The solar system is our closest piece of the universe. It is made up the Sun, which is our star, and 8 planets that orbit around it, with their corresponding satellites. We have talked to you about some of them on our page. We have dedicated articles to Mars, our beloved Earth and even to the controversial Pluto, which still raises doubts in some about whether or not it is a planet. In addition, in our Solar System there are also other structures that are part of the solar system, such as the asteroid belt. Below we present some of the Curiosities of the Solar System more striking and interesting and that you probably didn’t know about until now. We hope you like them!
20 curiosities of the Solar System
What are the largest planets in the Solar System? What is known about Saturn’s spectacular rings? How big will they be? Why does Jupiter have a huge red spot on its surface? What is it? All the answers to these mysterious questions and more in the following curiosities of the Solar System. Learn more about this corner of the universe where our home is located!
1. The sun accounts for 99% of all matter in the System
One of the curiosities of the Solar System is found in the distribution of the matter that makes it up, of which 99% of all of it forms the sunwhile all other planets, natural satellites, asteroid belt, or any other object is made up of the remaining 1%.
2. Large and small planets
One of the most striking curiosities of the Solar System is the distribution of the planets, which are in groups according to their distance from the Sun. On the one hand we would have the small planets, made up of Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars. On the other hand, the giant planets, formed by Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. Small, solid planets are the closest to the Sun, while giant, gaseous planets are the furthest. It is not known if this distribution obeys some common pattern or if, on the contrary, it is due merely to chance.
3. A very long journey from Earth to the Sun
Although our planet is “close” to the Sun, the reality is that the Earth is approximately 150 million kilometers away. This means that It takes approximately 8 minutes for sunlight to reach our planet.so the light we see in the sky was actually produced on the solar surface 8 minutes before we see it.
4. Saturn’s rings
One of the curiosities about planets in the solar system is found in Saturn, specifically in its rings. If seen from the side they are impossible to see, since they only have 5 kilometers widewhich is really a very small length if we think that its diameter is about 274,000 kilometers.
5. Egg-shaped orbits
All planets revolve around the sun, and most people imagine these orbits as a circle. However, the reality is that the orbits of all the planets are actually elliptical, that is, they are circles slightly elongated on two sides and flattened on the others. Thus, The orbits of the planets would be more like the shape of an egg than that of a perfectly round ball.
6. Countdown to the end of the sun
The sun is the star of the solar system and from which all the energy that reaches the planets in the form of light and heat comes. When the sun’s fuel runs out, that will mean the end of our solar system, since will explode in the form of a supernova and destroy most of the planets that have their orbit closest to it.
7. The largest planet in the entire solar system
Of all the planets that make up the Solar System, Jupiter is by far the largest of all. It is mostly made up of gas and dust, although it is believed that it may have a solid core that we would not see due to its large atmosphere. Its size is such that the equivalent of 1,317 planets like Earth could fit inside it.
8. Jupiter’s great red spot is a hurricane
One of the most striking curiosities of the solar system of all is found in Jupiter, the largest of the planets in the solar system. Jupiter is characterized by being a gas giant and its striped appearance is actually gas currents circulating in its atmosphere. However, Jupiter’s great spot is actually a hurricane so big that two planets could fit inside.
9. A trap against asteroids
Another of the curiosities of the solar system that also has to do with Jupiter is due to its large electromagnetic field. In fact, it is a field that acts as a defense system against many of the asteroids that could impact the Earth, since Jupiter’s gravity attracts many of them towards itselfreducing impacts on other planets.
10. The hottest planet in the Solar System
One of the curiosities about planets in the solar system is found in Venus, which is the hottest planet in the solar system despite Mercury being the closest to the sun. This is because Venus’s atmosphere is largely made up of sulfuric acidwhich produces a tremendous natural greenhouse effect on the planet, making the temperatures in its atmosphere much higher than any other planet in the Solar System, including Mercury.
11. Home of asteroids
One of the curiosities of the origin of the solar system is that, during the formation process, in addition to the planets, the so-called asteroid belt was also formed. This belt is located in an orbit around the sun and is located between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. It is a planet that never formed. It is made up of more than 90,000 asteroids and it is by far the main origin of most of the asteroids and meteorites that circulate in the solar system today.
12. Pluto is not a planet
Although Pluto has traditionally been considered a planet in the solar system, Since 2006, astronomers decided to remove this privilege. They considered that, due to its size, it was too small to be considered a planet, so since that date it has been classified only as a “dwarf planet.” In this way, the planets in the Solar System would be 8 and not 9.
13. Many more dwarf planets
However, another of the curiosities of the solar system is that Pluto is not the only dwarf planet it has. In fact, there are up to five known dwarf planets in the solar system. In addition to Pluto, they also fall into this category Eris, Haumea, Ceres and Makemake.
14. A 75 year old
Although the Earth orbits the sun once every 365 days, Halley’s Comet does so approximately every 75 years.. It is the most famous comet of all those that can be observed from Earth. The main reason is that it is the easiest to see and can even be observed without using a telescope.
15. The atmospheric shield
Although most asteroids end up hitting Jupiter, many others will end up on the surface of other planets like Earth. In fact, every day hundreds of small meteorites crash into our planet. We owe the reason why they do not leave a trace to the atmosphere, which acts as a protector of the planet. When the meteorite enters it, the friction of the air causes it to become very hot, ending up fracture and turn into dust before reaching the surface. Only the largest meteorites and asteroids manage to survive the atmosphere.
16. The death of the dinosaurs
In fact, the current theory about the end of the dinosaurs 65 billion years ago states that it was indeed an asteroid that hit the Earth that caused the climate change that killed them. In addition, scientists have located what could be the ancient crater left by this asteroid when it collided with Earth. It would located on the Yucatan Peninsulain Mexican territory.
17. Names of Latin origin
Another of the curiosities of the solar system is the origin of the names of many of the planets and moons that make it up. Most come from the names of the Roman gods. For example, Venus is the goddess of love, Mars is the god of war, Saturn is the god of time, etc.
18. Humans beyond Earth
Although human beings have evolved on the surface of planet Earth, thanks to their ingenuity and technology they have managed to go out into outer space. The first man to achieve it was Yuri gagarinin 1961. Later, in 1969, Neil Armstrong He would become the first human being to set foot on the surface of the Moon, which was another milestone in the history of space exploration.
19. In search of lost water
One of the mysteries of the Solar System that arouses the most passion is whether there was life on Mars a long time ago. Today, we know that In ancient times there was liquid water on its surface, since many examples of ancient river beds have remained that cover its surface. In fact, today frozen water has been discovered in the polar regions, which would allow, in the future, a possible colonization of the red planet by humans.
20. In search of extraterrestrial life
Until today, life has never been found outside our planet Earth. Although it is believed that Mars may have hosted life in the past, there is currently no evidence that can confirm this. However, Mars would not be the only possible candidate in the solar system that could host life. In fact, the American astronomer and scientific communicator Carl Sagan He carried out a simulation of what life could be like on a gaseous planet like Jupiter. Although it was just a simulation, he allowed himself to realize that life can manifest in places that would be extreme for humansbut which could be feasible for other very different forms of life.
As you can see, the curiosities of the solar system are many and very varied. Perhaps, in the coming years, they will carry out new discoveries that make us have to rewrite the history of our solar system. Perhaps one day humans will establish a permanent colony on the Moon, or perhaps, finally, we will one day manage to terraform Mars and extend life beyond our own planet. Wouldn’t it be an exciting future?