What Is the Name And Describe The Seven Planets of The Solar System?

There are the eight planets of our solar system that have captivated astronomers and scientists since time immemorial due to their distinctive qualities along with mysteries associated with each planet.

In the center of our solar system, there is the largest and brightest star called The Sun. The solar system has a total of 8 planets, revolving around it along with 146 moons, comets, space rocks, asteroids and ice besides many dwarf worlds including Pluto. They rotate our Sun in an ellipse, or oval orbit. The earth revolves around the Sun annually.

The eight planets that are in existence include mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. Mercury is orbiting the farthest away from the Sun; however, Venus orbits much closer to it.

Let's see the names and brief descriptions of each of the eight planets in order of how far away they are from the Sun, though:

1.Mercury:

The smallest planet in our solar system and one that is nearest to the Sun is Mercury. It has a cratered, stony surface and no atmosphere at all. Extreme temperature swings occur there, with sweltering heat during the day and arctic chill throughout the night.

Earth’s moon is slightly larger than Mercury. Mercury is extremely close to our star – about two-fifths of the distance between Earth and sun, and it travels around sun in just 88 days.

Mercury’s daytime and night temperatures differ greatly. The daytime high for Mercury can reach 840 F (450 C), hot enough to melt lead. However, minimum temperatures of minus 290 F (minus180 C) in the evening are seen.

Mercury’s very rare atmosphere has oxygen, sodium, hydrogen, helium and potassium as its basic components. Similar to our moon’s atmosphere thinness, it does not absorb incoming meteorites but leaves its surface with craters.

2. Venus:

The size of Venus, the second planet from the Sun, is comparable to that of Earth. Despite its inhospitable climate, it is referred to be Earth's "sister planet" because of its comparable makeup. Venus has a thick, poisonous atmosphere that is primarily made of carbon dioxide and is extremely hot, capable of melting lead. There is a runaway greenhouse effect as well.

The average temperature of Venus’s surface is 900 F (465 C). At 92 bar, which means that the surface pressure would squash you into a fine paste. Venus also turns clockwise from east to the west, which is counter clock wise in most planets. This is an oddity.

The planet is known as the twin earth for its comparable sizes. It also has lots of mountains, volcanoes found from the photos taken beneath the Venus atmosphere. Other than that, the planets are very dissimilar.

The Greeks regarded Venus as two beings, one in the morning and the other at night. The planet Venus is one of the many claimed UFOs because it has often been brighter than any other sky object.

3. Earth:

The only planet known to harbor life is Earth, which is the third planet from the Sun. Its ecosystems are diversified, its atmosphere is enriched with oxygen, and its surface is covered with liquid water. Humans are only one of the many species that call Earth home. It also possesses a protective magnetic field and a natural satellite called the Moon.

The Earth atmosphere is the only proven planet to support life, and it contains nitrogen and oxygen. Earth spins on its axis at 1,532 feet per second (467 metres per second) in the equator and this is slightly beyond the speed of about 100 mph. The planet speeds around the Sun at a speed of approximately 18 miles per second (29 kilometres per second).

4. Mars:

Mars, sometimes referred to as the "Red Planet," is the planet that is closest to the Sun. Its soil contains iron oxide, which causes rust, giving it a reddish appearance and a thin atmosphere. Mars boasts the highest volcano and deepest canyon in the solar system (Olympus Mons and Valles Marineris, respectively), as well as traces of ancient riverbeds. Scientists are searching Mars for evidence of past or present life.

Like Earth, Mars is a rocky planet with mountains, valleys and canyons. There are also several storm systems include dust devils that look like little tornadoes to the extreme one that could sweep over the entirety of this red planet.

There is extensive scientific evidence that Mars may have been considerably warmer and wetter, with rivers or even seas billions of years ago. Traces of the older and warmer Mars can be identified even today, although no liquid water stays on its surface for long due to thin Martian atmosphere. Beneath the surface of Mars are deposits of water ice big enough to cover California, and at both poles, there dwells a probability of a buildups primarily composed of frozen ice.

Modern scientists argue that it was possible for microbial and bacterial forms of life in ancient Mars as its environment would provide conducive factors. Mars missions have been fueled by the hope that this Red Planet may house signs of once-life or even current ones. Thus, the Mars is today among solar system’s most studied planets.

5. Jupiter:

The fifth planet from the Sun, Jupiter is the biggest planet in our solar system. It is a gas giant with a substantial atmosphere that is mainly made of hydrogen and helium. Jupiter seems to be banded and includes whirling storms, including the well-known Great Red Spot. Along with having many moons, it also has a system of rings and the four biggest moons, known as the Galilean moons.

The vast amount of swirling clouds stems from the different traces of gases such as – ammonia ice, ammonium hydrosulfide crystals, water ice and vapor.

The Great Red Spot is a huge storm, over 10 thousand miles wide and discovered in 183 I by amateur astronomer Samuel Heinrich Schwabe among the whirling clouds on Jupiter It had raged in excess of 400 mph for the past century or more.

6. Saturn:

Sixth from the Sun, Saturn is renowned for its stunning ring system. It is a second gas giant with a Jupiter-like atmosphere that is mostly made of hydrogen and helium. Numerous ice particles, ranging in size from microscopic grains to huge boulders, make up Saturn's rings. It has numerous moons, with its largest moon, Titan, being notable for its dense atmosphere and potential for liquid oceans.

7. Uranus:

An ice giant, Uranus is the seventh planet from the Sun. Its atmosphere is mostly composed of hydrogen and helium, but it also includes methane, which gives it a blue-green hue. In contrast to the other planets, Uranus turns on its side, most likely as a result of a significant collision in the planet's early history. It has many moons and a ring system.

It is made up of clouds that are hydrogen sulphide and the same chemical compound which gives odour similar to rotting eggs. It rotates counter clockwise, just as Venus does east to west. However, unlike Venus and every other planet in the solar system its equator is nearly perpendicular to orbit; that is it rotates on edge.

According to researchers, approximately 4 billion years ago Uranus tilted downward due to a collision with an object twice as big as Earth. The Sun rests on one or the other pole for 84 years due to tilt of the Earth, which produces powerful seasons carrying over twenty years.

Moreover, it is assumed that the collision led to rock and ice projected into Uranus orbit. These resulted in the creation of some of the 27 moons that circle around the earth. The blue-green color of Uranus is the result of methane in the atmosphere. Moreover, it has thirteen sets of faint rings.

The coldest temperature that has ever been recorded in the solar system, at minus 371.56 degrees Fahrenheit (approximately minus 224. An average temperature on Uranus is -195 degrees Celsius, the equivalent of a 320 degree Fahrenheit cold.

8. Neptune:

The planet Neptune is an ice giant and is located the farthest from the Sun. With a hydrogen and helium atmosphere and traces of methane, it has a similar composition as Uranus and is colored blue.

Neptune is another planet similar in size to Uranus and also famous for possessing powerful supersonic winds. Strong winds and storms in Neptune's atmosphere, especially the Great Dark Spot, are well-known characteristics of the planet. The planet is located more than thirty times as far away from the sun as Earth.

Neptune was the first planet to be predicted mathematically and not discovered through direct observation. An astronomer from France by the name Alexis Bouvard determined that a gravitational force could be emanating off another planet through irregularities that were found on the orbit of Uranus.

Johann Galle, the German astronomer used mathematics while locating Neptune with the help of a telescope. Compared to the Earth, Neptune is 17 times more massive and has a rocky core.

The Formation of 8 Planets

According to the scientific community, planets in our solar system are said to have formed from dust grains that were smaller than a human hair width. These objects are formed in the giant doughnut-shaped cloud of gas and dust that encircles stars. The material contained within the disc rubbed against one another with gravity and other forces.

As the process occurred gradually, it solidified the material like snowballs rolling under gravity. Small particles of dust cohered after some time to form pebbles that eventually grew into large rocks with miles in diameter. After so many billions of years, the disc will have completely changed phases and much of it now looks like new worlds.

As the disc is farther away from the star hence lower temperatures, there are only small bits of ice traveling with dust. It is not impossible for dirty snowballs to build up into giant planetary cores. In these cold regions, gas molecules can slow down to the point where they might be pulled into a planet. It is assumed that Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune – all gas giants in our solar system evolved this way. It is estimated that during the first ten million years of solar system creation, Jupiter and Saturn were considered to have been born simultaneously.

Formation of rock planets begins in the warmer regions closest to the star. After the assembly of ice giants, there is a restricted amount of gas left for terrestrial planets. After the star has been created, it could take tens of millions of years for rocky planets like Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars to evolve.

Groupings of gravitationally connected objects that orbit a star are known as planetary systems. Once planets have developed around a star, they are called planetary systems. They can be formed by one or many planets, but they may also include comets, asteroids, meteoroids and natural satellites besides dwarf planet.

Solar system is defined as the set of eight planets that revolve around the Sun and also includes Earth. The terms ‘extrasolar’ system and ‘exoplanet’system are defined as totally alien planetary systems from ours.

Why Do The Eight Planets Appear In Different Shades?

Depending on how their surfaces or atmospheres reflect and absorb sunlight, composition of planets also affects the colors which are visible.

Mercury’s surface is a dark, stony gray and heavily dusted. The surface of the planet is most likely made up of igneous silicate rocks and dust.

Venus is completely covered by a heavy atmosphere of carbon dioxide and sulfuric acid clouds that make it look like pale yellow-coloured planet. Besides the greenish and brown color of its landscape,

Earth planet presents itself with blue waters occupied by white clouds. The surface of Mars is covered with a thin dust layer referred to as the iron oxide or rust. This attribute is what gives Mars its orange colour.

Jupiter is a giant gaseous planet with an outer atmosphere generally made up of hydrogen and helium, containing water droplets, ice crystals, ammonia crystals, and other elements in trace amounts. Clouds of these elements, as well as other colors, are composed white orange brown and red.

Saturn’s outermost layer is made mostly of hydrogen and helium, indicating that it has the structure of a big gas planet. It consists of ammonia, phosphine, water vapour and hydrocarbons in its atmosphere that varies between yellowish to brown.

Uranus is a gas planet that consists of methane mixed into the atmospheric composition made up mostly helium and hydrogen. It is this methane gas responsible for the greenish blue colour of Uranus.

The atmosphere of Neptune is composed mostly of hydrogen and helium which contains methane gas, responsible for the blue coloration.

How Did We Name the 8 Planets?

All eight planets apart from the Earth were named after gods and goddesses of Greek and Roman mythology. The names of Jupiter, Saturn, Mars, Venus and Mercury were assigned their individual name that runs thousands of years ago. However, until a long time was gone after the discovery of telescopes, other planets were not identified.

This practice of naming the planets after gods and goddesses of ancient Greece and Rome was not discontinued for other found planets. Mercury acquired its name from the Roman deity of travel. Venus was named after the Roman goddess of love and beauty. The war god of Rome was Mars.

Although Jupiter was the most powerful Roman god, Saturn is supposed to be the Roman deity of agriculture. This name was given to the planet Uranus because of a deity that ruled over Greece. The sea god in Roman mythology was Neptune.

Previously, the new planet or celestial body was named after some mythological figure. This rule continues even today when naming any celestial bodies.

Nowadays, the International Astronomical Union — IAU – is accountable for naming celestial bodies that usually have cultural or historical meaning behind its name.

Why Are All of the 8 Planets Circular in Size?

It is gravity that gives every planet a spherical shape. In the process of planet formation, gravity gathered billions and trillions of particles or gas dust which led to the formation of huge clumps which grew up to planet size.

The power of the impact between these fragments was therefore very strong. The planets which were just starting to form were hot and molten. Under the influence of gravity, this liquid material was pulled inwards towards planetary centre forming a spherical shape for it.

Gradually the planets cooled but they retained their round shape. However, due to the rotation, these planets are not perfectly round. The equal and opposite motion of the spinning force makes many planets to become increasingly barbeled around their equators.