What is a solar system?
A solar system is defined as the collection of planets and other heavenly bodies — such as asteroids, comets, and meteors — that orbit a central star. Most of the time when we speak of a solar system, we are speaking of the one of which Earth is a part: the group of planets and other heavenly bodies that orbit the star we call the Sun. In our solar system, the heavenly bodies that surround the sun and are held by its gravity include dwarf planets and natural satellites, as well as asteroids, comets, and meteors. It is now considered that there are eight planets, which in order from the sun outwards are Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. Though considered a planet for many years, Pluto was reclassified in 2006, and is now called a dwarf planet. Planets are now defined by the International Astronomical Union by several criteria. To be considered a planet, a heavenly body must: • not be a star • orbit a star • have sufficient mass to be nearly spherical • h
A solar system is defined as a central sun with its associated planets, asteroids, meteors, satellites (i.e.,moons), and comets that are “captured” in its orbit. These various celestial bodies are trapped in a constant orbit around the sun by its tremendous gravitational pull. The paths that the planets take as they travel around the sun in the same direction – from west to east – is not truly circular, but more of an ellipse, or egg-shape path. Our solar system is nestled inside a very large galaxy of stars called the Milky Way. The outer limit of our solar system extends six billion kilometers from the sun. Over 4.6 billion years ago our solar system was born when a nebula consisting of a dense nucleus, or protosun, surrounded by a thin shell of a gaseous matter and dust began to collapse in on itself. As the dense matter in the center of the solar system further condensed the extreme heat that was generated in the center began to burn the abundant hydrogen atoms in its core, becomin
A solar system consists of: one central star, the Sun and nine planets: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto more than 60 moons millions of rocky asteroids billions of icy comets 2.How many planets are there in our solar system? Our solar system has 9 planets and one star: the Sun. They are : Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto. An easy way to remember them is: My Very Educated Mother Just Served Us Nine Pakodas.(M for Mercury,V for Venus etc) 3.How did this solar system begin/form? Theory of it’s formation. The planets, asteroids and comets in the Solar System are loose particles left over from the formation of the Sun. Originally the gas and dust which would become the Sun was the core of a cloud much larger than the Solar System, probably several lightyears(far far away) across; where 1 light-year is equal to approximately 10,000,000,000,000 miles. The core was slowly rotating at first, but as it collapsed it sp
