The solar system, a vast cosmic ensemble, is home to a variety of celestial bodies, including planets and moons. Understanding these entities is key to comprehending the dynamics of our cosmic neighborhood. Planets and moons play pivotal roles in the solar system’s balance, influencing gravitational forces, tides, and serving as subjects of exploration and scientific inquiry.
Four and a half billion years ago, our Solar System was formed out of a huge cloud of dust and gas.
Top 10 Largest Bodies in The Solar System
Body | Max Diameter (KM) | Max Diameter (Miles) | Size Compared with Earth |
---|---|---|---|
1. Sun | 1,392,140 | 865,036 | 109.136 |
2. Jupiter | 142,984 | 88,846 | 11.209 |
3. Saturn | 120,536 | 74,898 | 9.449 |
4. Uranus | 51,118 | 31,763 | 4.007 |
5. Neptune | 49,528 | 30,775 | 3.883 |
6. Earth | 12,756 | 7,926 | 1.000 |
7. Venus | 12,104 | 7,521 | 0.949 |
8. Mars | 6,805 | 4,228 | 0.533 |
9.Ganymede | 5,262 | 3,270 | 0.413 |
10. Titan | 5,150 | 3,200 | 0.404 |
Most of the planets have been observed since ancient times. The exceptions are Uranus, discovered on 13 March 1781 by the British astronomer Sir William Hershel; Neptune, founded by German astronomer Johann Galle on 23 September 1846; and, outside the Top 10, the former planet Pluto.
Top 10 Longest Years in The Solar System
Body | Length of Year ( Years) | Length of Year ( Days) |
---|---|---|
1. Eris | 561 | 135 |
2. Makemake | 305 | 124 |
3. Haumea | 281 | 340 |
4. Pluto | 247 | 336 |
5. Neptune | 164 | 289 |
6. Uranus | 84 | 6 |
7. Saturn | 29 | 163 |
8. Jupiter | 11 | 315 |
9. Ceres | 4 | 219 |
10. Mars | 1 | 322 |
Top 10 Longest Days in The Solar System
Body | Days (LOD) | HRS (LOD) | Mins (LOD) | Secs (LOD) |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. Venus | 243 | 0 | 26 | 60 |
2. Mercury | 58 | 15 | 30 | 14 |
3. Sun | 25 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
4. Pluto | 6 | 9 | 17 | 17 |
5. Eris | 1 | 1 | 53 | 46 |
6. Mars | 24 | 37 | 26 | |
7. Earth | 23 | 56 | 41 | |
8. Makemake | 22 | 29 | 17 | |
9. Uranus | 17 | 13 | 55 | |
10. Neptune | 16 | 6 | 14 |
Top 10 Largest Planetary Moons
1. Ganymede / Jupiter
Discovered by Galileo on 11 January 1610. Ganymede is thought to have a surface of ice of about 97 km (60 miles) think. Launched in 1989, NASA’s Galileo probe reached Ganymede in June 1996.
2.Titan / Saturn
Titan is larger than Mercury and pluto. We have no idea what its surface looks like because it has such a dense atmosphere, but radio telescope observations suggest that it may have ethane ‘oceans’ and ‘continents’ of ice or other solid matter.
3. Callisto / Jupiter
Possessing a similar composition to Ganymede, Callisto is heavily pitted with craters, perhaps more so than any other body in the Solar System.
4. Io / Jupiter
Io has a crust of solid sulphur with massive volcanic eruptions in progress, hurling sulphurous materials 300 km (186 miles) into space.
5. Moon / Earth
Our own satellite is a quarter of the size of Earth, the 5th largest in the Solar System and, to date, the only one to have been explored by humans.
6. Europa / Jupiter
Although Europa’s ice-covered surface is apparently smooth and crater-free, it is covered with mysterious black lines, some of them 64 km (40 miles) wide and resembling canals.
7. Triton / Neptune
Triton is getting progressively closer to Neptune, and it is believed that in several million years the force of the planet’s gravity may full it apart, scattering it into a form like the rings of Saturn.
8. Titania / Uranus
The Largest of Uranus’s 27 Moons. Titania was discovered by William Herschel on 11 January 1787. It has a snowball-like surface of the ice. Its size estimate was revised by data from Voyager 2.
9. Rhea / Saturn
Saturn’s 2nd largest moon was discovered on 23 December 1672 by Jean-Dominique Cassini. Voyager 1 confirmed that its icy surface is pitted with craters, one of them 225 km (140 miles) in diameter.
10. Oberon / Uranus
Oberon was discovered by Herschel at the same time as Titania, and given the name of the fairy king husband of Queen Titania. Data from Voyager 2 relegated Oberon from 9th to 10th place in this list.