The planet Jupiter was first seen 400 years ago. Then only the first telescopes appeared, and through them it was possible to see this planet. The planet Jupiter conquers with its volume, scale. It is the largest planet in the solar system in terms of volume, mass, and area.
By the way, there are planets that are 15 times larger than Jupiter, but this is only in theory. The planet was named Jupiter by the Romans, in honor of the supreme deity.
The largest planet in the solar system: interesting facts about Jupiter
It is one of the largest gas giants. Divided into the inner space, and the atmospheric layer. The air is filled with 90% hydrogen and 10% helium. The planet also has methane, silicon and ammonia. Small amounts of carbon, oxygen, neon, phosphine are present.
The interior of the planet houses dense materials. A mixture of liquid hydrogen with helium and an outer layer of molecular hydrogen is called the core. It's not clear yet, but some believe the core could be rocky.
Even 20 years ago, the question of the core was raised. It was assumed that it can reach from 12 to 45 Earth masses and cover from 4 to 14% of the mass of Jupiter. The closer you are to the core, the higher the temperature and pressure become. Near the core, the temperature reaches 35700 degrees and about 4000 GPa, on the very surface it is 67 degrees and 10 BAR.
Near Jupiter there is a family of 67 moons. Galileo Galilei discovered 4 of the largest in the distant past. This:
- Io (active volcanoes);
- Europa (subsurface ocean);
- Ganymede (largest moon);
- Callisto (underground ocean).
Auroras are observed near the north and south poles.
The largest planet in the solar system: top 8 planets
- Mercury is the smallest planet in the solar system. But it is closest to the Sun. There is no season change on this planet, because the axis of rotation is perpendicular to the rotation of the Sun. It is somewhat similar to the moon, the surface is rocky, covered with craters, such as on the moon. Like the Moon, Mercury has no atmosphere. This planet occupies the 8th place;
- Mars - Unlike Mercury, Mars is in 4th place from the Sun. She is also rocky like Mercury. This planet has been visited many times by terrestrial spacecraft. By the way, Mars rovers are working there now. The average temperature on Mars is -153 degrees. This planet occupies the 7th place;
- Venus - she is also called the "sister of the Earth." It is closer to the Sun than the Earth, but this is not very important. The average temperature is +470 degrees. Carbon dioxide is used instead of oxygen. This planet occupies the 6th place;
- The Earth is in 3rd place from the Sun. The only planet where life boils. 70% of the planet is covered with water. This planet occupies the 5th place;
- Neptune is the most distant of all the largest planets. Neptune is 17 times heavier than Earth and has a larger diameter. In 1846, astronomers calculated this planet, and then looked at it through a telescope. This planet occupies the 4th place;
- Uranus is the 3rd planet of all the big ones. The average temperature is -220 degrees. It is named after an ancient Greek god, not a Roman god like most others. It has 27 satellites in its orbit. This planet occupies the 3rd place;
- Saturn - this planet is also one of the largest. Saturn has the largest number of satellites, about 62. This planet occupies 2nd place;
- Jupiter is the largest planet in the solar system. Gas giant. The average temperature is about -140 degrees. Jupiter has many moons that can be seen with any binoculars, the most popular being Europa, Io, Ganymede, and Callisto.
Those who travel know that if you devote your whole life to this activity, there will still be a piece, a plot, or even a huge piece of the Earth that has remained unexplored. It seems as if our planet is full of endless expanses. The task of closing your eyes and imagining it in its entirety feels like an impossible task. Meanwhile, the Earth belongs to the type of space objects, which can be called "small planets of the solar system." Scientifically, they are designated as planets of the terrestrial group, rather modest in terms of universal scales. Our Earth would seem even more infinite if its dimensions approached the parameters of the gas giants, which will be discussed below.
Classification
To begin with, consider the principle underlying the types of planets astronomy divides into. The solar system is delimited by the Main into two parts. The first includes Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars. In the second - Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune, behind them is Pluto and the Kuiper belt. The first four are the terrestrial planets. In addition to their location, they are united by the structure: they consist of compounds of metals and silicon, have a core, mantle and crust. Earth is the largest planet in the solar system in this group.
The four beyond the Asteroid Belt are the so-called gas giants. As the name implies, they are huge, much larger than the terrestrial planets. However, their most important difference lies in the composition of the substance that forms such space objects. It is a mixture of gases: hydrogen, helium, ammonia, methane. Such a structure makes the giants fundamentally different from the Earth and similar planets.
Ninth
As for Pluto, in 2006 it was “demoted” to the dwarf planets and attributed to the objects of the Kuiper belt, a structure quite distant from the Earth, which, however, does not yet end the solar system. Pluto, according to scientists, does not correspond to one of the points of the accepted definition of the planet: it does not have enough mass to clear its orbit from other bodies. Apparently, at the same time, in composition, it is close to the bodies of the Kuiper belt, ice blocks formed by frozen methane and nitrogen.
Now in our system there are only eight planets and a few more dwarf planets, which will never grow up to their “brothers”.
What is the largest planet in the solar system?
Obviously, the most impressive is to be found among the gas giants. However, every student today knows the answer to the question “which planet in the solar system is the largest”. This is Jupiter, the first magnificent giant beyond the Main Asteroid Belt, which probably played a role in the emergence of life on Earth, protecting it from meteorites throughout its existence.
Striking dimensions
Again, it is extremely difficult to understand how huge Jupiter is if you try to imagine an object 1300 times the volume of the Earth. A comparison comes to the rescue: Jupiter is a planet in the solar system that surpasses our house in size, like a pea. The storm that broke out in the atmosphere of a giant is so massive that it can cover all the planets of the terrestrial group, except for Mercury, combined.
It affects not only the size, but also the speed of rotation of Jupiter. It makes one revolution around its axis in just 10 hours, moving at a speed of 45,300 km / h. At the same time, the giant passes the orbit in 12 years. And this is also quite fast, considering how far from the Sun it is (five times farther than the Earth).
ephemeral surface
Many schoolchildren, having learned which planet in the solar system is the largest, thought about how long it would be possible to walk and travel on it. And these dreams continued until they found out that no one could ever set foot on the surface of the planet. Jupiter is surrounded by an atmosphere of hydrogen and helium in a ratio of 9:1. It flows smoothly into liquid hydrogen. In fact, there is no boundary between the atmosphere and the surface; it is conventionally designated by the level of pressure.
Clouds and spots
If you look closely at the photographs of Jupiter, it is easy to see that the planet has a "characteristic appearance." The recognizable striped pattern of the upper atmosphere is made up of stable clouds: light zones are interspersed with reddish-brown belts. Between them wedged powerful atmospheric flows, or scientific jets. In fact, these are winds of great strength. Their direction either coincides with the movement of the planet, or opposite to it. Clouds, light and dark, as well as jets are conditionally designated as geographical objects on the equally conditional surface of the gas giant.
main feature
The surface of Jupiter is characterized by another phenomenon. This is the Great Red Spot. It can be called a special sign of the planet. There are no similar formations, equally bright and persistent, on other space objects of the solar system. Scientists suggest that the Great Red Spot is a giant storm in the atmosphere. It moves around the planet, changing longitude, but strictly adhering to the same latitude, for at least the last 350 years. The spot is characterized by changes in dimensions: it either increases to a huge size, or it is reduced by half.
Spacecraft studies have confirmed the hypothesis of astronomers: the Great Red Spot is a huge anticyclone, rotating counterclockwise at a speed of one revolution in six days.
Approximate giant
A lot of interesting processes take place on Jupiter, but it is worth mentioning its "brothers". The second largest planet is Saturn. It is unlikely that there will be a person who will not be able to identify him in the image of all the objects of the solar system. Its distinguishing feature is noticeable rings. By the way, all gas giants have similar formations, like satellites. best known for their impressiveness. They consist of ice particles with a small admixture of heavy elements and dust.
The composition of Saturn is similar to that of Jupiter: hydrogen, helium, methane, ammonia, various impurities. On the surface of the planet visible from space, no formations are as stable as on Jupiter. Much stronger winds rage here.
Ice giants
Next to Saturn is Uranus, then Neptune. Astronomers combine them into a separate subgroup because in their depths there is no metallic hydrogen characteristic of Jupiter and Saturn, but there is a lot of ice in high-temperature modifications. Perhaps the most unusual characteristic of Uranus is its axial tilt. The planet, as it were, lies on its side and therefore the Sun mainly illuminates not the equatorial zone, but alternately either the North or the South Pole.
The strongest winds blow on Neptune. Its surface is characterized by a formation similar to the Great Red Spot. It was called the "Great Dark Spot".
So, the answer to the question "what is the largest planet in the solar system" sounds simple: it's Jupiter. Hidden behind this short word is a huge mass, the strongest winds, the Great Red Spot. It is followed by Saturn, Uranus and Neptune, each is unique in its own way, modern astronomy knows something interesting about each. The entire solar system with all the objects and structures, even compared to the giant Jupiter, is huge. And this corner of the Universe in many respects remains shrouded in mystery for us. A lot of information, including about gas giants, now remains without explanation, some theories need to be improved. We can say with confidence that many more discoveries await us, related both to the largest planets of the system, and to those more modest in size.
The term "Universe" refers to a space that has no boundaries and is filled with galaxies, pulsars, quasars, black holes and matter. Galaxies, in turn, are made up of clusters of stars and star systems.
For example, the Milky Way includes 200 billion stars, among which the Sun is far from the largest and brightest. And our solar system, which includes the Earth and other planets, is certainly not the only one in the Universe. The largest and smallest planets of the solar system and the universe as a whole will be discussed below.
The largest planet in the solar system
Jupiter is the 5th largest planet in the solar system. The radius of the planet is 69,911 km.
- Jupiter is a "shield" for the Earth, blocking the path of comets and other celestial bodies due to its gravity.
- Jupiter's core temperature is 20,000 °C.
- There are no solid places on the surface of Jupiter; instead, a boiling hydrogen ocean rages.
- The mass of Jupiter is 2.5 times the total mass of the other planets in the solar system and is 1.8986 * 10²⁷ kg.
- Jupiter has the largest number of satellites in the solar system - 63 objects. And on Europa (a moon of Jupiter) there is supposedly water under the ice deposits.
- The Great Red Spot is an atmospheric vortex on Jupiter that has not subsided for 300 years. Its dimensions are gradually decreasing, but even 100 years ago, the volumes of the vortex were compared with the volume of the Earth.
- A day on Jupiter is only 10 Earth hours, and a year is 12 Earth years.
The smallest planet in the solar system
Not so long ago, this title passed to the planet Mercury from Pluto, which was previously included in the solar system as a planet, but since August 2006 it has not been considered as such.
Mercury is the closest planet to the Sun. Its radius is 2,439.7 km.
- Mercury is the only planet that does not have natural satellites.
- A day on Mercury is equivalent to 176 Earth days.
- The first mention of Mercury was recorded 3,000 years ago.
- The temperature range on Mercury is impressive: at night, the figure reaches -167°C, during the day - up to +480°C.
- At the bottom of the deep craters of Mercury, reserves of water ice have been discovered.
- Clouds form at the poles of Mercury.
- The mass of Mercury is 3.3*10²³ kg.
The largest stars in the universe
Betelgeuse. One of the brightest stars in the sky and one of the largest in the universe (red hypergiant). Another common name for the object is Alpha Orionis. As its second name suggests, Betelgeuse is located in the constellation of Orion. The size of the star is 1180 solar radii (the radius of the Sun is 690,000 km).
Scientists believe that over the next millennium, Betelgeuse will be reborn into a supernova, as it is rapidly aging, although it was formed not so long ago - several million years ago. Given that the distance from the Earth to it is only 640 light years, our descendants will observe one of the greatest spectacles in the universe.
RW Cephei. A star in the constellation Cepheus, also recognized as a red hypergiant. True, scientists are still arguing about its size. Some argue that the RW radius of Cepheus is equal to 1260 radii of the Sun, others believe that it is worth equating to 1650 radii. The stellar object is 11,500 light years away from Earth.
KW Sagittarius. A red supergiant located in the constellation Sagittarius. The distance to the Sun is 10,000 light years. As for the size, the radius of the supergiant is equal to 1460 solar radii.
KY Swan. A star belonging to the constellation Cygnus and distant from Earth at a distance of 5,000 light years. Since today scientists have not yet received a clear image of the object, disputes about its size are still ongoing. Most consider the radius of KY Cygnus to be 1420 solar radii. Alternative version - 2850 radii.
V354 Cephei. A red supergiant and variable star in the Milky Way galaxy. The radius of V354 Cephei is 1520 times greater than the sun. The stellar object is located relatively close to Earth - only 9,000 light years away.
WOH G64. A red hypergiant located in the constellation Dorado, which, in turn, belongs to the dwarf galaxy Large Magellanic Cloud. The star WOH G64 is 1540 times larger than the Sun and 40 times heavier.
V838 Unicorn. A red variable star belonging to the constellation Monoceros. The distance from the star to the Earth is equal to 20,000 light years, so the calculations made on the size of V838 Unicorn are only approximate. Today it is generally accepted that the size of the object exceeds the size of the Sun by 1170-1970 times.
Mu Cephei. Also known as Herschel's pomegranate star. It is a red supergiant located in the constellation Cepheus (the Milky Way galaxy). In addition to its size (Mu Cephei is 1650 times larger than the Sun), the star is notable for its brightness. It is more than 38,000 times brighter than the Sun, making it one of the brightest stars in the Milky Way.
VV Cephei A. A red hypergiant belonging to the constellation Cepheus and distant from Earth at 2,400 light years. The size of VV Cepheus A is 1800 times the size of the Sun. As for the mass, it exceeds the solar mass by 100 times. Component A has been scientifically proven to be a physically variable star that pulsates every 150 days
VY Canis Major. The largest star in the Universe is located in the constellation Canis Major and is a red hypergiant. The distance from a star to Earth is equivalent to 5,000 light years. The VY radius of Canis Major was determined in 2005, it is 2,000 solar radii. And the mass exceeds the solar 40 times.
magnet planets
Visually, the magnetic field cannot be observed, but its presence or absence is recorded with a high degree of accuracy by modern instruments. The earth is a huge magnet. Thanks to this, our planet is protected from cosmic radiation generated by the solar wind - highly charged particles "shot" by the Sun.
The protective magnetosphere of the Earth deflects the approaching flows of these particles and directs them around the axis. In the absence of a magnetic field, cosmic radiation will destroy the atmosphere on Earth. Scientists suggest that this is exactly what happened on Mars.
There is no magnetic field on Mars, but magnetic poles have been found on it, reminiscent of the magnetosphere at the bottom of the Earth's oceans. The magnetic poles of Mars are so strong that they extend hundreds of kilometers into the atmosphere. In addition, they interact with cosmic radiation and even create the auroras recorded by scientists.
However, the absence of a magnetosphere is a consequence of the absence of liquid water on Mars. And in order for a person to be able to move safely on the surface of the planet, it is required to develop individual protection, a personal "magnetic field" for everyone.
3. Magnetic field of Mercury. Mercury, like the Earth, is protected by the magnetosphere. This discovery was made in 1974. The planet also has north and south magnetic poles. The South Pole is exposed to much more radiation than the North Pole.
Discovered on Mercury and a new phenomenon - magnetic tornadoes. They are twisted beams originating in a magnetic field and passing into interplanetary space. Mercury's magnetic tornadoes are capable of covering an area 800 km wide and up to a third of the radius of the planet.
4. Magnetosphere of Venus. Venus, which is often compared to the Earth and even considered its twin, also has a magnetic field, however, extremely weak, 10,000 times weaker than the earth's. Scientists have not yet established the reasons for this.
5. Magnetospheres of Jupiter and Saturn. Jupiter's magnetosphere is 20,000 times stronger than Earth's and is considered the largest in the solar system. The electrically charged particles surrounding the planet periodically interact with other planets and objects, damaging their protective shells.
The magnetic field of Saturn is remarkable only in that its axis coincides 100% with the axis of rotation, which is not observed in other planets.
6. Magnetic field of Uranus and Neptune. The magnetospheres of Uranus and Neptune differ from the rest of the planets in that they have 2 north and 2 south poles. However, the nature of the origin and interaction of fields with interplanetary space is not completely clear.
The largest planet in the universe
TrES-4 is recognized as the No. 1 planet in the Universe in terms of its size. It was only discovered in 2006. TrES-4 is a planet in the constellation Hercules, the distance from it to Earth is 1,400 light years.
The giant planet is 1.7 times larger than Jupiter (the radius of Jupiter is 69,911 km), and the temperature on it reaches 1260 ° C. Scientists are convinced that there is no solid surface on the planet TrES-4, and the main component of the planet is hydrogen.
The smallest planet in the universe
In 2013, scientists discovered the world's smallest planet, Kepler-37b. This planet is one of three planets orbiting the star Kepler-37.
It has not yet been possible to establish its exact dimensions, however, in terms of dimensions, Kepler-37b is comparable to the Moon, whose radius is 1737.1 km. Presumably, the planet Kepler-37b is composed of rock.
Giant satellites and the smallest satellites in space
The largest moon in the universe today is Ganymede, a moon of Jupiter. Its diameter is 5270 km. Ganymede mostly consists of ice and silicates, the core of the satellite is liquid, scientists even suggest the presence of water in it. Ganymede also forms its own magnetosphere and the thinnest atmosphere in which oxygen is found.
S/2010 J 2 is considered the smallest satellite in the Universe. It is noteworthy that this is again a satellite of Jupiter. The diameter of S/2010 J 2 is 2 km. Its discovery took place in 2010, and today the detailed characteristics of the satellite are only being studied with the help of modern instruments.
The universe is equally known and unknown to mankind, since this space is extremely variable. And although today the knowledge of people is hundreds of times greater than the knowledge of our predecessors, scientists say that all the greatest discoveries of the Universe are yet to come.
Our solar system is one of the components of the galaxy. Here the Milky Way stretches for hundreds of thousands of light years.
The central element of the solar system is the sun. Eight planets revolve around it (the ninth planet, Pluto, was excluded from this list, since its mass and gravitational forces do not allow it to be on a par with other planets). However, each planet is not like the next. Among them there are both small and truly huge, icy and red-hot, consisting of gas and dense.
The largest planet in the Universe is TrES-4. It was discovered in 2006 and is located in the constellation Hercules. A planet called TrES-4 orbits a star that is about 1,400 light-years away from planet Earth.
The planet TrES-4 itself is a ball that consists mainly of hydrogen. Its size is 20 times the size of the Earth. The researchers claim that the diameter of the discovered planet is almost 2 times (more precisely, 1.7) the diameter of Jupiter (it is the largest planet in the solar system). The temperature of TrES-4 is about 1260 degrees Celsius.
According to scientists, there is no solid surface on the planet. Therefore, you can only dive into it. It is a mystery how the density of the substance of which this celestial body is composed is so low.
Jupiter
The largest planet in the solar system, Jupiter, is located at a distance of 778 million kilometers from the Sun. This planet, the fifth in a row, is a gas giant. The composition is very similar to the sun. At least its atmosphere is predominantly hydrogen.
However, under the atmosphere, the surface of Jupiter is covered with an ocean. Only it does not consist of water, but boiling hydrogen rarefied under high pressure. Jupiter is spinning very fast, so fast that it is elongating along its equator. Therefore, unusually strong winds are formed there. The appearance of the planet because of this feature is interesting: in its atmosphere, clouds elongate and form diverse and colorful ribbons. Whirlwinds appear in the clouds - atmospheric formations. The largest are over 300 years old. Among them is the Great Red Spot, which is many times the size of the Earth.
Elder Brother of the Earth
It is worth noting that the planet's magnetic field is huge, it occupies 650 million kilometers. This is much larger than Jupiter itself. The field partially extends even beyond the orbit of the planet Saturn. Jupiter currently has 28 moons. At least that much is open. Looking at the sky from Earth, the farthest one looks smaller than the Moon. But the largest satellite is Ganymede. However, astronomers are especially interested in Europe. It has a surface in the form of ice, moreover, it is covered with stripes-cracks. Their origin still causes a lot of controversy. Some researchers believe that under the balls of ice, where the water does not freeze, there may be primitive life. Far few places in the solar system are honored with such an assumption. Scientists plan to send drilling rigs to this satellite of Jupiter in the future. This is necessary just to study the composition of water.
Jupiter and its moons through a telescope
According to the modern version, the Sun and the planets formed from the same gas and dust cloud. Here, Jupiter accounted for 2/3 of the entire mass of the planets of the solar system. And this is clearly not enough for thermonuclear reactions to take place in the center of the planet. Jupiter has its own source of heat, which is associated with the energy from the compression and decay of matter. If the heating was only from the Sun, then the upper layer would have a temperature of about 100K. And judging by the measurements - it is equal to 140K.
It is worth noting that the atmosphere of Jupiter is 11% helium, and 89% hydrogen. This ratio makes it similar to the chemical composition of the Sun. The orange color is due to the compounds of sulfur and phosphorus. For people, they are detrimental, as there is acetylene and poisonous ammonia.
Saturn
It is the next largest planet in the solar system. Through a telescope, you can clearly see that Saturn is more flattened than Jupiter. There are bands on the surface parallel to the equator, but they are less distinct than those of the previous planet. Numerous and dim details are visible in the stripes. And it was from them that the scientist William Herschel was able to determine the period of rotation of the planet. It's only 10 hours and 16 minutes. Saturn's equatorial diameter is slightly smaller than Jupiter. However, in terms of mass, it is three times inferior to the largest planet. In addition, Saturn has a low average density - 0.7 grams per square centimeter. This is because the giant planets are made up of helium and hydrogen. In the bowels of Saturn, the pressure is not the same as on Jupiter. The surface temperature is close to the temperature at which methane melts.
Saturn has elongated dark bands or belts along the equator, as well as bright zones. These details are not as contrasting as those of Jupiter. And individual spots are not so frequent. Saturn has rings. The telescope shows "ears" on both sides of the disk. It has been established that the rings of the planet are the remains of a huge circumplanetary cloud that stretches for millions of kilometers. Stars are visible through the rings that revolve around the planet. The inner parts rotate faster than the outer ones.
Saturn through a telescope
Saturn has 22 moons. They have the names of ancient heroes, for example, Mimas, Enceladus, Pandora, Epimetheus, Tethys, Dione, Prometheus. The most interesting of them: Janus - he is the closest to the planet, Titan - the largest (the largest satellite in the solar system in terms of mass and size).
Movie about Saturn
All satellites of the planet, with the exception of Phoebe, turn in the forward direction. But Phoebe is moving in orbit in the opposite direction.
Uranus
The seventh planet from the Sun in the solar system, therefore, is poorly lit. It is four times the diameter of the Earth. Some details on Uranus are difficult to distinguish due to the small angular dimensions. Uranus rotates around its axis, lying on its side. Uranus orbits the Sun in 84 years.
The polar day at the poles lasts 42 years, then the night of the same duration begins. The composition of the planet is a small amount of methane and hydrogen. According to indirect signs, there is helium. The density of the planet is greater than that of Jupiter and Saturn.
Traveling the planets: Uranus and Neptune
Uranus has planetary narrow rings. They consist of separate opaque and dark particles. The radius of the orbits is 40-50 thousand kilometers, the width is from 1 to 10 kilometers. The planet has 15 moons. Some of them are external, some are internal. The most distant and largest are Titania and Oberon. Their diameter is about 1.5 thousand kilometers. The surfaces are pitted with meteorite craters.
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