As we all know, there has been recent speculation of what constitutes a planet and what doesn’t. The target of this mystery was Pluto. Yet the IAU (International Astronomical Union) says that a planet is “a celestial body that is in orbit around the sun, has sufficient mass for its self gravity to overcome rigid body forces so that it assumes a nearly round shape and has cleared the neighborhood around its orbit.”
In addition to Earth and its moon Luna, there are eight other planets within our solar system that also contain their own orbiting satellites, or moons. The first of these planets, and the closest to the sun, is Mercury. You would think that this planet being so close to the sun would mean the entire thing is rather toasty, but that is not true. Only the side closest to the sun is the fried side. The side away from the sun can actually drop hundreds of degrees below zero.
The second planet is Venus with its cranky attitude toward the sun. It wants to keep all of the heat to itself with its thick atmosphere. Therefore the planet is hot all over and full of volcanic activity. It is not like us here on Earth where temperature is just right and everything has a particular balance to support life. Mars, on the other hand, isn’t so lucky. While the question of where the water went looms in all of our minds, this desert planet is constantly probed for a clue.
Then we have fifth planet, Jupiter with its active atmosphere and wacky magnetic field. Perhaps one of these days we can understand it and see why it is the angry giant it is, but is it as angry as Saturn? Saturn sports rings that are made of ice and rock chunks and make the rings of Uranus look like infants. Unfortunately, not as much is known about Saturn and Uranus other than Uranus was apparently hit by a very huge object that tilted it on its side.
Anyway, we now conclude with poor Pluto. This little exile that is more or less a snowball orbiting the sun is still the center of debate. Since it has been considered a planet since 1930, everyone is used to its existence and many may become distraught at the fact this little guy may be exiled. Either way, we have a very impressive solar system with much more research to come. Maybe through long and accurate research Pluto will learn its true fate.
Written by Frasier Johnson. Find the latest information on Il Sistema Solare as well as I Pianeti.
Related posts:
- Let’s Learn About our Planets As we all know, there has been topical speculation of...
- About our Planets, Part Two: Beyond the Asteroid Belt: In the previous article, we tackled the planets nearest the...
- Some Planets Of The Solar System And Their Importance For The Horoscope As we all know already, the planets play a major...
- Going to the Planets With Your Eyes and Imagination A good way to teach your kids their first lesson...
- 32 NEW PLANETS IN OTHER SOLAR SYSTEMS ARE DISCOVERED – REVEAL HOW PLANETS ARE FORMED – LIFE APART FROM US? 32 new Planets are discovered in 2009 The smallest is...
Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.
