The solar system, home to our very own earth, is a fascinating and mysterious place. With ice throwing volcanoes on Pluto to the unknown planet lurking behind Neptune, there is so much to know and discover about our solar system.
Do you remember the time when we all thought that the solar system was a simple and straightforward as our models on Styrofoam on the solar system? All we ever knew was the fact that the solar system consists of a sun and nine planets (yes, Pluto was a planet at that time!) and later revolves around the sun. But the solar system is much more than that. It shrouded many fascinating secrets that science is yet to unravel. So, let us know more fascinating facts about our solar system.
Mercury is not the hottest planet in the solar system.
Mercury is closest to the sun, so common sense says that it should be the hottest planet in our solar system. But the truth is far from it; in reality, Venus is relativity hotter than Mercury. Scientists explain that reason behind it is the fact that Mercury has no atmosphere, which means there is nothing to retain all of the sun’s heat. Venus, on the other hand, has atmosphere 100 times thicker than the earth’s atmosphere. Moreover, it is filled with carbon dioxide creating a greenhouse effect, making Venus’s surface a scorching 468 degrees Celsius.
Our sun is quite big.
No scratch that; our sun is huge, humongous. It is said that if you combined the mass of every single thing in our solar system, then the sun would account for a lot more than 99% of that mass!
The solar system is quite big, more than you can imagine.
Thanks to our limited human perception, we often think the solar system as quite a close and cosy space. But that is another mythwe common people harbour. Our solar system is quite huge, more than we can even imagine. In fact, NASA’s ambitious interstellar space probe, Voyager 1, took about 35 years to reach the end of our solar system and enter interstellar space.
Saturn’s moons have water.
Saturn’s two moonsare known to have water on their surface. Enceladus, Saturn’s moon, is said to have an entire ocean of saltwater (like earth). Interestingly, experts also found a complex organic molecule that can signify the existence of possible life. Saturn’s other moon Titan is also water and is also known to be home to carbon-containing chemicals indicating the existence of life.
Which solar system fact fascinated you the most?
