Biographies Characteristics Analysis

Planets by color. Terrestrial planets of the solar system

Space has attracted people's attention for a long time. planets solar system astronomers began to study in the Middle Ages, looking at them through primitive telescopes. But a thorough classification, description of the features of the structure and movement of celestial bodies became possible only in the 20th century. With the advent of powerful equipment equipped with last word observatory technology and spaceships several previously unknown objects were discovered. Now each student can list all the planets of the solar system in order. Almost all of them have been landed by a space probe, and so far man has only been to the Moon.

What is the solar system

The universe is huge and includes many galaxies. Our solar system is part of a galaxy with over 100 billion stars. But there are very few that look like the Sun. Basically, they are all red dwarfs, which are smaller in size and do not shine as brightly. Scientists have suggested that the solar system was formed after the emergence of the sun. Its huge field of attraction captured a gas-dust cloud, from which, as a result of gradual cooling, particles were formed. solid. Over time, celestial bodies formed from them. It is believed that the Sun is now in the middle of its life path, therefore, it will exist, as well as all celestial bodies dependent on it, for several billion more years. Near space has been studied by astronomers for a long time, and any person knows what planets of the solar system exist. Photos of them taken with space satellites, can be found on the pages of various information resources dedicated to this topic. All celestial bodies are held strong field the attraction of the Sun, which makes up more than 99% of the volume of the solar system. Large celestial bodies revolve around the star and around their axis in one direction and in one plane, which is called the plane of the ecliptic.

Solar system planets in order

In modern astronomy, it is customary to consider celestial bodies, starting from the Sun. In the 20th century, a classification was created, which includes 9 planets of the solar system. But recent space exploration and latest discoveries prompted scientists to revise many positions in astronomy. And in 2006, at the international congress, due to its small size (a dwarf, not exceeding three thousand km in diameter), Pluto was excluded from the number of classical planets, and eight of them remained. Now the structure of our solar system has taken on a symmetrical, slender appearance. It includes four terrestrial planets: Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars, then comes the asteroid belt, followed by four giant planets: Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. On the outskirts of the solar system also passes which scientists called the Kuiper belt. This is where Pluto is located. These places are still little studied because of their remoteness from the Sun.

Features of the terrestrial planets

What makes it possible to attribute these celestial bodies to one group? We list the main characteristics of the inner planets:

  • relatively small size;
  • hard Surface, high density and similar composition (oxygen, silicon, aluminum, iron, magnesium and other heavy elements);
  • the presence of an atmosphere;
  • the same structure: a core of iron with nickel impurities, a mantle consisting of silicates, and a crust of silicate rocks (except for Mercury - it has no crust);
  • a small number of satellites - only 3 for four planets;
  • rather weak magnetic field.

Features of the giant planets

As for outer planets, or gas giants, then they have the following characteristics:

  • large size and weight;
  • they do not have a solid surface and are composed of gases, mainly helium and hydrogen (which is why they are also called gas giants);
  • a liquid core consisting of metallic hydrogen;
  • high rotation speed;
  • a strong magnetic field, which explains the unusual nature of many processes occurring on them;
  • there are 98 satellites in this group, most of which belong to Jupiter;
  • the most salient feature gas giants is the presence of rings. All four planets have them, although they are not always noticeable.

The first planet is Mercury

It is located closest to the Sun. Therefore, from its surface, the luminary looks three times larger than from the Earth. This also explains the strong temperature fluctuations: from -180 to +430 degrees. Mercury is moving very fast in its orbit. Maybe that's why it got such a name, because in Greek mythology Mercury is the messenger of the gods. There is almost no atmosphere here, and the sky is always black, but the Sun shines very brightly. However, there are places at the poles where its rays never hit. This phenomenon can be explained by the tilt of the axis of rotation. No water was found on the surface. This circumstance, as well as the anomalously high daytime temperature (as well as the low nighttime temperature) fully explain the fact that there is no life on the planet.

Venus

If we study the planets of the solar system in order, then the second one is Venus. People could observe her in the sky in ancient times, but since she was shown only in the morning and in the evening, it was believed that these were 2 different objects. By the way, our Slavic ancestors called her Flicker. It is the third brightest object in our solar system. Formerly people they called it the morning and evening star, because it is best seen before sunrise and sunset. Venus and Earth are very similar in structure, composition, size and gravity. Around its axis, this planet moves very slowly, making full turn for 243.02 Earth days. Of course, the conditions on Venus are very different from those on Earth. It is twice as close to the Sun, so it is very hot there. Heat is also explained by the fact that thick clouds of sulfuric acid and an atmosphere of carbon dioxide create on the planet the greenhouse effect. In addition, the pressure at the surface is 95 times greater than on Earth. Therefore, the first ship that visited Venus in the 70s of the 20th century survived there for no more than an hour. A feature of the planet is also the fact that it rotates in the opposite direction, compared to most planets. More astronomers about it celestial object so far nothing is known.

Third planet from the Sun

The only place in the solar system, and indeed in the entire universe known to astronomers, where life exists, is the Earth. In the terrestrial group, it has the largest dimensions. What else is her

  1. The largest gravity among the terrestrial planets.
  2. Very strong magnetic field.
  3. High density.
  4. It is the only one among all the planets that has a hydrosphere, which contributed to the formation of life.
  5. It has the largest, in comparison with its size, satellite, which stabilizes its tilt relative to the Sun and affects natural processes.

The planet Mars

It is one of the smallest planets in our Galaxy. If we consider the planets of the solar system in order, then Mars is the fourth from the Sun. Its atmosphere is very rarefied, and the pressure on the surface is almost 200 times less than on Earth. For the same reason, very strong temperature drops are observed. The planet Mars is little studied, although it has long attracted the attention of people. According to scientists, this is the only celestial body on which life could exist. After all, in the past there was water on the surface of the planet. Such a conclusion can be drawn from the fact that there are large ice caps at the poles, and the surface is covered with many furrows, which could be dried up river beds. In addition, there are some minerals on Mars that can only be formed in the presence of water. Another feature of the fourth planet is the presence of two satellites. Their unusualness is that Phobos gradually slows down its rotation and approaches the planet, while Deimos, on the contrary, moves away.

What is Jupiter famous for?

The fifth planet is the largest. 1300 Earths would fit in the volume of Jupiter, and its mass is 317 times more than the earth. Like all gas giants, its structure is hydrogen-helium, reminiscent of the composition of stars. Jupiter is the most interesting planet that has many characteristic features:

  • it is the third brightest celestial body after the Moon and Venus;
  • Jupiter has the strongest magnetic field of all the planets;
  • it completes a full rotation around the axis in just 10 earth clock- faster than other planets;
  • an interesting feature of Jupiter is a large red spot - this is how an atmospheric vortex is visible from the Earth, rotating counterclockwise;
  • like all giant planets, it has rings, though not as bright as those of Saturn;
  • this planet has the largest a large number of satellites. He has 63 of them. The most famous are Europe, where they found water, Ganymede is the most large satellite the planets Jupiter, as well as Io and Calisto;
  • another feature of the planet is that in the shade the surface temperature is higher than in places illuminated by the sun.

Planet Saturn

This is the second largest gas giant, also named after the ancient god. It consists of hydrogen and helium, but traces of methane, ammonia and water have been found on its surface. Scientists have found that Saturn is the most rarefied planet. Its density is less than that of water. This gas giant rotates very quickly - it completes one revolution in 10 Earth hours, as a result of which the planet is flattened from the sides. Huge speeds on Saturn and near the wind - up to 2000 kilometers per hour. It's more than the speed of sound. Saturn has another distinguishing feature- he keeps 60 satellites in his field of attraction. The largest of them - Titan - is the second largest in the entire solar system. Uniqueness this object is that, exploring its surface, scientists first discovered a celestial body with conditions similar to those that existed on Earth about 4 billion years ago. But the most main feature Saturn is the presence of bright rings. They encircle the planet around the equator and reflect more light than itself. Four is the most amazing phenomenon in the solar system. Unusually, the inner rings move faster than the outer ones.

- Uranus

So, we continue to consider the planets of the solar system in order. The seventh planet from the Sun is Uranus. It is the coldest of all - the temperature drops to -224 ° C. In addition, scientists did not find metallic hydrogen in its composition, but found modified ice. Because Uranus is classified as a separate category ice giants. Amazing Feature of this celestial body in that it rotates while lying on its side. The change of seasons on the planet is also unusual: as many as 42 earth years winter reigns there, and the Sun does not appear at all, summer also lasts 42 years, and the Sun does not set at this time. In spring and autumn, the luminary appears every 9 hours. Like all giant planets, Uranus has rings and many satellites. As many as 13 rings revolve around it, but they are not as bright as those of Saturn, and the planet holds only 27 satellites. If we compare Uranus with the Earth, then it is 4 times larger than it, 14 times heavier and is located at a distance from the Sun, in 19 times greater than the path to the luminary from our planet.

Neptune: the invisible planet

After Pluto was excluded from the number of planets, Neptune became the last from the Sun in the system. It is located 30 times farther from the star than the Earth, and is not visible from our planet even through a telescope. Scientists discovered it, so to speak, by accident: observing the peculiarities of the movement of the planets closest to it and their satellites, they concluded that there must be another large celestial body beyond the orbit of Uranus. After discovery and research, it turned out interesting features this planet:

  • due to the presence of a large amount of methane in the atmosphere, the color of the planet from space appears blue-green;
  • Neptune's orbit is almost perfectly circular;
  • the planet rotates very slowly - it completes one circle in 165 years;
  • Neptune 4 times more earth and 17 times heavier, but the force of gravity is almost the same as on our planet;
  • the largest of the 13 moons of this giant is Triton. It is always turned to the planet on one side and slowly approaches it. Based on these signs, scientists have suggested that it was captured by Neptune's gravity.

In the entire galaxy, the Milky Way is about a hundred billion planets. So far, scientists cannot even study some of them. But the number of planets in the solar system is known to almost all people on Earth. True, in the 21st century, interest in astronomy has faded a little, but even children know the name of the planets of the solar system.

This is a system of planets, in the center of which is bright Star, source of energy, heat and light - the Sun.
According to one theory, the Sun was formed along with the solar system about 4.5 billion years ago as a result of the explosion of one or more supernovae. Initially, the solar system was a cloud of gas and dust particles, which, in motion and under the influence of their mass, formed a disk in which arose new star The sun and our entire solar system.

At the center of the solar system is the Sun, around which nine large planets revolve in orbits. Since the Sun is displaced from the center of the planetary orbits, then during the cycle of revolution around the Sun, the planets either approach or move away in their orbits.

There are two groups of planets:

Terrestrial planets: and . These planets are small in size with a rocky surface, they are closer than others to the Sun.

Giant planets: and . These are large planets, consisting mainly of gas, and they are characterized by the presence of rings consisting of ice dust and many rocky pieces.

And here does not fall into any group, because, despite its location in the solar system, it is located too far from the Sun and has a very small diameter, only 2320 km, which is half the diameter of Mercury.

Planets of the solar system

Let's start a fascinating acquaintance with the planets of the solar system in order of their location from the Sun, and also consider their main satellites and some other space objects (comets, asteroids, meteorites) in the gigantic expanses of our planetary system.

Rings and moons of Jupiter: Europa, Io, Ganymede, Callisto and others...
The planet Jupiter is surrounded by a whole family of 16 satellites, and each of them has its own, unlike other features ...

Rings and moons of Saturn: Titan, Enceladus and more...
Not only the planet Saturn has characteristic rings, but also on other giant planets. Around Saturn, the rings are especially clearly visible because they are made up of billions of small particles, which revolve around the planet, in addition to several rings, Saturn has 18 satellites, one of which is Titan, its diameter is 5000 km, which makes it the largest satellite in the solar system ...

Rings and moons of Uranus: Titania, Oberon and others...
The planet Uranus has 17 satellites and, like other giant planets, thin rings encircling the planet, which practically do not have the ability to reflect light, therefore they were discovered not so long ago in 1977 quite by accident ...

Rings and moons of Neptune: Triton, Nereid and others...
Initially, before the exploration of Neptune by the Voyager 2 spacecraft, it was known about two satellites of the planet - Triton and Nerida. Interesting fact that the satellite Triton has reverse direction orbital movement, also strange volcanoes were discovered on the satellite that spewed nitrogen gas like geysers, spreading a dark mass (from liquid to vapor) for many kilometers into the atmosphere. During its mission, Voyager 2 discovered six more satellites of the planet Neptune...

Planets of the solar system

According to the official position of the International Astronomical Union (IAU), the naming organization astronomical objects There are only 8 planets.

Pluto was removed from the category of planets in 2006. because in the Kuiper belt are objects that are larger / or equal in size to Pluto. Therefore, even if it is taken as a full-fledged celestial body, then it is necessary to add Eris to this category, which has almost the same size with Pluto.

As defined by MAC, there are 8 known planets: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune.

All planets are divided into two categories depending on their physical characteristics: terrestrial groups and gas giants.

Schematic representation of the location of the planets

terrestrial planets

Mercury

The smallest planet in the solar system has a radius of only 2440 km. The period of revolution around the Sun, for ease of understanding, equated to the earth year, is 88 days, while the revolution around own axis Mercury has time to make only one and a half times. Thus, its day lasts approximately 59 Earth days. For a long time it was believed that this planet was always turned to the Sun by the same side, since the periods of its visibility from the Earth were repeated with a frequency approximately equal to four Mercury days. This misconception was dispelled with the advent of the possibility of using radar research and conducting constant observations using space stations. The orbit of Mercury is one of the most unstable; not only the speed of movement and its distance from the Sun change, but also the position itself. Anyone interested can observe this effect.

Mercury in color, as seen by the MESSENGER spacecraft

Mercury's proximity to the Sun has caused it to experience the largest temperature fluctuations of any of the planets in our system. The average daytime temperature is about 350 degrees Celsius, and the nighttime temperature is -170 °C. Sodium, oxygen, helium, potassium, hydrogen and argon have been identified in the atmosphere. There is a theory that it was previously a satellite of Venus, but so far this remains unproven. It has no satellites of its own.

Venus

The second planet from the Sun, the atmosphere of which is almost entirely composed of carbon dioxide. She is often called morning star and the Evening Star, because it is the first of the stars to become visible after sunset, just as before dawn it continues to be visible even when all the other stars have disappeared from view. The percentage of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is 96%, there is relatively little nitrogen in it - almost 4%, and water vapor and oxygen are present in very small amounts.

Venus in the UV spectrum

Such an atmosphere creates a greenhouse effect, the temperature on the surface because of this is even higher than that of Mercury and reaches 475 ° C. Considered the slowest, the Venusian day lasts 243 Earth days, which is almost equal to a year on Venus - 225 Earth days. Many call it the sister of the Earth because of the mass and radius, the values ​​​​of which are very close to the earth's indicators. The radius of Venus is 6052 km (0.85% of the earth). There are no satellites, like Mercury.

The third planet from the Sun and the only one in our system where there is liquid water, without which life on the planet could not develop. At least life as we know it. The radius of the Earth is 6371 km and, unlike the rest of the celestial bodies in our system, more than 70% of its surface is covered with water. The rest of the space is occupied by the continents. Another feature of the earth is tectonic plates hidden under the planet's mantle. At the same time, they are able to move, albeit at a very low speed, which over time causes a change in the landscape. The speed of the planet moving along it is 29-30 km / s.

Our planet from space

One revolution around its axis takes almost 24 hours, and full walkthrough the orbit lasts 365 days, which is much longer in comparison with the nearest neighboring planets. The Earth day and year are also taken as a standard, but this is done only for the convenience of perceiving time intervals on other planets. The earth has one natural satellite- Moon.

Mars

The fourth planet from the Sun, known for its rarefied atmosphere. Since 1960, Mars has been actively explored by scientists from several countries, including the USSR and the USA. Not all research programs have been successful, but water found in some areas suggests that primitive life exists on Mars, or existed in the past.

The brightness of this planet allows you to see it from Earth without any instruments. Moreover, once every 15-17 years, during the Opposition, it becomes the brightest object in the sky, eclipsing even Jupiter and Venus.

The radius is almost half that of the earth and is 3390 km, but the year is much longer - 687 days. He has 2 satellites - Phobos and Deimos .

Visual model of the solar system

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  • The sun

    The sun is a star, which is a hot ball of hot gases at the center of our solar system. Its influence extends far beyond the orbits of Neptune and Pluto. Without the Sun and its intense energy and heat, there would be no life on Earth. There are billions of stars, like our Sun, scattered throughout the Milky Way galaxy.

  • Mercury

    Sun-scorched Mercury is only slightly larger than Earth's moon. Like the Moon, Mercury is practically devoid of an atmosphere and cannot smooth out the traces of impact from the fall of meteorites, therefore, like the Moon, it is covered with craters. The day side of Mercury is very hot on the Sun, and on the night side the temperature drops hundreds of degrees below zero. In the craters of Mercury, which are located at the poles, there is ice. Mercury makes one revolution around the Sun in 88 days.

  • Venus

    Venus is a world of monstrous heat (even more than on Mercury) and volcanic activity. Similar in structure and size to Earth, Venus is covered in a thick and toxic atmosphere that creates a strong greenhouse effect. This scorched world is hot enough to melt lead. Radar images through the mighty atmosphere revealed volcanoes and deformed mountains. Venus rotates in the opposite direction from the rotation of most planets.

  • Earth is an ocean planet. Our home, with its abundance of water and life, makes it unique in our solar system. Other planets, including several moons, also have ice deposits, atmospheres, seasons, and even weather, but only on Earth did all these components come together in such a way that life became possible.

  • Mars

    Although details of the surface of Mars are difficult to see from Earth, telescope observations show that Mars has seasons and white spots at the poles. For decades, people believed that the bright and dark areas on Mars were patches of vegetation and that Mars might be a suitable place for life, and that water existed in polar caps. When spacecraft Mariner 4 flew to Mars in 1965, many of the scientists were shocked to see photos of the gloomy planet covered in craters. Mars turned out to be a dead planet. More recent missions, however, have revealed that Mars holds many mysteries that have yet to be solved.

  • Jupiter

    Jupiter is the most massive planet in our solar system, has four large satellites and many small moons. Jupiter forms a kind of miniature solar system. To turn into a full-fledged star, Jupiter had to become 80 times more massive.

  • Saturn

    Saturn is the most distant of the five planets that were known before the invention of the telescope. Like Jupiter, Saturn is made up mostly of hydrogen and helium. Its volume is 755 times that of the Earth. Winds in its atmosphere reach speeds of 500 meters per second. These fast winds, combined with heat rising from the planet's interior, cause the yellow and gold stripes we see in the atmosphere.

  • Uranus

    The first planet found with a telescope, Uranus was discovered in 1781 by astronomer William Herschel. The seventh planet is so far from the Sun that one revolution around the Sun takes 84 years.

  • Neptune

    Nearly 4.5 billion kilometers from the Sun, distant Neptune rotates. It takes 165 years to complete one revolution around the Sun. It is invisible to the naked eye due to its vast distance from Earth. Interestingly, its unusual elliptical orbit intersects with the orbit of the dwarf planet Pluto, which is why Pluto is inside Neptune's orbit for about 20 out of 248 years during which it makes one revolution around the Sun.

  • Pluto

    Tiny, cold and incredibly distant, Pluto was discovered in 1930 and has long been considered the ninth planet. But after the discovery of Pluto-like worlds even further away, Pluto was reclassified as a dwarf planet in 2006.

The planets are giants

There are four gas giants located beyond the orbit of Mars: Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune. They are in the outer solar system. They differ in their massiveness and gas composition.

Planets of the solar system, not to scale

Jupiter

Fifth from the Sun and largest planet our system. Its radius is 69912 km, it is 19 times larger than the Earth and only 10 times smaller than the Sun. A year on Jupiter is not the longest in the solar system, lasting 4333 Earth days (incomplete 12 years). His own day has a duration of about 10 Earth hours. The exact composition of the planet's surface has not yet been determined, but it is known that krypton, argon and xenon are present on Jupiter in much larger quantities than on the Sun.

There is an opinion that one of the four gas giants is actually a failed star. This theory is also supported by the largest number of satellites, of which Jupiter has many - as many as 67. To imagine their behavior in the orbit of the planet, a fairly accurate and clear model of the solar system is needed. The largest of them are Callisto, Ganymede, Io and Europa. At the same time, Ganymede is the largest satellite of the planets in the entire solar system, its radius is 2634 km, which is 8% larger than the size of Mercury, the smallest planet in our system. Io has the distinction of being one of only three moons with an atmosphere.

Saturn

The second largest planet and the sixth largest in the solar system. In comparison with other planets, the composition is most similar to the Sun chemical elements. The surface radius is 57,350 km, the year is 10,759 days (almost 30 earth years). A day here lasts a little longer than on Jupiter - 10.5 Earth hours. In terms of the number of satellites, it is not far behind its neighbor - 62 versus 67. The largest satellite of Saturn is Titan, just like Io, which is distinguished by the presence of an atmosphere. Slightly smaller than it, but no less famous for this - Enceladus, Rhea, Dione, Tethys, Iapetus and Mimas. It is these satellites that are the objects for the most frequent observation, and therefore we can say that they are the most studied in comparison with the rest.

For a long time, the rings on Saturn were considered unique phenomenon that belong only to him. Only recently it was found that all gas giants have rings, but the rest are not so clearly visible. Their origin has not yet been established, although there are several hypotheses about how they appeared. In addition, it was recently discovered that Rhea, one of the satellites of the sixth planet, also has some kind of rings.

Our home in space is the Solar System, a star system made up of eight planets and part of the Milky Way galaxy. In the center is a star called the Sun. The solar system is four and a half billion years old. We live on the third planet from the sun. Do you know about other planets in the solar system? Now we will tell you a little about them.

Mercury is the smallest planet in the solar system. Its radius is 2440 km. The period of revolution around the Sun is 88 Earth days. During this time, Mercury has time to complete a revolution around its own axis only one and a half times. A day on Mercury lasts approximately 59 Earth days. The orbit of Mercury is one of the most unstable: not only the speed of movement and its distance from the Sun change there, but also the position itself. There are no satellites.

Neptune is the eighth planet in the solar system. It is close enough to Uranus. The radius of the planet is 24547 km. A year on Neptune is equal to 60190 days, that is, somewhere around 164 Earth years. Has 14 satellites. Has an atmosphere in which the most strong wind— up to 260 m/s.
By the way, Neptune was discovered not with the help of observations, but through mathematical calculations.

Uranus is the seventh planet in the solar system. Radius - 25267 km. The most cold planet- surface temperature -224 degrees. A year on Uranus is equal to 30,685 Earth days, that is, approximately 84 years. Day - 17 hours. Has 27 satellites.

Saturn is the sixth planet in the solar system. The radius of the planet is 57350 km. It is the second largest after Jupiter. A year on Saturn is equal to 10759 days, which is almost 30 Earth years. A day on Saturn is almost equal to a day on Jupiter - 10.5 Earth hours. Most similar to the Sun in the composition of chemical elements.
Has 62 satellites.
The main feature of Saturn is its rings. Their origin has not yet been established.

Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun. Is an largest planet solar system. The radius of Jupiter is 69912 km. This is already 19 times larger than the Earth. A year there lasts as much as 4333 Earth days, that is, almost incomplete 12 years. A day has a duration of about 10 Earth hours.
Jupiter has 67 moons. The largest of them are Callisto, Ganymede, Io and Europa. At the same time, Ganymede is 8% larger than Mercury, the smallest planet in our system, and has an atmosphere.

Mars is the fourth planet in the solar system. Its radius is 3390 km, which is almost twice smaller than Earth. A year on Mars is 687 Earth days. It has 2 satellites - Phobos and Deimos.
The atmosphere of the planet is rarefied. The water found on some parts of the surface suggests that some kind of primitive life on Mars was once before or even exists now.

Venus is the second planet in the solar system. It is similar in mass and radius to the Earth. There are no satellites.
The atmosphere of Venus is almost entirely composed of carbon dioxide. The percentage of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is 96%, nitrogen is approximately 4%. Water vapor and oxygen are also present, but in very small quantities. Due to the fact that such an atmosphere creates a greenhouse effect, the temperature on the surface of the planet reaches 475 ° C. A day on Venus is 243 earthly days. A year on Venus is 255 days.

Pluto is a dwarf planet at the edges of the solar system, which is the dominant object in a distant system of 6 small cosmic bodies. The radius of the planet is 1195 km. The period of revolution of Pluto around the Sun is approximately 248 Earth years. A day on Pluto is 152 hours. The mass of the planet is approximately 0.0025 of the mass of the Earth.
It is noteworthy that Pluto was excluded from the category of planets in 2006 due to the fact that in the Kuiper belt there are objects that are larger or equal in size to Pluto, which is why, even if it is taken as a full-fledged planet, then in this case it is necessary add Eris to this category - it has almost the same size as Pluto.

The color of the planets largely depends on the composition of the substances of which it consists. That is why the planets look different. Constant research in the space field makes it possible to obtain more and more new data about the color of the planets of the solar system. The search for cosmic bodies beyond its borders is being carried out.

The solar system is the most colorful

There are not many planets in the solar system. Some of them were calculated by physicists and mathematicians even before the advent of modern telescopes. And the subsequent development of astronomical science and technology made it possible to discern and identify the colors of the planets of the solar system.

So, in order:

  • Mercury is a planet gray color. The color is determined by the absence of atmosphere and water, only rock is present.
  • Next comes the planet Venus. Its color is yellowish white, the color of the clouds that envelop the planet. Clouds are a product of hydrochloric acid evaporation.
  • Earth is a blue, light blue planet with a cover of white clouds. The color of the planet is largely determined by the water cover.
  • "Red Planet" famous name Mars. It's actually red-orange. By the color of the desert soil with large quantity gland.
  • The large liquid ball is Jupiter. Its main color is orange-yellow with the presence of colored stripes. The colors are formed by clouds of ammonia and ammonium gases.
  • Saturn is pale yellow, also the color is formed by clouds of ammonia, under the clouds of ammonia is liquid hydrogen.
  • Uranus has a light blue color, but unlike the Earth, the color is formed by methane clouds.
  • The green planet Neptune, although it is more likely a shade of blue, since Neptune is the twin of Uranus and the color of the planet Neptune is determined by the presence of methane clouds, and its surface is darker due to the distance from the Sun.
  • Pluto, due to the presence of dirty methane ice on the surface, has a light brown color.

Are there other planets

Astrologers and astrophysicists have been searching for and discovering exoplanets for decades. So called planets outside the solar system. Telescopes located in Earth orbit actively help in this, taking pictures and trying to give an accurate idea of ​​what color the planets still exist. The main goal of these works is to find in cosmic silence habitable planet similar to the earth.

In the search parameters, the main criterion is the glow of the planet, or rather the reflection of its glow from the star, in the image of the Earth. White-blue color is not the only shade. According to scientists, a planet with red spectrum radiation can also be inhabited. The reflection of most of the Earth comes from water surface this is a white-blue glow, and the reflection from the continent with vegetation will have a reddish tint.

So far, the discovered exoplanets are very similar in their characteristics to Jupiter.


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