Our Solar System

The Solar System consists of the Sun and other celestial bodies revolving around it as a result of the gravitational pull. These celestial bodies include eight planets, their 165 known moons and three dwarf planets named Ceres, Pluto, and Eris. However, billions of other small bodies are also a part of the Solar System. Those far from the Sun and part of the last category are asteroids, comets, meteoroids, and interplanetary dust.

Planets in order of their distance from the Sun are: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. All other planets, except for Earth, are named after gods and goddesses from Greco- Roman mythology. The middle region of the Solar System is home to the gas giants and their planet sized satellites.

Coming back to the planets, the atmosphere of Jupiter and Saturn are largely hydrogen and helium while the atmospheres of Uranus and Neptune have a higher percentage of “ices” such as ammonia, methane and water. Although every planet has its own ring, the only observable ring from the Earth is that of Saturn.

Content: www.sciencedaily.com