What's Up in Our Solar System? Things May Not Be as They Seem...
When you look up into the night sky and see the stars, do you wonder about them? You’re not alone – human beings have been looking at the stars and wondering what they are, what they mean, and where they came from for thousands of years. There are currently eight planets in our solar system – that’s Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune – with Pluto no longer classified as a planet.
Earth
Our planet is the third from the sun and is the only known planet to support life. It has one natural satellite, the moon. Together, they orbit around the sun. The planets in our solar system are (in order from the sun): Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto. All of these objects orbit the sun because of its immense gravity.
The objects in our solar system are very diverse. Mercury is a small, rocky world with no atmosphere. Venus is a scorching hot world with a thick atmosphere full of poisonous gas. Earth is a temperate world with liquid water and an oxygen-rich atmosphere. Mars is a cold world with a thin atmosphere and evidence of past water activity. Jupiter is a giant ball of hydrogen and helium that could hold more than 1,000 Earths inside it. Saturn has rings made up of chunks of ice that can be seen from millions of miles away. Uranus has nine major rings and several moons. Neptune's winds whip up huge storms that cover the entire planet. Pluto was once thought to be larger than any other object in our solar system but we now know it is just about one-fifth the size of our moon! In 2015, NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft flew by Pluto for the first time since it’s discovery in 1930. Astronomers discovered four new moons and measured Pluto’s temperature. The results were amazing! While everything seems normal in our solar system on earth, there may be much more going on in space than we think. On March 7th, the Hubble Space Telescope captured images of what appears to be two gigantic blue jets emanating from near the surface of a young star called V1647 Ori. Astronomers believe this phenomenon, which had never been observed before, came from two jets shooting out from either side of the star. The jets shot into space at speeds faster than any human-made machine can fly. Scientists believe these jets must have happened recently, so how long will they last? No one knows for sure yet but scientists plan to study them further and hopefully learn more about them! I hope you enjoyed reading about the interesting things happening in our solar system! To end this blog post, I would like to share some interesting facts:
Venus is home to several mysteries including a permanent shield against charged particles and changes in its rotation rate. Mars still holds many secrets including a puzzling lack of nitrogen despite abundant sources of nitrates. Jupiter has intense auroras due to magnetic fields 10 times stronger than Earth's own field. And finally, the sun emits 99% of all ultraviolet light emitted by stars in our galaxy making it the most powerful radiation source within 5 light years of Earth! The sun also has a hot spot, a region of intense x-rays. If the Earth was directly in the path of this region, it would be subjected to 100 times more x-rays than it currently does. Luckily, the Earth and our atmosphere absorbs most of these x-rays! The United States' National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is responsible for the scientific exploration of outer space. NASA's mission is to lead America in achieving its goals in space with programs such as Earth science, planetary science, astrophysics, heliophysics and aeronautics research. NASA's missions include launching deep space probes and satellites, conducting groundbreaking research in the sciences, the development of critical technologies for the nation's use in aerospace, aeronautics and space exploration.
I encourage everyone to explore more about NASA’s discoveries and solar system! The more we know about our solar system, the better!
Moon
For years, the moon has been a source of mystery and intrigue. Many believe that there is much more to the moon than meets the eye. Some believe that the moon is actually a giant spaceship, while others believe that it is home to an advanced civilization. Regardless of what you believe, there is no denying that the moon is a fascinating place. One thing we do know for sure is that there are far more craters on the moon's surface than any other planet or asteroid. There are two possible explanations for this phenomenon:
1) The cratering process may have been different on the moon because of its smaller size or composition, so it accumulated more craters over time
2) The large amount of craters indicates that collisions happened with greater frequency on the moon during its history, which would mean that many asteroids and comets hit the lunar surface, despite it being further away from the sun
The first explanation seems to be more likely due to the fact that most planets have similar amounts of craters - they all took a beating during their formation. But given enough time, some planets would form smoother surfaces (Mercury). It also doesn't explain why Venus and Earth don't show these features as well. So at this point we can only speculate about how these moons formed; maybe future missions will tell us more!
Another interesting aspect of our moon is its orbit around earth. Compared to other planetary bodies, our moon has an extremely unusual orbit - it rotates on its axis approximately once per month! This compares very poorly with Mercury which takes 88 days to do one full rotation while it orbits around our sun much faster than Mercury. Despite its strange orbit, everything appears normal until you look closer...
This planet takes less than three days for one rotation!!! Scientists have found no evidence of tidal forces having such an effect on an entire planet making it rotate so fast or slow. This discovery has led many scientists believe there must be intelligent life on Jupiter! If not, then there must be something extraordinary happening on this gas giant. What could it be? Is there life on Jupiter? Is it just a coincidence that the planet closest to the sun rotates in just three days while Earth rotates in 365 days? These questions remain unanswered. We have yet to find out if there is alien life or human colonization out there but recent discoveries give us hope that perhaps we're not alone after all! As part of NASA's Kepler Mission, astronomers discovered an exoplanet orbiting in Alpha Centauri B system that shares qualities with Earth and Mars. Due to its proximity to the star system, it remains within the habitable zone (the area where liquid water could exist). Also worth noting is that Alpha Centauri B burns red like our sun does which means photosynthesis is more efficient meaning this planet may have life on it! Furthermore, researchers recently discovered a huge solar storm passing through space towards earth-meaning we need to become better prepared for this type of event before one hits again.
Mars
For the past few months, Mars has been in the news a lot. In September, NASA announced that there was strong evidence that there was once water on Mars. Then, in October, they announced that they had found organic molecules on the planet. This is all very exciting, but it also raises some questions. What happened to the water? And what are those organic molecules doing there? Are they coming from Earth and landing on Mars? Or do they come from life forms on Mars itself? We may never know the answer, but one thing is for sure: we need to be exploring this new world now more than ever before! The rover Curiosity has provided us with information about Mars, and we've sent probes to study the planets, asteroids, comets - every part of our solar system. The next step would be to send humans into space so that they can explore our surroundings first-hand. But will humans make it back alive? There's no guarantee, but science fiction writers have written stories of missions where people were able to survive outside of Earth's atmosphere (even though not under realistic conditions). It seems like the most important question should be: Can we afford not to explore? It's true that exploring could lead to disaster, but the flip side is if we don't go out and see what else is out there, then we'll never know. We have already made great strides in exploration because of humanity's ingenuity and determination; let's keep going! America's spaceport/launch site is located in Cape Canaveral, Florida. These rockets launch into outer space via an upward path over the Atlantic Ocean, unlike other countries' launch sites which are typically located near bodies of water. Recently, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk unveiled his plans to build the largest rocket since Saturn V for manned flights to Mars and establishing a colony on the red planet. On January 3rd 2017 Musk said I want to make Mars seem possible--like something we can actually do in our lifetimes. His plan involves sending 100 settlers at a time to Mars, with each person leaving their home planet for good. If you're interested in knowing more about Elon Musk's mission plan for colonizing Mars, you can read my blog post titled Elon Musk Plans To Colonize Mars.
Jupiter and Saturn
These two planets have been in the news recently because of something called the Great Conjunction. This is when Jupiter and Saturn line up perfectly in our night sky. This doesn't happen often - the last time was 400 years ago! - so it's a pretty big deal. It will start on January 7th and be visible until December 10th, with the best viewing opportunities happening between January 11th and February 5th. Why should you care about this event? First, watching Jupiter and Saturn move closer together over the course of months will make them appear to grow larger each day. Second, at some point during this period they'll be really close together, to where you can see both of them at once with your naked eye. Third, there are different events happening around Earth for people to watch this event from different places: from viewing parties to family-friendly events that everyone can enjoy, there are many ways for people to get involved. You won't want to miss out on seeing these two planets so close together again anytime soon! The next conjunction isn't expected to happen until March 2044. But what if something changes and we don't get to see the last six weeks of 2019? What if nothing happens like we're expecting? That would mean that no one would know what's going on with Jupiter or Saturn. Is everything ok in our solar system? I think we need to keep an eye on things. If anything, let's all take a moment to look at the sky tonight. If we all do it then maybe someone will notice something and report back. A few hours later while looking at Jupiter
I noticed that it had changed shape. I watched as the planet's tail faded away into thin air right before my eyes. What could be happening in our solar system? Have we found any new planets? Are there any asteroids coming towards us? I hope not. There's always Mercury too. Scientists say that it has been getting warmer, but I'm not sure how that works. Maybe Mercury just has a really hot core inside of it and we've been able to feel its heat more lately because the planet is closer to the sun. But if that were true then wouldn't other planets also be feeling this heat? Could there be another reason for Mercury's increasing temperature? I'm curious about why the planet has been experiencing higher temperatures and why none of the other planets seem to be feeling this change. Could there be something else that is changing and causing us to question what is happening in our solar system? What if something happened four hundred years ago, when Jupiter and Saturn aligned? Would anyone even know if that were true? We only have so much time left before we find out if something strange is going on or not. So let's stay vigilant; it might help figure out what's happening in our solar system. I continue to monitor the sky and occasionally I still catch something that seems off. After five nights of observations, I was convinced that something weird is happening in our solar system. All of the planets seemed to be moving strangely and growing dimmer, less vibrant. Something had to be wrong and we needed to figure it out. As soon as possible, I sent an email to NASA asking if they knew anything about the sudden change in planetary movement in our solar system. They didn't respond back immediately, which worried me even more than if they said something wasn't wrong. If NASA knew what was going on and didn't share that information with me then who knows who else knew?
Uranus, Neptune, Pluto
For years, scientists have puzzled over why the orbits of Uranus and Neptune are so different from those of the other planets in our solar system. Now, new research suggests that the answer may lie with Pluto. According to the new study, published in the journal Nature, the gravitational pull of Pluto could explain the strange orbital patterns of Uranus and Neptune. And that's not all: the researchers say that this interaction between Pluto and the two gas giants may also help to explain the formation of our solar system. But what about the ninth planet, yet unseen by human eyes? The astronomers who discovered it believe that Planet Nine is a lot like Uranus and Neptune: It's about 10 times more massive than Earth, but roughly 20 times farther away from the sun than we are. With its mass, it likely exerts an influence on our entire solar system - causing things like the tilt of Earth's axis or variations in brightness on some distant worlds.
While these discoveries give us some insight into what's happening out there among the stars, they can't tell us everything - just yet. There are still plenty of unanswered questions. How do we know for sure that Pluto has anything to do with the orbits of Uranus and Neptune? What happened before our solar system formed? Why did it form at all? What will happen next? Scientists continue to search for answers, seeking to understand how this vast universe operates. As soon as they find one piece of the puzzle, another piece seems to fall into place. One thing is certain: Our understanding of space continues to evolve, whether we realize it or not. We need to be aware of what's going on in our own backyard before we can really hope to make sense of the rest of the cosmos. That's why scientists are looking for new ways to gather information about our local region of space, including through a space net that would capture passing asteroids and send them crashing into ground telescopes here on Earth. One scientist estimates that, if fully funded, such a project could provide five years' worth of data. So far, though, NASA hasn't stepped up to fund the endeavor. In fact, funding for many scientific projects - particularly ones related to climate change or global warming - has been cut under President Trump's administration. These cuts might seem harmless in the short term: Nobody feels any effects right away. But when you don't fund scientific studies now, you're missing opportunities to learn more about your world - and maybe even prevent future problems before they arise.
Aurora Borealis/Australis
The Sun is the star at the center of the solar system. It is the Earth's primary source of light and heat. The Sun has been around for about 4.6 billion years and will exist for another 5 billion years or so. Our solar system consists of the Sun, eight planets (Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune), dwarf planets (Ceres, Pluto), moons, asteroids, comets, and meteoroids. The four inner planets (Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars) are also known as the terrestrial planets because they have solid surfaces. The four outer planets (Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune) are also known as the gas giants because they have atmospheres made mostly of hydrogen and helium. Ceres is a dwarf planet that orbits between Mars and Jupiter. Pluto was originally classified as a planet but it was reclassified to a dwarf planet after new discoveries were made. Asteroids are small rocky objects that orbit the sun while comets orbit the sun with elliptical orbits that take them close to the sun on one side of their orbit and farther away from it on the other side. The asteroid belt separates the inner solar system from the outer part of our solar system where there are only ice worlds such as Europa, Callisto, Ganymede, Triton, Enceladus, Titan, Miranda and Rhea is a moon of Saturn which is not spherical like most moons in the solar system; instead, it’s shaped like an American football).
The rings of dust and debris circling Neptune may be evidence that these giant planets had collisions at some point during their history. Scientists believe that these impacts disrupted the original materials making up the proto-planetary disk, forming clumps of material left over from those collisions called protoplanets, or planetary embryos. These protoplanets would collide and coalesce until they became full-fledged planets. But what if this wasn't always the case? What if something else happened before these protoplanets collided? Could all the planets in our solar system really be just duplicates of each other that existed before? Are we looking at deja vu as it were? If we looked deep into space, we could see that every single star has its own solar system, meaning there must be millions of identical versions of Earth floating out there somewhere. Furthermore, scientists now know that stars themselves come in different types: red dwarfs, yellow dwarfs, blue dwarfs etc., and each type is capable of creating different types of solar systems. And if stars can create life through their own gravitational pull then what does this mean for us humans who supposedly came from stardust? Is it possible that the earth is a mirror world of some sort? A lookalike of a reality that, for whatever reason, never actually came to fruition? That time here is just a standstill waiting for the truth to reveal itself? We are living in a lucid dream and don't even know it?
Dwarf Planets And Asteroids Section
In recent years, there's been a lot of debate about what actually counts as a planet. In 2006, the International Astronomical Union (IAU) created a new definition for planet that excluded Pluto. Instead, it defined a planet as one that has cleared its neighborhood by orbiting and knocking out all other objects from its orbit; is round or nearly round and orbits on an axis; is large enough to have pulled itself into a spherical shape; and has cleared its neighborhood. Since then, astronomers have discovered more than 1,700 exoplanets—many of which would be counted under this new definition. However, even if planets are defined differently from how they were just a few years ago, our solar system still has four planets: Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars. All four of these planets are rocky with solid surfaces and atmospheres made up mostly of nitrogen and oxygen gases. The sun provides energy to each planet through heat and light while their gravity keeps them safely in orbit around the sun. We know that space can seem huge but the distance between these planets doesn't seem like much at all. For example, at closest approach, Mercury and Venus can get as close as 35 million miles apart (58 million km). That's only 0.28% of the average distance between Earth and the sun! Even though we may not always see things happening in our solar system, we're able to study it closely thanks to telescopes that help us explore space. We now know that over 95% of asteroids, comets and dwarf planets are located in the asteroid belt between Jupiter and Mars. Dwarf Planets And Asteroids Section: The IAU currently defines a dwarf planet as a celestial body that is neither a true planet nor a natural satellite. These include Ceres, Haumea, Makemake, Eris and many others. Many of these dwarf planets rotate around the sun rather quickly, spinning once every five hours. Ceres is both the largest and most massive object in the asteroid belt, making up 40% of its total mass. It's also home to three different types of craters: ordinary ones that come from collisions with smaller objects; bright ones called dazzling because they're so reflective; and dark ones called sinuous. Unlike other objects in our solar system, Haumea rotates along its axis - causing scientists to wonder why it spins so fast when its rotation should cause it to slow down instead.
Comets, Meteorites, Meteors And Rocks from Space
It seems like everything in our solar system is just rocks, dust, and gas. But there is so much more to it than that! Take comets, for example. These dirty snowballs are actually made up of ice and dust and can be found orbiting the sun. Meteorites are pieces of rock that have broken off of asteroids and come crascrashinghing down to Earth. And meteors are what we call the shooting stars that we see streaking across the night sky. All of these objects hold clues about the formation and history of our solar system and can teach us a lot about the universe beyond our little corner of it. For example, astronomers used information from comet Halley to learn that the water on Earth could have come from space. If they can learn how all this stuff works now, imagine how cool it will be when they find out what happens when other planets collide with each other or when comets crash into them! What's your favorite object in our solar system? How do you think it formed? One theory is that early in the solar system’s history, parts of a planetesimal collided with one another while spinning around the sun. Over time, bits broke off and became their own smaller bodies--meteoroids--that orbited the sun before eventually entering Earth’s atmosphere. Those meteoroids were then called meteorites.
One of my favorite objects in our solar system is the Moon because I love to gaze at its beauty when I'm not busy studying it.
I also really enjoy looking at photos taken by the Cassini spacecraft which has been exploring Saturn since 2004. So far, Cassini has discovered six new moons and has been able to take some incredible pictures of Saturn's rings--even though they're almost 150 million miles away!
Everyday, I am fascinated by what I am learning about our amazing galaxy and solar system--no matter if I'm looking at an asteroid belt or a plasma filament being shot through space by an erupting Sunspot near Jupiter. My curiosity knows no bounds and I want to know more about anything and everything related to astronomy. That's why I want to share my knowledge with others who might be interested in learning, too. Like me, maybe you love everything about astronomy but don't always know where to turn to find information. With my blog posts, I hope to give everyone interested in space exploration the opportunity to read about different topics relating to our beautiful world outside of Earth's orbit. The next post will go over the topic of:
Meteors, Meteoric Showers, and Shooting Stars: Everyone loves seeing shooting stars streak across the night sky every once in awhile--it makes them feel like someone else is up there gazing back at them! Have you ever wondered where those streaks come from? Well most likely they're caused by tiny bits of dust hitting Earth's atmosphere at high speeds and burning up due to friction. Meteors are what we call the shooting stars that we see. Meteors are fragments of rock and dust that come from outer space and enter Earth's atmosphere. Some burn up in the atmosphere, like what we saw earlier today. Others break apart, fall to Earth and become meteorites.
Meteor showers happen when the Earth passes through a cloud of debris left behind by a comet--the larger chunk of ice, dust, and rocky material that orbits the sun like a giant dirty snowball. When it gets close to the sun, it starts to melt and creates this dusty tail behind it. As Earth passes through this debris field, some of the particles hit our atmosphere at high speed and create bright flashes of light in our sky--and we call them shooting stars!
