A Beginner's Guide to Our Solar System

Welcome to a simple and easy-to-understand guide about our solar system. Whether you are a student preparing for a science exam, a person with a curious mind, or someone with a fascination for stars, you have landed on the correct page. This blog will be your guide as we explore the fascinating planetary system that we live in.

What is our solar system?

Perhaps this is the most important question before we get started. What exactly is our solar system?

Simply put, our solar system is just a collection of planets, moons, asteroids, comets, and some other celestial bodies that orbit around the sun at the center of our planetary system. The sun(along with different gravitational forces) is responsible for keeping our solar system intact by holding every planet in its fixed orbits(there are some exceptions) so that they do not wander off into the vastness of the universe. 

That is enough about the sun(at least for now). Now let us talk about the main attraction of our system- The planets.

The planets in our solar system:-

There are mainly eight planets in our solar system and millions of other celestial bodies wandering around. Each planet in our planetary system is unique in its ways. So let us talk about them one at a time.

      1.Mercury:-

• Mercury is the closest planet to the sun. While it is the nearest to the sun, it is not the hottest due to its atmosphere.
• It is also the tiniest planet in our solar system( excluding dwarf planets).
• Mercury is very hot during the day and extremely cold at night due to its thin atmosphere).

       2.Venus:-

• It is the neighboring planet to Mercury and the second planet from the sun.
• It is the hottest planet in the solar system because of its very thick and toxic atmosphere.
• Venus is very similar to Earth in size and structure and varies in every other way, mainly in atmosphere and surface conditions.

• Fun fact: You can see Venus from Earth without a telescope during sunrise and sunset.

       3.Earth:-

      And here comes the planet everyone knows and loves- our home planet Earth.

• It is the next planet to Venus and third from the sun. Its distance from the sun is neither too far nor too close, making it the most suitable planet for living. Also, it has satisfactory conditions for liquid water that other planets lack.
• I have nothing to say about this one here other than that it is our home planet— the planet where you, your parents, your friends, your pets, your school, your office, every place you have ever gone to, and everything you have ever touched, exist.

       4.Mars

• It is the fourth planet of our planetary system and the other neighbor of Earth alongside Venus.
• It is also known as the red planet due to its reddish appearance.
• Mars is also the place that contains both the largest volcano and canyon in the entire solar system.

       5.Jupiter:-

• It is the fifth planet from the sun and the most massive planet in our solar system.
• It is known as a gas giant because it is made primarily of gasses(hydrogen and helium) with no solid surface.
• It is also known for its Great Red Spot, a giant storm raging for at least 400 years.

       6.Saturn

• It is the sixth planet in our solar system and the second largest one after Jupiter.
• Saturn is mainly famous for its giant ring system that comprises ice particles, debris, and dust.
• Its largest moon amongst its 83 moons is Titan, the second largest after Jupiter's largest moon, Ganymede.
• Titan is even bigger than Mercury.

       7.Uranus

• It is the seventh planet of the solar system and naturally one of the coldest ones.
• It has a unique sideways rotation due to its tilted axis caused by a collision with an earth-sized object.
• It is known for its blue-green color due to the abundance of methane in its atmosphere. It is also known as an ice giant due to its color and atmosphere.

       8.Neptune

• It is the eighth and farthest planet from the sun, making it one of the coldest planets in our solar system.
• Like Saturn, Neptune also has rings, but they are far too faint compared to Saturn.
• It is deep blue and has strong winds occurring all the time.
• It is also the first planet whose existence was confirmed through mathematical calculations before it was discovered.

Other objects in our solar system:-

Our solar system is home to not only planets but also other objects:-

• Dwarf planets:- 

These are too small to be considered planets but too large to be called something else. There are also other factors to consider when classifying dwarf planets. Pluto is the most well-known dwarf plant.

• Moons:-

 These are natural satellites that orbit planets. Different planets have different numbers of moons. Like Earth has only one while Jupiter has over 70!

• Asteroids and comets:- 

These are rocky and ice objects which travel through space.

Fun facts about our solar system:-

• The sun alone makes up about 99.8% of the total mass of our solar system.
• Jupiter, Uranus, and Neptune have rings like Saturn but are much more challenging to see.
• The light emitted from the sun takes 8 minutes to reach us. If the sun were to vanish, we wouldn't notice this fact for at least 8 minutes.

Wish you enjoyed reading and learning about our solar system, the place where our home is. This one post is not enough to cover everything about the solar system. So, I have tried my best to be as accurate as possible while writing this in an easy-to-understand language. So, if there are some inaccuracies, they are possibly due to the limits of a single blog post. If you want to learn about our solar system in more detail alongside other space-related facts, discoveries, and more, subscribe to this blog so you don't miss any future blogs. Follow our Facebook and Instagram accounts for similar content and updates.