Solar System Research Paper
Lesson 1: Our Solar System
What makes up our solar system?
When we think of the solar system most of us think of eight planets orbiting around the sun. However, the solar system is a lot more complicated, larger and exciting than this simple description. The solar system is a gravitationally bound system with all the objects in this system revolving around the sun. The eight planets revolving around the sun are: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupitar, Saturn, Neputune, Uranus and Pluto. However, the solar system also consists of moons, asteroids, comets, minor planets, dust and gas. The sun makes up 99% of all matter in the solar system while nearly all of the remaining mass is contained in the planet Jupiter. The solar system is located some 26,000 light years away from the centre of the Milky Way. …show more content…
Creation of the Solar System
Our solar system was created some 4.6 billion years ago due to the collapse of a giant interstellar molecular cloud.
As this nebula collapsed because of its gravity, it spun faster and faster and became a flat disk. Most of the material floating around was sucked to the centre and formed the sun. Other material and particles which collided and stuck together formed asteroids, comets, planets and moons. The solar wind from the sun attracted all the lighter particles such as helium and hydrogen from the inner solar system planets. However, the out solar system had planets with an abundant prescene of hydrogen and helium.
Inner Solar System
The four smaller and inner planets in our solar system - Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars - they are most made up of rock and metals (iron). These four planets are known as terristrial planets because of their similar small size and composition.
Asteroid Belt
Between Mars and Jupiter lies the asteroid belt which contains at an estimated 750,000 asteroids larger than three-fifths of a mile and millions of smaller asteroids. The dwarf planet Ceres also resides in this belt.
Outer Solar
System
As the solar wind has less of a presence in the outer solar system the remaining four planets have a different composition from the terrestrial planets. The outer four planets - Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune - are known as giant planets as they are much larger than the terrestrial planets. Saturn and Jupitar are known as the gas giants as they are made up of hydrogen and helium. While Uranus and Neptune are known as the ice giants as they are mainly made up water, ammonia and methane.
Trans Neptune Region
A band of icy material is present outside Neptune’s orbit known as Kuiper’s Belt. This region is home to hundreds of thousands of bodies larger than 60 miles and trillions of comets. Pluto, now considered a dwarf planet resides in this region.
Next Lesson
Lesson 2 will look at Mercury.
What makes up our solar system?
When we think of the solar system most of us think of eight planets orbiting around the sun. However, the solar system is a lot more complicated, larger and exciting than this simple description. The solar system is a gravitationally bound system with all the objects in this system revolving around the sun. The eight planets revolving around the sun are: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupitar, Saturn, Neputune, Uranus and Pluto. However, the solar system also consists of moons, asteroids, comets, minor planets, dust and gas. The sun makes up 99% of all matter in the solar system while nearly all of the remaining mass is contained in the planet Jupiter. The solar system is located some 26,000 light years away from the centre of the Milky Way. …show more content…
Creation of the Solar System
Our solar system was created some 4.6 billion years ago due to the collapse of a giant interstellar molecular cloud.
As this nebula collapsed because of its gravity, it spun faster and faster and became a flat disk. Most of the material floating around was sucked to the centre and formed the sun. Other material and particles which collided and stuck together formed asteroids, comets, planets and moons. The solar wind from the sun attracted all the lighter particles such as helium and hydrogen from the inner solar system planets. However, the out solar system had planets with an abundant prescene of hydrogen and helium.
Inner Solar System
The four smaller and inner planets in our solar system - Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars - they are most made up of rock and metals (iron). These four planets are known as terristrial planets because of their similar small size and composition.
Asteroid Belt
Between Mars and Jupiter lies the asteroid belt which contains at an estimated 750,000 asteroids larger than three-fifths of a mile and millions of smaller asteroids. The dwarf planet Ceres also resides in this belt.
Outer Solar
System
As the solar wind has less of a presence in the outer solar system the remaining four planets have a different composition from the terrestrial planets. The outer four planets - Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune - are known as giant planets as they are much larger than the terrestrial planets. Saturn and Jupitar are known as the gas giants as they are made up of hydrogen and helium. While Uranus and Neptune are known as the ice giants as they are mainly made up water, ammonia and methane.
Trans Neptune Region
A band of icy material is present outside Neptune’s orbit known as Kuiper’s Belt. This region is home to hundreds of thousands of bodies larger than 60 miles and trillions of comets. Pluto, now considered a dwarf planet resides in this region.
Next Lesson
Lesson 2 will look at Mercury.