Solar System Planets, Definition, Diagram, Names, Facts

The solar system is made up of the Sun and other heavenly bodies. All the planets orbit the sun, which is situated in the centre. Read about Our Solar System Planets & related Facts in detail.

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Solar System Planets

The solar system includes the Sun and other celestial bodies. All the planets orbit the Sun, which is at the center. Our solar system has eight planets, along with many asteroids, comets, and meteors. The Sun’s gravity keeps the planets in orbit. Planets are like stars but cannot produce their own light, so they need the Sun to shine on them. The eight planets in the solar system, in order from closest to farthest from the Sun, are Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune.

Planets in Solar System

Planets look like stars but don not shine on their own. They move around in the sky compared to the stars. An orbit is the path a planet takes around the Sun. The time it takes for a planet to go around the Sun once is called its period of revolution, and it gets longer the farther the planet is from the Sun.

Planets look like stars but don’t shine on their own. They move around in the sky compared to the stars. An orbit is the path a planet takes around the Sun. The time it takes for a planet to go around the Sun once is called its period of revolution, and it gets longer the farther the planet is from the Sun.

Planets also spin on their axes. The time it takes for a planet to spin once is called its period of rotation. Some planets have moons or satellites that orbit them. A satellite is any object that orbits another object. For example, the Moon is a satellite of Earth. There are also artificial satellites that orbit Earth, which are made by humans.

Solar System Diagram

Here is the Solar System Diagram for a better understanding of the arrangement of the Planets in Solar System.

The Sun

Sun

The Sun is a 4.5 billion-year-old yellow dwarf star.
It is at the center of our solar system.
The Sun is about 93 million miles (150 million kilometers) from Earth.
It is mostly made of hydrogen (about 70%) and helium (about 28%).
Light from the Sun takes about 8 minutes to reach Earth.
The Sun’s gravity keeps the solar system together.
The Sun rotates on its axis, with the equator rotating faster than the poles.
The outer most part of the sun visible during the solar eclipse is known as Corona
In the North- Pole region, this effect can be seen as Aurora Borealish, while in South pole region as Aurora Australis
Sun shining in the polar circle for long time is also known as Mid night sun
Aditya-L1 space craft mission to study the sun- India’s first solar mission

Solar System Planets in Order

Planets can be divided into two groups i.e., Inner Planets and Outer Planets.

Inner Planets: Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars are the inner planets. They are closer to the Sun than the other planets. These planets have only a few moons.

Outer Planets: The outer planets are Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. They are much farther from the Sun than the inner planets. These planets have many moons.

How many Planets in Solar System?

Our solar system is made up of our star, the Sun, and everything gravitationally connected to it, including the moons, asteroids, comets, and millions of asteroids, comets, and asteroids, as well as the planets Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune.

Mercury

Mercury is the closest planet to the Sun.
It is the smallest planet in our solar system.
Its close proximity to the Sun makes it hard to see due to the Sun’s glare.
It takes 88 days to complete the revolution of the sun
Mercury has no satellites, and has no Atmosphere
The duration of one day on Mercury is equivalent to 90 days on that of earth
Its mass is 1/18 of the mass of the earth
Mariner-10 was the only artificial satellite that surveyed the surface of the mercury

Venus

Venus is the closest planet to Earth, also called twin planet of the earth
It is the brightest planet in the sky.
Known as the “morning star” and “evening star” because it is visible just before sunrise and just after sunset.
It takes 225 days to complete one revolution of the sun and it takes 243 days to rotate on its own axis.
Venus has no moons.
This plant along with the uranus rotates from East to West, opposite to Earth’s rotation.
It is the hottest planet of the solar system
It is the only planet whose period of rotation is longer than the period of revolution around the sun.

Earth

Earth is the only planet known to support life.
Unique environmental factors contribute to life on Earth: Distance from the Sun, Moderate temperature range, Availability of water, Life-supporting atmosphere. Ozone layer
90% of Earth’s surface is covered in water, reflecting sunlight and giving a blue-green appearance from space.
The Moon is Earth’s only satellite.
The tilt of Earth’s axis causes seasonal changes, it tilts 23 and a half degree
It is the 5th largest planet of our solar system
Radius of the earth along the equater is 6378Km and along the poles is 6356Km and Perimeter of the Earth is 40000 Km
Cousin of Earth is Kepler 452b which is closer to the earth

Mars

Mars was the first planet discovered outside Earth’s orbit
Known as the “Red Planet” due to its reddish color
It takes 687 days to complete one revolution around the sun
Mars has two small natural satellites, Phobos and Deimos, Deimos is the smallest satellite in the universe
The Highest point in this planet is Nicks Olympia
The first asian country to orbit mars is China
ISRO launched Mangalyaan, India’s first Mars orbiter mission, on November 5, 2013.
Mangalyaan successfully entered Mars’ orbit on September 24, 2014.
India was the first nation to succeed in its first attempt to reach Mars.
Mars is named after the Roman god of war because of its reddish appearance.
The red color of Mars is caused by iron oxide, or rust.

Jupiter

It is the largest planet in the solar system.
It is so large that about 1300 Earths can be placed inside this giant planet.
It rotates rapidly on its axis. Jupiter owns many satellites. It is surrounded by faint rings.
It takes 11.9 years to complete one revolution around the sun
It has 92 satellites
Ganymede is the largest satellite of the planet as well in the Solar system
The Atmospheric pressure is 10 million times more than that on earth
The great red spot is a continuous area of high pressure which produced by Jupiter as an asymmetric storms on this planet

Saturn

Saturn is considered the most beautiful planet in our solar system.
It is the second largest planet of this solar system
It completes one revolution around the sun in 29.5 years
It has a yellowish appearance.
Saturn is surrounded by four rings that are not visible to the naked eye.
It has 147 natural satellites till date, Titan is the largest satellite having size same as the Planet Mercury
Saturn is the least dense planet in our solar system.
Its density is even lower than that of water.

Uranus

It is discovered in 1791 by thomas Hershchel
Third largest planet of the solar system
Also known as Greek god of sky
It take 84 years to complete one revolution to the sun
Revolves similar to venus East to West
It looks bluish Green color, due to the presence of methane in atmosphere.
When seen through telescope, it appears green
It has 5 rings named as Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta and Epsilon
This plate have 27 satellites.

Neptune

It is named after Roman God of Sea, discovered by German Astronomer Johan Galle
Its Orbital time is 165 years
The Longest duration of year happens at this planet
It is 8th and farthest planet from the sun
It is the 4th largest planet
It has 14 natural satellites in which triton is the largest.

Brightest Planet in Solar System

Venus is the brightest planet in the solar system. It is very bright because its thick atmosphere reflects about 70% of sunlight back into space. Venus is also the closest planet to Earth making it look larger and brighter in the night sky. It is also called the “morning star” or “evening star,” Venus is visible in the eastern sky before sunrise and in the western sky after sunset. However, Venus is not a star it is a planet just like Earth.

Important points of Solar system

Solar system: Facts

The Big Bang theory was Propounded by Georges Lemaitre
The Alternative theory of the Big Bang states that the universe does not change even though it is expanding over time, it is known as the ” Steady-state universe” proposed by Thomas Gold
The Alternative name of the Universe is the cosmos
Our solar system is a part of the Milky Way
The sun and celestial bodies revolving around it, including 8 planets, 172 satellites, comets, meteors, and asteroids together constitute the solar system
Objects that shine in the night sky are known as Celestial Bodies.
The source of energy for the sun is the nuclear fusion reaction in which Hydrogen changes into Helium

Other Indian Geography Topics
Seasons of India	Mountains of India
Mangrove Forests in India	Important Mountain Passes in India
Monsoon in India	Indus River System
Climate of India	Rivers of India
Tributaries of Ganga	National Parks in India
Important Dams in India	Wildlife Sanctuaries of India
Tiger Reserves in India	Northern Plains of India
Physiography of India	Important Lakes of India
Wetlands in India	Biodiversity in India
Natural Vegetation in India	Earthquakes in India
Types of Soil in India	Ramsar Sites in India
Brahmaputra River System	Hydropower Plants in India
Nuclear Power Plants in India	Major Ports in India
Biosphere Reserves in India	Waterfalls in India

Other Fundamental Geography Topics
Types of Rocks	Types of Clouds
Structure of the Atmosphere	Himalayan Ranges
Component of Environment	El Nino and La Nina
Coral Reef	Continental Drift Theory
Endogenic and Exogenic Forces	Indian Ocean Region
Pacific Ocean	Indian Ocean Dipole
Air Pollution	Environmental Impact Assessment
Tropical Cyclone	Western Disturbances

Solar System Planets FAQs

What is the solar system?

The Sun and the celestial bodies which revolve around it form the solar system. It consists of large number of bodies such as planets, comets, asteroids and meteors. The gravitational attraction between the Sun and these objects keeps them revolving around it.

What is the hottest planet?

Venus

Which is the brightest planet?

Venus, The brightest planet in our Solar System, Venus, is visible to the naked eye from Earth. Venus's dazzling, constant presence earned it the names "evening star" and "morning star."

Who named the solar system?

The sun, moon, and five visible planets—Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn—were all given divine names by Sumerian astronomers.

Is the moon a star or not?

Unlike the moon, stars do not contain solid matter. The star, which is the creation of heated gases, energy, light, and heat, does not allude to the characteristics of the moon. The moon is not a star or a planet, therefore. The moon is not a planet since it does not meet the criteria listed below.