All Entries in the "Solar System" Category
Scattered disc
The (or scattered disk) is a distant region of the Solar System that is sparsely populated by icy minor planets, a subset of the broader family of trans-Neptunian objects. The scattered disc objects (SDOs) have orbital eccentricities ranging as high as 0.8, inclinations as high as 40°, and perihelia greater than 30 astronomical units (4.5×109 [...]
admin | May 21, 2011 | Comments 0
Centaurs
Centaurs are an unstable orbital class of minor planets that behave with characteristics of both asteroids and comets. They are named after the mythological race of beings, centaurs, which were a mixture of horse and human. Centaurs have transient orbits that cross or have crossed the orbits of one or more of the giant planets, [...]
admin | May 21, 2011 | Comments 0
Asteroid belt
Asteroids are mostly small Solar System bodies[e] composed mainly of refractory rocky and metallic minerals. The main asteroid belt occupies the orbit between Mars and Jupiter, between 2.3 and 3.3 AU from the Sun. It is thought to be remnants from the Solar System’s formation that failed to coalesce because of the gravitational interference of [...]
admin | May 21, 2011 | Comments 0
Venus
Venus is covered with thick clouds that create a greenhouse effect that makes it very hot. Venus has no moons. Diameter: 12,100 km. It is about 1040km smaller in diameter than Earth Temperature: Ranges from 900F+/- 50F (about 500°C +/- 32°C) at the surface Distance from Earth: At its closest, Venus is 41,840,000 km away* [...]
admin | May 18, 2011 | Comments 0
Mercury
Mercury is the closest planet to the Sun and the smallest planet in the(0.055 Earth masses). Mercury has no natural satellites, and its only known geological features besides impact craters are lobed ridges or rupes, probably produced by a period of contraction early in its history. Mercury’s almost negligible atmosphere consists of atoms blasted off [...]
admin | May 18, 2011 | Comments 0
Sun
The Sun is the Solar System’s star, and by far its chief component. Its large mass (332,900 Earth masses) produces temperatures and densities in its core great enough to sustain nuclear fusion, which releases enormous amounts of energy, mostly radiated into space as electromagnetic radiation, peaking in the 400–700 nm band we call visible light. [...]
admin | May 18, 2011 | Comments 0