The solar system. By Tzur Almog 5/24/13

Today I will be teaching you about the solar system. But before I tell you about the solar system I have to tell you how it formed. Our galaxy was originally a nebula floating around in space. As we drifted we were hit with a shockwave compressing the floating ball of gas. Even after the shockwave wore off the nebula continued to collapse in on itself as some off the gas particles had hit each other and were now creating their own gravitational field. As these masses grow their gravitational fields get larger they suck in more mass. Then finally the largest mass, (the one in the center) reaches the ignition point where hydrogen is put under enough pressure to fuse. Once it does it unleashes a waves of radiation that we call solarwinds. These solar winds blew all the dust and gas off the inner planets and out into the kuiper belt outside the 8 planets. The outer planets were not hit with as much solar wind so they remained gassy. Today we call them the gas giants. Today we have split the planets into two groups, the rocky planets and as I said before, the gas giants. The rocky planets are the densest and the spin the slowest, but because they are the closest to the sun they revolve around the sun the fastest. The gas giants are farther away from the sun and are the least dense. That just about sums up the creation of the solar system.

http://static.ddmcdn.com/gif/asteroid-belt-2.jpg

Here are a couple of quick facts about the planets:

Mercury can also get up to 800 degrees in the day. It is also the smallest planet in the solar system.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3f/Mercury_Globe-MESSENGER_mosaic_centered_at_0degN-0degE.jpg/270px-Mercury_Globe-MESSENGER_mosaic_centered_at_0degN-0degE.jpg

Venus is the hottest planet in the solar system. It was also named after the roman goddess of love.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/85/Venus_globe.jpg/220px-Venus_globe.jpg

The red surface of mars is caused by rust in the soil because of high levels of iron. Mars used to be volcanically active but isn't anymore because its core has cooled down to the point where it has solidified.

http://static.ddmcdn.com/gif/mars1.jpg

Jupiter has a giant red spot that is a massive storm that has been going on for a long time. It’s magnetosphere is also larger than the sun.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b6/Jupiter_gany.jpg/220px-Jupiter_gany.jpg

Saturn has auroras on its poles like we do on earth. Saturn also has 62 moons in addition to the rings of ice and rock it has.

http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/image/planetary/saturn/saturn.jpg

Uranus has an atmosphere mostly made up of methane. It is also the only planet to be on a nearly 90 degree angle.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3d/Uranus2.jpg/240px-Uranus2.jpg

Neptune also has an atmosphere mostly made out of methane. Neptune's Magnetosphere is created by ice at its core and not iron.

https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQuS0aa9xKimNeyJgDdcSM_KM4hD6OGIUHp7_fBxwDPuLVa6WyX

The rocky planets rotate around the sun faster than the gas giants because the rocky planets are closer to the sun than the gas giants. Because the sun is closer to the rocky planets they are slingshotted around the sun faster by gravity. The closer they are the faster they rotate.

However there is one thing that unites all of them, they are all planets. And as a planet they each follow the rules for being a planet. They all: orbit the sun, are nearly round in shape, and have cleared the area around them. This however will soon bring us to the term dwarf planet as people see that pluto is missing. Dwarf planets are basically the same as planets but cannot clear their own area. Pluto, Ceres, and Eris are all examples of dwarf planets.

Thanks for reading my blog.