Message about the planet Uranus. Mars - the mysterious red planet

The solar system is a group of planets revolving in specific orbits around a bright star - the Sun. This star is the main source of heat and light in the solar system.

It is believed that our planetary system was formed as a result of the explosion of one or more stars and this happened about 4.5 billion years ago. At first, the Solar System was an accumulation of gas and dust particles, however, over time and under the influence of its own mass, the Sun and other planets arose.

Planets of the Solar System

At the center of the solar system is the Sun, around which eight planets move in their orbits: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune.

Until 2006, Pluto also belonged to this group of planets; it was considered the 9th planet from the Sun, however, due to its significant distance from the Sun and small size, it was excluded from this list and called a dwarf planet. More precisely, it is one of several dwarf planets in the Kuiper belt.

All of the above planets are usually divided into two large groups: the terrestrial group and the gas giants.

The terrestrial group includes such planets as: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars. They are distinguished by their small size and rocky surface, and in addition, they are located closest to the Sun.

Gas giants include: Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune. They are characterized by large sizes and the presence of rings, which are ice dust and rocky pieces. These planets consist mainly of gas.

Sun

The Sun is the star around which all the planets and satellites in the solar system revolve. It consists of hydrogen and helium. The age of the Sun is 4.5 billion years, it is only in the middle of its life cycle, gradually increasing in size. Now the diameter of the Sun is 1,391,400 km. In just the same number of years, this star will expand and reach the orbit of the Earth.

The sun is the source of heat and light for our planet. Its activity increases or becomes weaker every 11 years.

Due to the extremely high temperatures on its surface, a detailed study of the Sun is extremely difficult, but attempts to launch a special device as close to the star as possible continue.

Terrestrial group of planets

Mercury

This planet is one of the smallest in the solar system, its diameter is 4,879 km. In addition, it is closest to the Sun. This proximity predetermined a significant temperature difference. The average temperature on Mercury during the day is +350 degrees Celsius, and at night - -170 degrees.

If we take the Earth year as a guide, Mercury makes a full revolution around the Sun in 88 days, and one day there lasts 59 Earth days. It was noticed that this planet can periodically change the speed of its rotation around the Sun, its distance from it and its position.

There is no atmosphere on Mercury; therefore, it is often attacked by asteroids and leaves behind a lot of craters on its surface. Sodium, helium, argon, hydrogen, and oxygen were discovered on this planet.

A detailed study of Mercury is very difficult due to its close proximity to the Sun. Sometimes Mercury can be seen from Earth with the naked eye.

According to one theory, it is believed that Mercury was previously a satellite of Venus, however, this assumption has not yet been proven. Mercury does not have its own satellite.

Venus

This planet is the second from the Sun. In size it is close to the diameter of the Earth, the diameter is 12,104 km. In all other respects, Venus differs significantly from our planet. A day here lasts 243 Earth days, and a year lasts 255 days. The atmosphere of Venus is 95% carbon dioxide, which creates a greenhouse effect on its surface. This results in an average temperature on the planet of 475 degrees Celsius. The atmosphere also contains 5% nitrogen and 0.1% oxygen.

Unlike the Earth, most of whose surface is covered with water, there is no liquid on Venus, and almost the entire surface is occupied by solidified basaltic lava. According to one theory, there used to be oceans on this planet, however, as a result of internal heating, they evaporated, and the vapors were carried away by the solar wind into outer space. Near the surface of Venus, weak winds blow, however, at an altitude of 50 km their speed increases significantly and amounts to 300 meters per second.

Venus has many craters and hills that resemble the earth's continents. The formation of craters is associated with the fact that the planet previously had a less dense atmosphere.

A distinctive feature of Venus is that, unlike other planets, its movement occurs not from west to east, but from east to west. It can be seen from Earth even without the help of a telescope after sunset or before sunrise. This is due to the ability of its atmosphere to reflect light well.

Venus has no satellite.

Earth

Our planet is located at a distance of 150 million km from the Sun, and this allows us to create on its surface a temperature suitable for the existence of liquid water, and, therefore, for the emergence of life.

Its surface is 70% covered with water, and it is the only planet to contain such an amount of liquid. It is believed that many thousands of years ago, steam contained in the atmosphere created the temperature on the Earth's surface necessary for the formation of water in liquid form, and solar radiation contributed to photosynthesis and the birth of life on the planet.

The peculiarity of our planet is that under the earth’s crust there are huge tectonic plates, which, moving, collide with each other and lead to changes in the landscape.

The diameter of the Earth is 12,742 km. An earthly day lasts 23 hours 56 minutes 4 seconds, and a year lasts 365 days 6 hours 9 minutes 10 seconds. Its atmosphere is 77% nitrogen, 21% oxygen and a small percentage of other gases. None of the atmospheres of other planets in the solar system has such an amount of oxygen.

According to scientists, the age of the Earth is 4.5 billion years, approximately the same age that its only satellite, the Moon, has existed. It is always turned to our planet with only one side. There are many craters, mountains and plains on the surface of the Moon. It reflects sunlight very weakly, so it is visible from Earth in the pale moonlight.

Mars

This planet is the fourth from the Sun and is 1.5 times more distant from it than the Earth. The diameter of Mars is smaller than Earth's and is 6,779 km. The average air temperature on the planet ranges from -155 degrees to +20 degrees at the equator. The magnetic field on Mars is much weaker than that of Earth, and the atmosphere is quite thin, which allows solar radiation to unimpededly affect the surface. In this regard, if there is life on Mars, it is not on the surface.

When surveyed with the help of Mars rovers, it was found that there are many mountains on Mars, as well as dried up river beds and glaciers. The surface of the planet is covered with red sand. It is iron oxide that gives Mars its color.

One of the most frequent events on the planet are dust storms, which are voluminous and destructive. It was not possible to detect geological activity on Mars, however, it is reliably known that significant geological events previously occurred on the planet.

The atmosphere of Mars consists of 96% carbon dioxide, 2.7% nitrogen and 1.6% argon. Oxygen and water vapor are present in minimal quantities.

A day on Mars is similar in length to those on Earth and is 24 hours 37 minutes 23 seconds. A year on the planet lasts twice as long as on Earth - 687 days.

The planet has two satellites Phobos and Deimos. They are small in size and uneven in shape, reminiscent of asteroids.

Sometimes Mars is also visible from Earth with the naked eye.

Gas giants

Jupiter

This planet is the largest in the solar system and has a diameter of 139,822 km, which is 19 times larger than Earth. A day on Jupiter lasts 10 hours, and a year is approximately 12 Earth years. Jupiter is mainly composed of xenon, argon and krypton. If it were 60 times larger, it could become a star due to a spontaneous thermonuclear reaction.

The average temperature on the planet is -150 degrees Celsius. The atmosphere consists of hydrogen and helium. There is no oxygen or water on its surface. There is an assumption that there is ice in the atmosphere of Jupiter.

Jupiter has a huge number of satellites - 67. The largest of them are Io, Ganymede, Callisto and Europa. Ganymede is one of the largest moons in the Solar System. Its diameter is 2634 km, which is approximately the size of Mercury. In addition, a thick layer of ice can be seen on its surface, under which there may be water. Callisto is considered the most ancient of the satellites, since it is its surface that has the largest number of craters.

Saturn

This planet is the second largest in the solar system. Its diameter is 116,464 km. It is most similar in composition to the Sun. A year on this planet lasts quite a long time, almost 30 Earth years, and a day lasts 10.5 hours. The average surface temperature is -180 degrees.

Its atmosphere consists mainly of hydrogen and a small amount of helium. Thunderstorms and auroras often occur in its upper layers.

Saturn is unique in that it has 65 moons and several rings. The rings are made up of small particles of ice and rock formations. Ice dust perfectly reflects light, so Saturn's rings are very clearly visible through a telescope. However, it is not the only planet with a diadem; it is just less noticeable on other planets.

Uranus

Uranus is the third largest planet in the solar system and the seventh from the Sun. It has a diameter of 50,724 km. It is also called the “ice planet”, as the temperature on its surface is -224 degrees. A day on Uranus lasts 17 hours, and a year lasts 84 Earth years. Moreover, summer lasts as long as winter - 42 years. This natural phenomenon is due to the fact that the axis of that planet is located at an angle of 90 degrees to the orbit and it turns out that Uranus seems to be “lying on its side.”

Uranus has 27 moons. The most famous of them are: Oberon, Titania, Ariel, Miranda, Umbriel.

Neptune

Neptune is the eighth planet from the Sun. It is similar in composition and size to its neighbor Uranus. The diameter of this planet is 49,244 km. A day on Neptune lasts 16 hours, and a year is equal to 164 Earth years. Neptune is an ice giant and for a long time it was believed that no weather phenomena occur on its icy surface. However, it was recently discovered that Neptune has raging vortices and wind speeds that are the highest among the planets in the solar system. It reaches 700 km/h.

Neptune has 14 moons, the most famous of which is Triton. It is known to have its own atmosphere.

Neptune also has rings. This planet has 6 of them.

Interesting facts about the planets of the solar system

Compared to Jupiter, Mercury seems like a dot in the sky. These are the actual proportions in the solar system:

Venus is often called the Morning and Evening Star, since it is the first of the stars visible in the sky at sunset and the last to disappear from visibility at dawn.

An interesting fact about Mars is the fact that methane was found on it. Due to the thin atmosphere, it constantly evaporates, which means that the planet has a constant source of this gas. Such a source could be living organisms inside the planet.

There are no seasons on Jupiter. The biggest mystery is the so-called “Great Red Spot”. Its origin on the surface of the planet has not yet been fully elucidated. Scientists suggest that it was formed by a huge hurricane, which has been rotating at very high speed for several centuries.

An interesting fact is that Uranus, like many planets in the solar system, has its own ring system. Due to the fact that the particles that make up them do not reflect light well, the rings could not be detected immediately after the discovery of the planet.

Neptune has a rich blue color, so it was named after the ancient Roman god - the master of the seas. Due to its distant location, this planet was one of the last to be discovered. At the same time, its location was calculated mathematically, and after time it was able to be seen, and precisely in the calculated place.

Light from the Sun reaches the surface of our planet in 8 minutes.

The solar system, despite its long and careful study, still conceals many mysteries and secrets that have yet to be revealed. One of the most fascinating hypotheses is the assumption of the presence of life on other planets, the search for which is actively continuing.

PLANETS

In ancient times, people knew only five planets: Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn, the only ones that can be seen with the naked eye.
Uranus, Neptune and Pluto were discovered using telescopes in 1781, 1846 and 1930. For a long time, astronomers studied the planets by observing them from Earth. They determined that all the planets, except Pluto, move in circular orbits in the same plane and in the same direction, calculated the sizes of the planets and the distances from them to the Sun, formed their idea of ​​the structure of the planets, and even assumed that Venus and Mars could be similar Earth, and there may be life on them.

The launch of automatic space stations to the planets made it possible to significantly expand, and in many ways revise, ideas about the planets: it became possible to see photographs of the surface, explore the soil and atmosphere of the planets.

Mercury.

Mercury is a small planet, slightly larger than the Moon. Its surface is also dotted with craters from collisions with meteorites. No geological processes have erased these dents from his face. Mercury is cold inside. It moves around the Sun faster than other planets, but around its axis very slowly. Having circled the Sun twice, Mercury only has time to turn around its axis three times. Because of this, the temperature on the sunny side of the planet exceeds 300 degrees, and on the unlit side there is darkness and severe cold. Mercury has virtually no atmosphere.

Venus.

Exploring Venus is not easy. It is shrouded in a thick layer of clouds, and under this serene exterior lies a real hell, the pressure is a hundred times higher than on Earth, the temperature on the surface is about 500 degrees, which is caused by the “greenhouse effect”. The Soviet automatic station “Venera - 9” for the first time managed to transmit to Earth images of a surface filled with lava and covered with stones. In the conditions of Venus, the apparatus lowered to the surface of the planet quickly breaks down, so American scientists decided to obtain data on the planet’s topography in a different way.

The Magellan robotic station, having flown around Venus many times, probed the planet with radar, resulting in a comprehensive picture of the surface. In some places, the relief of Venus is similar to that of Earth, but mostly the landscapes are strange: high mountainous round areas surrounded by mountain ranges 250 - 300 km in diameter, the entire area of ​​which is occupied by volcanoes; other volcanic formations resemble cakes with steep edges and a flat top. The surface of the planet is cut by channels laid by lava. Traces of active volcanic activity are visible everywhere. Meteor craters on the surface of Venus are distributed evenly, which means that its surface took shape at the same time. Scientists cannot explain how this could happen; Venus seemed to boil and be flooded with lava. Now volcanic activity is not detected on the planet.

The atmosphere of Venus is not at all similar to that of Earth; it mainly consists of carbon dioxide. The thickness of the gas shell of Venus, compared to the earth's, is monstrously large. The cloud layer reaches 20 km. The presence of a concentrated aqueous solution of sulfuric acid was detected in them. Sunlight does not reach the surface of Venus, twilight reigns there, sulfur rain falls, and the landscape is constantly illuminated by flashes of lightning. High in the planet's atmosphere, constant winds rage, driving clouds at tremendous speed; the upper layer of the Venusian atmosphere makes a full revolution around the planet within four Earth days. The solid body of Venus, on the contrary, rotates around its axis very slowly and in a different direction than all the other planets. Venus has no satellites.

Mars.

In the 20th century, the planet Mars was chosen by science fiction writers; in their novels, the Martian civilization was incomparably higher than the earthly one. The mysterious, inaccessible Mars began to reveal its secrets when Soviet and American automatic spacecraft began to be sent to study it.

The Mariner 9 station, orbiting Mars, took photographs of all areas of the planet, which made it possible to create a detailed map of the surface relief. Researchers have discovered traces of active geological processes on the planet: huge volcanoes, the largest of them, Olympus Mons, 25 km high, and a huge fault in the Martian crust, called Valles Marineris, which crosses an eighth of the planet.

Gigantic structures grew in the same place for billions of years, unlike the Earth with its drifting continents, the surface of Mars did not move. The geological structures of the Earth, compared to those on Mars, are dwarfs. Are volcanoes active on Mars now? Scientists believe that geological activity on the planet is obviously a thing of the past.

Martian landscapes are dominated by reddish rocky deserts. Light transparent clouds float above them in the pink sky. The sky turns blue at sunset. The atmosphere of Mars is very thin. Every few years there are dust storms that cover almost the entire surface of the planet. A day on Mars lasts 24 hours 37 minutes, the inclination of the axis of rotation of Mars to the orbital plane is almost the same as that of the Earth, so the change of seasons on Mars is quite consistent with the change of seasons on Earth. The planet is poorly heated by the Sun, so its surface temperature even on a summer day does not exceed 0 degrees, and in winter, frozen carbon dioxide settles on the rocks due to the severe cold, and the Polar Caps are mainly made of it. No traces of life have yet been found.

From Earth, Mars is visible as a reddish star, which is probably why it bears the name of the god of war, Mars. His two companions were named Phobos and Deimos, which translated from ancient Greek means “fear” and “horror.” The satellites of Mars are space “rocks” of irregular shape. Phobos measures 18km x 22km, and Deimos measures 10km x 16km.

The planets are giants.

In 1977, American scientists and engineers launched an automatic interplanetary station towards Jupiter as part of the Voyager program. Once every 175 years, Jupiter, Saturn, Neptune and Pluto are positioned in such a way relative to the Earth that a launched spacecraft can examine all these planets in one flight. Scientists have calculated that, under certain conditions, a spacecraft, approaching a planet, falls into a gravitational slingshot, and the planet itself sends the apparatus further to another planet. The calculations turned out to be correct. Earthlings were able to see these distant planets and their satellites through the “eyes” of space robots, and unique information was transmitted to Earth.

Jupiter.

Jupiter is the largest planet in the solar system. It does not have a solid surface and consists mainly of hydrogen and helium. Due to the high speed of rotation around its axis, it is noticeably compressed at the poles. Jupiter has a huge magnetic field; if it became visible, it would look the size of the solar disk from Earth.

In the photographs, scientists were able to see only clouds in the planet’s atmosphere, which create stripes parallel to the equator. But they moved with great speed, bizarrely changing their shape. Numerous vortices, auroras and lightning flashes were recorded in the cloud cover of Jupiter. On the planet, wind speeds reach one hundred kilometers per hour. The most amazing formation in the atmosphere of Jupiter is a large red spot 3 times the size of the Earth. Astronomers have observed it since the 17th century. It is possible that this is the tip of a gigantic tornado. Jupiter releases more energy than it receives from the Sun. Scientists believe that in the center of the planet, gases are compressed to the state of a metallic liquid. This hot core is the power plant that generates winds and a monstrous magnetic field.

But the main surprises for scientists were not presented by Jupiter itself, but by its satellites.

Satellites of Jupiter.

There are 16 known satellites of Jupiter. The largest of them, Io, Europa, Callisto and Ganymede, were discovered by Galileo; they are visible even with strong binoculars. It was believed that the satellites of all planets are similar to the Moon - they are cold and lifeless. But Jupiter's moons surprised researchers.

And about- the size of the Moon, but it is the first celestial body other than Earth on which active volcanoes have been discovered. Io is completely covered in volcanoes. Its surface is washed by multi-colored lava flows, volcanoes emit sulfur. But what is the reason for the active volcanic activity of such a small cosmic body? Revolving around the huge Jupiter, Io either approaches it or moves away.

Under the influence of either increasing or decreasing gravitational force, Io either contracts or expands. Friction forces heated its inner layers to enormous temperatures. Io's volcanic activity is incredible, its surface changing before our eyes. Io moves in Jupiter's powerful magnetic field, so it accumulates a huge electrical charge, which is discharged onto Jupiter in the form of a continuous stream of lightning, causing storms on the planet.

Europe has a relatively smooth surface, virtually without relief. It is covered with a layer of ice, and it is likely that the ocean is hidden underneath it. Instead of molten rocks, water oozes from cracks here. This is a completely new type of geological activity.

Ganymede- the largest satellite in the solar system. Its size is almost the same as that of Mercury.

Callisto dark and cold, its surface, pockmarked with meteorite craters, has not changed for billions of years.

Saturn.

Saturn, like Jupiter, does not have a solid surface - it is a gas giant planet. It also consists of hydrogen and helium, but it is cooler, since it produces less heat itself and receives less of it from the Sun. But on Saturn the winds are faster than on Jupiter. Stripes, vortices and other formations are observed in the atmosphere of Saturn, but they are short-lived and irregular.

Naturally, scientists' attention was directed to the rings that surround the planet's equator. They were discovered by astronomers back in the 17th century, and since then scientists have been trying to understand what they are. Photos of the rings transmitted to earth by an automatic space station surprised researchers. They were able to identify several hundred rings nested inside one another, some intertwined with each other, dark stripes were found on the rings that appeared and disappeared, they were called knitting needles. Scientists were able to see the rings of Saturn from a fairly close distance, but they had more questions than answers.

In addition to the rings, 15 satellites move around Saturn. The largest of them is Titan, slightly smaller than Mercury. Titan's dense atmosphere is much thicker than Earth's and consists almost entirely of nitrogen; it did not allow us to see the surface of the satellite, but scientists suggest that the internal structure of Titan is similar to the structure of the Earth. The temperature at its surface is below minus 200 degrees.

Uranus.

Uranus differs from all other planets in that its axis of rotation lies almost in the plane of its orbit, all planets look like a toy top, and Uranus rotates as if “lying on its side.” Voyager was able to “see” little in the atmosphere of Uranus; the planet turned out to be very monotonous in appearance. There are 5 satellites orbiting Uranus.

Neptune.

It took Voyager 12 years to get to Neptune. How surprised the scientists were when, on the outskirts of the solar system, they saw a planet very similar to Earth. It was a deep blue color, with white clouds moving in different directions in the atmosphere. The winds on Neptune blow much stronger than on other planets.

There is so little energy on Neptune that the wind, once it picks up, cannot stop. Scientists have discovered a system of rings around Neptune, but they are incomplete and represent arcs; there is no explanation for this yet. Neptune and Uranus are also giant planets, but not gas, but ice.

Neptune has 3 satellites. One of them is that Triton rotates in the direction opposite to the direction of rotation of Neptune itself. Perhaps it did not form in Neptune's gravitational zone, but was pulled toward the planet when it came close to it and fell into its gravitational zone. Triton is the coldest body in the solar system, its surface temperature is slightly above absolute zero (minus 273 degrees). But nitrogen geysers were discovered on Triton, which indicates its geological activity.

Pluto

Now Pluto is officially no longer a planet. It should now be considered a "dwarf planet", one of three in the Solar System. Pluto's fate was determined in 2006 by a vote of members of the International Astronomical Society in Prague.

To avoid confusion and not clutter maps of the Solar System, the International Astronomical Union has prescribed that fairly large celestial bodies that are not among the eight previously defined planets be classified as dwarf planets. In particular, Pluto, Charon (a former satellite of Pluto), the asteroid Ceres, orbiting between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter, as well as the so-called Kuiper belt objects Xena (object UB313) and Sedna (object 90377) received a new status.

This is the largest planet in the solar system. At night, Jupiter is easy to see - the only thing that shines brighter than it is the Moon. Even ancient astronomers knew this planet very well. It received its name in honor of the most important ancient Roman god, the thunderer.

The mass of this planet is very large. In addition to it, there are 7 different, large and small planets in the solar system. One Jupiter weighs two and a half times more than all the other planets combined. Earth is considered a small planet, and it weighs 318 times more than it.

Position in the Solar System

In order from the Sun, this is fifth planet. It revolves around the Sun in 12 Earth years. A day on Jupiter is 10 hours long - during this time it manages to rotate once around its axis.

The distance to Earth changes because the orbits of the planets are not exactly circular, but elongated. Therefore, the distance at different times ranges from half a million to almost a million kilometers.

Structure

This planet belongs to the gas giants, that is, only the inner core can be dense. There are no continents there, because... there is no surface as such; according to scientists’ reports, it is gaseous and represents boiling ocean of liquid hydrogen. The pressure on Jupiter is so high that hydrogen becomes liquid there. And since this planet also has a very high temperature, the same as on the surface of the Sun: +6000 degrees Celsius (and the core is even hotter), then life cannot exist there.

The atmosphere contains mainly hydrogen and helium; other gases: nitrogen, hydrogen sulfide, and ammonia are present in small quantities.

Surprisingly, in the clouds of the atmosphere the temperature is negative (-150°C) - this is the difference.

Red Spot and other giant hurricanes

Since Jupiter rotates very quickly winds there can reach speeds of 600 km/h. On this planet Hurricanes happen all the time powerful thunderstorms and auroras.

One of the most famous hurricanes has lasted for almost 350 years. In 1664, he saw a “great red spot” through a simple telescope. Scientists have been trying for many years to understand what it is, and only in the 20th century did they find out that it is a long-lived atmospheric vortex. Now it is twice as large as the Earth, and a hundred years ago it was four times larger than it.

In addition to the large red spot, three more white ovals were noticed in 1938 - these are also hurricanes. In 1988, two of them merged into one vortex, and in 2000, they were joined by a third white oval. In 2005, this large hurricane, formed from three small ones, began to change color and turned red. Now it is called the “small red spot”.

Satellites

Jupiter has 67 moons. 4 large satellites can be seen from Earth with ordinary binoculars. The largest, Ganymede, is half the size of the Earth. Ganymede is generally the largest satellite in the Solar System.

10 largest moons of Jupiter:

• Ganymede (size 5260 km);
• Callisto (4820 km);
• Io (3642 km);
• Europe (3122 km);
• Amalthea (250 km);
• Himalia (170 km);
• Thebes (116 km);
• Elara (86 km);
• Pasife (60 km);
• Karme (46 km);
• Lysithea (36 km).

The five smallest satellites are 1 km in size.

Planetary ring system

When many satellites revolve around a planet and sooner or later they can collide with each other, breaking into pieces. They are ejected into the surrounding outer space as a result of such collisions. huge masses of dust.

Also, a large planet attracts comets, which also leave a lot of dust.

All these dust clouds, due to the rotation of the planet, gradually shift towards the equator and take the form of rings.

Around Jupiter, like around another large planet, there is a planetary ring system. It consists of five rings:

• Halo. It is the closest to the planet and the thickest, its width is 30 thousand km.
• The main ring is the most noticeable and brightest. Its width is 6 and a half thousand km.
• Arachnoid ring of Amalthea. It is called arachnoid because it is transparent. The same weight as the Main Ring, but thinner.
• Web ring of Thebes. It is the dimmest and most transparent.
• The Himalia ring is the youngest and thinnest. It arose after 2000, when one of the newly discovered satellites crashed into another, Himalia, and crumbled into small pieces and dust.

4 closest satellites: Adrastea, Thebe, Metis and Amalthea rotate within and among these rings. The remaining satellites are located much further from the planet, behind the rings.

Jupiter Research

With the development of modern astronomy, scientific research of the giant planet began: the Voyager, Pioneer, and Galileo interplanetary probes were sent to it. Research is being conducted using orbital (located on artificial satellites around the Earth) and ground-based telescopes.

If this message was useful to you, I would be glad to see you

The biggest mystery for humanity remains everything that is outside our planet. How much unknown and undiscovered dark space conceals within itself. I am glad that today we know information, albeit not all, about nearby planets. Let's talk about Mars today.

Mars is the fourth planet farthest from the Sun and closest to Earth. This planet is approximately 4.6 billion years old, like Earth, Venus and the rest of the planets in the solar system.

The name of the planet comes from the name of the ancient Roman and Greek god of war - ARES. The Romans and Greeks associated the planet with war due to its resemblance to blood. When viewed from Earth, Mars is red-orange in color. The color of the planet is due to the abundance of iron minerals in the soil.

In the recent past, scientists have discovered channels, valleys and ditches on the surface of Mars, and deposits of thick layers of ice have also been found at the north and south poles, which proves that water once existed on Mars. If this is true, then water may still be found in cracks and wells in the planet's underground rocks. In addition, a group of researchers claim that living beings once lived on Mars. As evidence, they cite certain types of materials found in a meteorite that fell to Earth. True, the claims of this group did not convince most scientists.

The surface of Mars is very diverse. Some of the impressive features include a canyon system that is much deeper and longer than the Grand Canyon in the United States, and a mountain system whose highest point is much higher than Mount Everest. The density of the atmosphere of Mars is 100 times less than that of the Earth. However, this does not prevent the formation of such phenomena as clouds and wind. Huge dust storms sometimes rage all over the planet.

It's much colder on Mars than on Earth. Surface temperatures range from a low of -125° Celsius recorded near the poles during winter to a high of +20° Celsius recorded at midday near the equator. The average temperature is approximately -60° Celsius.

This planet is not like Earth to many people, mainly because it is much further from the Sun and much smaller than Earth. The average distance from Mars to the Sun is about 227,920,000 km, which is 1.5 times greater than the distance from Earth to the Sun. The average radius of Mars is 3390 km, which is about half the radius of the Earth.

Physical characteristics of Mars

Orbit and rotation of the planet

Like the rest of the planets in the solar system, Mars revolves around the Sun in an elliptical orbit. But its orbit is more elongated than the orbit of the Earth and other planets. The greatest distance from the Sun to Mars is 249,230,000 km, the smallest is 206,620,000 km. The length of the year is 687 Earth days. The length of a day is 24 hours 39 minutes and 35 seconds.

The distance between Earth and Mars depends on the position of these planets in their orbits. It can vary from 54,500,000 km to 401,300,000 km. Mars is closest to Earth during opposition, when the planet is in the opposite direction to the Sun. Oppositions are repeated every 26 months at different points in the orbit of Mars and Earth.

Like Earth, Mars' axis is tilted relative to the orbital plane by 25.19° compared to Earth's 23.45°. This is reflected in the amount of sunlight falling on some parts of the planet, which in turn affects the occurrence of seasons similar to those on Earth.

Mass and density

The mass of Mars is 6.42*1020 tons, which is 10 times less than the mass of the Earth. Density is about 3.933 grams per cubic centimeter, which is approximately 70% of the density of Earth.

Gravitational forces

Due to the planet's smaller size and density, the gravity on Mars is 38% that of Earth. Therefore, if a person stands on Mars, he will feel as if his weight has been reduced by 62%. Or, if he drops a stone, then this stone will fall much more slowly than the same stone on Earth.

Internal structure of Mars

All information obtained about the internal structure of the planet is based on: calculations related to the mass, rotation, density of the planet; on knowledge of the properties of other planets; on the analysis of Martian meteorites that fell to Earth, as well as on data collected from research vehicles in orbit of the planet. All this makes it possible to assume that Mars, like the Earth, may consist of three main layers:

1. Martian crust;
2. mantle;
3. core.

Bark. Scientists suggest that the thickness of the Martian crust is approximately 50 km. The thinnest part of the crust is in the northern hemisphere. The rest of the majority of the crust consists of volcanic rocks.

Mantle. The mantle is similar in composition to the Earth's mantle. As on Earth, the planet's main source of heat is radioactive decay - the decay of the nuclei of atoms of elements such as uranium, potassium and thorium. Due to radioactive radiation, the average temperature of the Martian mantle can be approximately 1500 degrees Celsius.

Core. The main components of the Martian core are probably iron, nickel and sulfur. Information about the planet's density gives some idea of ​​the size of the core, which is expected to be smaller than the Earth's core. It is possible that the radius of Mars' core is approximately 1500-2000 km.

Unlike Earth's core, which is partially molten, Mars' core must be solid because the planet does not have a strong magnetic field. However, data obtained from the space station shows that some of the oldest Martian rocks were formed as a result of the influence of a large magnetic field - suggesting that Mars had a molten core in the distant past.

Description of the surface of Mars

The surface of Mars is very diverse. In addition to mountains, plains, and polar ice, almost the entire surface is densely dotted with craters. In addition, the entire planet is shrouded in fine-grained reddish dust.

Plains

Most of the surface consists of flat, low-lying plains, which are mainly located in the northern hemisphere of the planet. One of these plains is the lowest and relatively smooth among all the plains in the solar system. This smoothness was likely achieved by sediment deposits (tiny particles that settle at the bottom of liquid) formed as a result of water in the area—one piece of evidence that Mars once had water.

Canyons

Along the planet's equator lies one of the world's most stunning sites, a system of canyons known as Valles Marineris, named after the Marinera 9 space research station that first discovered the valley in 1971. Valles Marineris stretches from east to west and is approximately 4000 km in length, which is equal to the width of the continent of Australia. Scientists believe that these canyons were formed as a result of the splitting and stretching of the planet's crust; the depth in some places reaches 8-10 km.

Valles Marineris on Mars. Photo from astronet.ru

Channels emerge from the eastern part of the valley, and in some places layered deposits have been found. Based on these data, it can be assumed that the canyons were partially filled with water.

Volcanoes on Mars

The largest volcano in the solar system is located on Mars - the Olympus Mons volcano (translation from Latin: Mount Olympus) with a height of 27 km. The diameter of the mountain is 600 km. Three other large volcanoes - Mounts Arsia, Askreus and Povonis - are located on a huge volcanic highland called Tharsis.

All the slopes of the volcanoes on Mars gradually rise, similar to the volcanoes in Hawaii. Hawaiian and Martian volcanoes are wall volcanoes formed from lava eruptions. Currently, not a single active volcano has been found on Mars. Traces of volcanic ash on the slopes of other mountains suggest that Mars was once volcanically active.

Craters and river basins of Mars

A large number of meteorites caused damage to the planet, forming craters on the surface of Mars. The phenomenon of impact craters is rare on Earth for two reasons: 1) those craters that formed at the beginning of the planet’s history are already eroded; 2) The Earth has a very dense atmosphere, which prevents meteorites from falling.

Martian craters are similar to craters on the moon and other solar system objects, which have deep, bowl-shaped floors with raised, wheel-shaped edges. Large craters may have central peaks formed as a result of the shock wave.

Smiling crater. Photo from astrolab.ru

The number of craters on Mars varies from place to place. Almost the entire southern hemisphere is strewn with craters of various sizes. The largest crater on Mars is the Hellas Basin (lat. Hellas Planitia) in the southern hemisphere, whose diameter is approximately 2300 km. The depth of the depression is about 9 km.

Canals and river valleys have been discovered on the surface of Mars, many of which were spread across the low-lying plains. Scientists suggest that the Martian climate was warm enough if water existed in liquid form.

Polar deposits

The most interesting feature of Mars is the thick accumulations of finely layered sediments located at both poles of Mars. Scientists believe that the layers consist of a mixture of water ice and dust. The atmosphere of Mars likely retained these layers for a long period. They can provide evidence of seasonal weather patterns and long-term climate change. The ice caps on both hemispheres of Mars remain frozen throughout the year.

Climate and atmosphere of Mars

Atmosphere

The atmosphere of Mars is thin, the oxygen content in the atmosphere is only 0.13%, while in the Earth's atmosphere it is 21%. Carbon dioxide content - 95.3%. Other gases contained in the atmosphere include nitrogen - 2.7%; argon - 1.6%; carbon monoxide - 0.07% and water - 0.03%.

Atmosphere pressure

The atmospheric pressure on the planet's surface is only 0.7 kPascal, which is 0.7% of the atmospheric pressure on the Earth's surface. As the seasons change, atmospheric pressure fluctuates.

Temperature of Mars

At high altitudes in the region of 65-125 km from the surface of the planet, the atmospheric temperature is -130 degrees Celsius. Closer to the surface, the average daily temperature of Mars ranges from -30 to -40 degrees. Just below the surface, the temperature of the atmosphere can vary greatly throughout the day. Even near the equator, it can reach -100 degrees late at night.

The temperature of the atmosphere can rise when dust storms rage on the planet. Dust absorbs sunlight and then transfers most of the heat to gases in the atmosphere.

Clouds

Clouds on Mars form only at high altitudes, in the form of frozen carbon dioxide particles. Frost and fog appear especially often early in the morning. Fog, frost and clouds on Mars are very similar to each other.

Dust cloud. Photo from astrolab.ru

Wind

On Mars, as on Earth, there is a general circulation of the atmosphere, expressed in the form of wind, which is characteristic of the entire planet. The main cause of winds is solar energy and the unevenness of its distribution on the surface of the planet. The average speed of surface winds is approximately 3 m/s. Scientists recorded wind gusts of up to 25 m/s. However, gusts of wind on Mars are much less powerful than the same gusts on Earth - this is due to the low density of the planet's atmosphere.

Dust storms

Dust storms are the most spectacular weather phenomenon on Mars. This is a swirling wind that can lift dust from the surface in a short time. The wind looks like a tornado.

The formation of large dust storms on Mars occurs as follows: when strong winds begin to lift dust into the atmosphere, this dust absorbs sunlight and thereby warms the air around it. As soon as warm air rises, an even stronger wind arises, which raises even more dust. As a result, the storm becomes even stronger.

At large scales, dust storms can cover a surface area of ​​more than 320 km. During the largest storms, the entire surface of Mars can be covered in dust. Storms of this size can last for months, obscuring the entire planet from view. Such storms were recorded in 1987 and 2001. Dust storms occur more often when Mars is closest to the Sun, since at such moments solar energy heats the planet's atmosphere more.

Moons of Mars

Mars is accompanied by two small satellites - Phobos and Deimos (sons of the god Ares), which were named and discovered in 1877 by the American astronomer Asaph Hall. Both satellites have an irregular shape. The largest diameter of Phobos is approximately 27 km, Deimos - 15 km.

The moons have a large number of craters, most of which were formed as a result of meteorite impacts. In addition, Phobos has many grooves - cracks that could have formed when the satellite collided with a large asteroid.

Scientists still do not know how and where these satellites were formed. They are believed to have been formed during the formation of the planet Mars. According to another version, the satellites used to be asteroids flying near Mars, and the gravitational force of the planet pulled them into its orbit. Evidence for the latter is that both moons have a dark gray color, which is similar to the color of some types of asteroids.

Astronomical observations from Mars

After the landing of automatic vehicles on the surface of Mars, it became possible to conduct astronomical observations directly from the surface of the planet. Due to the astronomical position of Mars in the solar system, the characteristics of the atmosphere, the orbital period of Mars and its satellites, the picture of the night sky of Mars (and astronomical phenomena observed from the planet) differs from that on Earth and in many ways appears unusual and interesting.

During sunrise and sunset, the Martian sky at the zenith has a reddish-pink color, and in the immediate vicinity of the solar disk - from blue to violet, which is completely opposite to the picture of earthly dawns.

At noon, the sky of Mars is yellow-orange. The reason for such differences from the colors of the earth's sky is the properties of the thin, rarefied, dust-containing atmosphere of Mars. Presumably, the yellow-orange color of the sky is also caused by the presence of 1% magnetite in dust particles that are constantly present in the Martian atmosphere and raised by seasonal dust storms. Twilight begins long before sunrise and lasts long after sunset. Sometimes the color of the Martian sky takes on a purple hue as a result of light scattering on microparticles of water ice in the clouds (the latter is a rather rare phenomenon). Earth on Mars is observed as a morning or evening star, rising before dawn or visible in the evening sky after sunset. Mercury from Mars is practically inaccessible to observation with the naked eye due to its extreme proximity to the Sun. The brightest planet in the sky of Mars is Venus, Jupiter is in second place (its four largest satellites can be seen with the naked eye), and Earth is in third place.

The Phobos satellite, when observed from the surface of Mars, has an apparent diameter of about 1/3 of the Moon's disk in the Earth's sky. Phobos rises in the west and sets in the east and crosses the sky of Mars twice a day. The movement of Phobos across the sky is easily noticeable during the night, as are the phase changes. With the naked eye you can see the largest relief feature of Phobos - the Stickney crater.

The second satellite, Deimos, rises in the east and sets in the west, appears as a bright star without a noticeable visible disk, slowly crossing the sky over the course of 2.7 Martian days. Both satellites can be observed in the night sky at the same time, in this case Phobos will move towards Deimos. Both Phobos and Deimos are bright enough for objects on the surface of Mars to cast clear shadows at night.

Evolution of Mars

By studying the surface of Mars, scientists have learned how Mars has evolved since its formation. They compared the stages of the planet's evolution with the ages of different regions of the surface. The greater the number of craters in a region, the older the surface there.

Scientists have conditionally divided the lifespan of the planet into three stages: the Noachian era, the Hesparian and Amazonian era.

Noachian era. The Noachian Era is named after a huge mountainous region in the southern hemisphere of the planet. During this period, a huge number of objects, from small meteorites to large asteroids, collided with Mars, leaving behind many craters of various sizes.
The Noachian period was also characterized by great volcanic activity. In addition, during this period, river valleys may have been formed, which left an imprint on the surface of the planet. The existence of these valleys suggests that during the Noachian era the climate on the planet was warmer than it is now.

Hesperian era. The Hesperia Era is named after the plain located in the low latitudes of the southern hemisphere. During this period, the intensive damage to the planet by meteorites and asteroids gradually subsided. However, volcanic activity still continued. Volcanic eruptions have covered most of the craters.

Amazonian era. The era is named after the plain located in the northern hemisphere of the planet. At this time, meteorite impacts are observed to a lesser extent. Volcanic activity is also characteristic, and the largest volcanoes erupted during this period. Also during this period, new geological materials were formed, including layered ice deposits.

Is there life on Mars?

Scientists believe that Mars has three main components necessary for life:

1. chemical elements such as carbon, hydrogen, oxygen and nitrogen, with the help of which organic elements are formed;
2. a source of energy that can be used by living organisms;
3. water in liquid form.

Researchers suggest: if there was once life on Mars, then living organisms can exist today. As evidence, they cite the following arguments: the basic chemical elements necessary for life were likely present on the planet throughout its history. The source of energy could be the sun, as well as the internal energy of the planet itself. Water in liquid form could also exist, since canals, ditches and a huge amount of ice, more than 1 m high, were discovered on the surface of Mars. Consequently, water can still exist in liquid form under the surface of the planet. And this proves the possibility of the existence of life on the planet.

In 1996, scientists led by David S. McCain reported that they had found evidence of microscopic life on Mars. Their evidence was confirmed by a meteorite that fell to Earth from Mars. The team's evidence included complex organic molecules, grains of the mineral magnetite that can form within some types of bacteria, and tiny compounds that resemble fossilized microbes. However, the conclusions of scientists are very contradictory. But there is still no general scientific agreement that there has never been life on Mars.

Why can't people go to Mars?

The main reason for the impossibility of flying to Mars is the radiation exposure of astronauts. Outer space is filled with protons from solar flares, gamma rays from newly formed black holes, and cosmic rays from exploding stars. All these radiations can cause enormous damage to the human body. Scientists have calculated that the likelihood of cancer in humans after a flight to Mars will increase by 20%. Whereas a healthy person who has not gone into space has a 20% chance of developing cancer. It turns out that having flown to Mars, the probability that a person will die from cancer is 40%.

The greatest threat to astronauts comes from galactic cosmic rays, which can accelerate to the speed of light. One type of such rays is heavy rays from ionized nuclei such as Fe26. These rays are much more energetic than typical protons from solar flares. They can penetrate the surface of a ship, the skin of people, and after penetration, like small guns, they break the strands of DNA molecules, killing cells and damaging genes.

The astronauts of the Apollo spacecraft, during their flight to the Moon, which lasted only a few days, reported seeing flashes of cosmic rays. After some time, almost most of them developed cataracts. This flight took only a few days, while the flight to Mars would take perhaps a year or more.

In order to find out all the risks of flying to Mars, a new space radiation laboratory was opened in New York in 2003. Scientists are modeling particles that mimic cosmic rays and studying their effects on living cells in the body. Having found out all the risks, it will be possible to find out what material the spaceship needs to be built from. Perhaps aluminum, which is what most spacecraft are now built from, will suffice. But there is another material - polyethylene, which can absorb cosmic rays 20% more than aluminum. Who knows, maybe someday ships will be built from plastic...

Venus is the second planet in the solar system farthest from the main star. It is often called the “twin sister of the Earth”, because it is almost identical to our planet in size and is its kind of neighbor, but otherwise has many differences.

History of the name

The celestial body was named named after the Roman goddess of fertility. In different languages, the translations of this word vary - there is such a meaning as “mercy of the gods”, Spanish “shell” and Latin - “love, charm, beauty”. The only planet in the solar system, it has earned the right to be called a beautiful female name due to the fact that in ancient times it was one of the brightest in the sky.

Dimensions and composition, nature of the soil

Venus is quite a bit smaller than our planet - its mass is 80% of the Earth's. More than 96% of it is carbon dioxide, the rest is nitrogen with a small amount of other compounds. According to its structure the atmosphere is dense, deep and very cloudy and consists mainly of carbon dioxide, so the surface is difficult to see due to a peculiar “greenhouse effect”. The pressure there is 85 times greater than ours. The composition of the surface in its density resembles the basalts of the Earth, but it itself extremely dry due to the complete lack of liquid and high temperatures. The crust is 50 kilometers thick and consists of silicate rocks.

Research by scientists has shown that Venus has granite deposits along with uranium, thorium and potassium, as well as basalt rocks. The top layer of soil is close to the ground, and the surface is strewn with thousands of volcanoes.

Periods of rotation and circulation, change of seasons

The period of rotation around its axis for this planet is quite long and is approximately 243 Earth days, exceeding the period of revolution around the Sun, which is equal to 225 Earth days. Thus, a Venusian day is longer than one Earth year - this is the longest day on all planets in the solar system.

Another interesting feature is that Venus, unlike other planets in the system, rotates in the opposite direction - from east to west. At its closest approach to the Earth, the cunning “neighbor” turns only one side all the time, managing to make 4 revolutions around its own axis during breaks.

The calendar turns out to be very unusual: the Sun rises in the west, sets in the east, and there is practically no change of seasons due to its too slow rotation around itself and constant “baking” from all sides.

Expeditions and satellites

The first spacecraft sent from Earth to Venus was the Soviet spacecraft Venera 1, launched in February 1961, the course of which could not be corrected and went far past. The flight made by Mariner 2, which lasted 153 days, became more successful, and The ESA Venus Express orbiting satellite passed as close as possible, launched in November 2005.

In the future, namely in 2020-2025, the American space agency plans to send a large-scale space expedition to Venus, which will have to get answers to many questions, in particular regarding the disappearance of oceans from the planet, geological activity, features of the atmosphere there and the factors of its change .

How long does it take to fly to Venus and is it possible?

The main difficulty of flying to Venus is that it is difficult to tell the ship exactly where to go in order to directly reach its destination. You can move along the transition orbits of one planet to another, as if catching up with her. Therefore, a small and inexpensive device will spend a significant part of its time on this. No human has ever set foot on the planet and it is unlikely that she will like this world of unbearable heat and strong wind. Is it just to fly by...

Concluding the report, let us note one more interesting fact: today nothing is known about natural satellites ah Venus. It also does not have rings, but it shines so brightly that on a moonless night it is clearly visible from the inhabited Earth.

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