappear.