- Jupiter. Even in ancient Greece, scientists managed to find out that this celestial body is the largest in the solar system. It was believed that Jupiter is the god of the sky, that is, the father of all gods. The planet was worshiped. The radius of this planet is 11 times greater than that of Earth. The approximate mass of Jupiter is 1.8986*10 27 kg. Therefore, it is 318 times heavier than our planet. A distinctive feature is also the anticyclone hurricane, which has been revolving around the celestial body for more than 350 years.
Rating of solar system planets by size
142.8 thousand km
The most big planet solar system - Jupiter. Even in ancient Greece, scientists managed to find out that this celestial body is the largest in the solar system. It was believed that Jupiter is the god of the sky, that is, the father of all gods. The planet was worshiped. The radius of this planet is 11 times greater than that of Earth. The approximate mass of Jupiter is 1.8986*10 27 kg. Therefore, it is 318 times heavier than our planet. A distinctive feature is also the anticyclone hurricane, which has been revolving around the celestial body for more than 350 years.
120.6 thousand km
At a distance of 1.4 billion kilometers from the Sun is the second largest planet called Saturn. In diameter, the size of the celestial body is 120,600 kilometers. Moreover, the radius of Saturn is 58,232 kilometers. It is known that the length of the day on this planet amounts to 10.7 hours. Therefore, one year is equal to 29 earth years. This is exactly how long it takes Saturn to complete a full revolution around the Sun. It should be added that the planet does not have a solid surface. It is a kind of gas giant, because the atmosphere consists of helium and hydrogen.
51.1 thousand km
Uranus closes the top three largest planets in the solar system. The radius is 25,362 kilometers. The diameter of the giant planet reaches 51,137 kilometers. This is approximately 4 times the diameter of the Earth. For all the time, only one satellite calledVoyager 2. The device has been providing images for about 37 years. Thanks to these photos and research work Astronomers know that a day on Uranus is 17 hours long. The planet revolves around the Sun in 84 Earth years.
49.2 thousand km
It's about about the smallest celestial body in the solar system, which is the most distant from the Sun. The diameter of the planet is only 3.5 times the size of the Earth. It is worth noting that Neptune is an ice giant, because the rays practically do not reach it. It is covered with ice floes and a cold cyclone of winds, the speed of which is simply amazing 600 m/s. Moreover, the planet is 17 times heavier than ours. It is almost impossible to reach the surface of Neptune due to supersonic winds that sweep away everything in its path. Therefore, the planet is less studied than the others.
12.7 thousand km
Ours is one of the largest planets in the solar system. The Earth is the third giant located from the Sun. Moreover, the celestial body is the only one where life has been discovered. Of course, the presence of life forms is due to its favorable location. Closer to Venus, water turns into steam, because it is very hot. A little further are observed strong winds and frosts. Close to 70% of the entire planet is covered by oceans. It is the earth’s atmosphere that protects us from meteorites that burn up in it. Well, one more fact: the moon is in the same conditions as the Earth, only there is no life on it.
12.1 thousand km
This planet is often called Earth’s sister, due to its similarity in size. In addition, celestial bodies have similar features in plan internal structure. However, Venus is closer to the sun and is smaller in diameter than our planet. Despite its similarity, Venus is not suitable for human life, because instead of oxygen there is carbon dioxide. There are many toxic clouds of chlorine and sulfur. The temperature is 475 degrees above zero. Another important factor is the pressure of 92 atmospheres.
The planet Jupiter was first seen 400 years ago. Then the first telescopes were just appearing, and through them it was possible to see this planet. The planet Jupiter captivates with its volume and 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 internal space and atmospheric layer. The air is filled with 90% hydrogen and 10% helium. The planet also contains methane, silicon and ammonia. Carbon, oxygen, neon, and phosphine are present in small quantities.
The interior of the planet contains 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 may be rocky.
The question of the core was raised 20 years ago. It was assumed that it could 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 35,700 degrees and about 4000 GPa, on the surface itself 67 degrees and 10 BAR.
There is a family of 67 moons near Jupiter. Galileo Galilei discovered 4 of the largest ones in the distant past. This:
- Io (active volcanoes);
- Europa (subsurface ocean);
- Ganymede (the largest satellite);
- 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 change of season 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 8th place;
- Mars – unlike Mercury, Mars is located in 4th place from the Sun. It is also rocky like Mercury. Earthly spacecraft have visited this planet many times. By the way, Mars rovers are currently working there. The average temperature on Mars is -153 degrees. This planet occupies 7th place;
- Venus is also called “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 6th place;
- Earth is located 3rd from the Sun. The only planet where life is in full swing. 70% of the planet is covered in water. This planet occupies 5th place;
- Neptune is the most distant of all the major planets. Neptune is 17 times heavier than Earth and has a larger diameter. In 1846, astronomers identified this planet, and then looked at it through a telescope. This planet occupies 4th place;
- Uranus is the 3rd planet of all the major ones. The average temperature is -220 degrees. It is named after an ancient Greek god, not a Roman one like most others. There are 27 satellites in its orbit. This planet occupies 3rd place;
- Saturn - this planet is also one of the largest. Saturn has the most a large number of satellites, about 62. This planet ranks 2nd;
- Jupiter is the largest planet in the solar system. Gas giant. The average temperature is about -140 degrees. Jupiter has many satellites that can be seen with any binoculars, the most popular being Europa, Io, Ganymede and Callisto.
Our Solar System is one of the components of the Galaxy. Here the Milky Way extends 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 the same level as other planets). However, each planet is different from the next. Among them there are small and truly huge, icy and 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. The 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 primarily of hydrogen. Its dimensions are 20 times greater than the size of the Earth. Researchers claim that the diameter of the discovered planet is almost 2 times (more precisely 1.7) larger than the diameter of Jupiter (this 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 immerse yourself in it. It is a mystery how the density of the substance that makes up this celestial body 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 that of the sun. At least its atmosphere is predominantly hydrogen.
However, under the atmosphere, the surface of Jupiter is covered with ocean. Only it does not consist of water, but of rarefied high pressure boiling hydrogen. Jupiter rotates very quickly, so fast that it elongates along its equator. Therefore, unusually strong winds form there. Appearance The planet is interesting because of this feature: in its atmosphere, the clouds lengthen and form varied and colorful ribbons. Vortexes appear in the clouds - atmospheric formations. The largest ones are already more than 300 years old. Among them is the Great Red Spot, which is many times more sizes Earth.
Earth's Big Brother
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 satellites. At least that much is open. Looking into the sky from Earth, the farthest one looks smaller than the Moon. But the largest satellite is Ganymede. However, astronomers are especially actively interested in Europe. It has a surface in the form of ice, and is also covered with stripes of cracks. Their origin still causes a lot of controversy. Some researchers believe that under balls of ice, where the water is not frozen, there may be primitive life. Few places in the solar system are worthy of 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 planets were formed from one gas and dust cloud. Jupiter accounts for 2/3 of the total mass of the planets in the solar system. And this is clearly not enough for thermonuclear reactions to occur in the center of the planet. Jupiter has its own heat source, which comes from energy from the compression and decay of matter. If heating came only from the Sun, then the top layer would have a temperature of about 100K. And judging by the measurements, it is equal to 140K.
It is worth noting that Jupiter's atmosphere consists of 11% helium and 89% hydrogen. This ratio makes it look like chemical composition Sun. The orange color is obtained due to compounds of sulfur and phosphorus. They are destructive for people, as they contain acetylene and poisonous ammonia.
Saturn
It is the next largest planet in the solar system. Through the telescope it is clearly visible that Saturn is more flattened than Jupiter. There are stripes on the surface parallel to the equator, but they are less distinct than those of the previous planet. The stripes show numerous and subtle details. 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. The equator diameter of Saturn is slightly smaller than Jupiter. However, it is three times less massive than the largest planet. In addition, Saturn has a low average density - 0.7 grams per square centimeter. This is because giant planets are made of helium and hydrogen. In the depths of Saturn, the pressure is not the same as on Jupiter. In this case, the surface temperature is close to the temperature at which methane melts.
Saturn has elongated dark stripes or belts along the equator, as well as light zones. These details are not as contrasting as those of Jupiter. And individual spots are not so frequent. Saturn has rings. Through the telescope, “ears” are visible 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 internal parts rotate faster than the external parts.
Saturn through a telescope
Saturn has 22 satellites. They have the names of ancient heroes, for example, Mimas, Enceladus, Pandora, Epimetheus, Tethys, Dione, Prometheus. The most interesting of them: Janus - it is the closest to the planet, Titan - the largest (the largest satellite in the Solar system in terms of mass and size).
Film about Saturn
All of the planet's satellites, with the exception of Phoebe, orbit 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 it is poorly lit. She quadrupled more than Earth by diameter. Some details on Uranus are difficult to distinguish due to their small angular dimensions. Uranus rotates around an axis, lying on its side. Uranus orbits the Sun every 84 years.
The polar day at the poles lasts 42 years, followed by night of the same duration. The composition of the planet is a small amount of methane and hydrogen. By indirect evidence there is helium. The planet's density is greater than that of Jupiter and Saturn.
Journey to the planets: Uranus and Neptune
Uranus has planetary narrow rings. They consist of individual 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 satellites. 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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A planet is a cosmic object that revolves around the Sun and forms the Solar System with the other planets. The term "planet" comes from the Greek word for "wanderer." Before the creation of telescopes, planets, like stars, were viewed as objects moving across the sky. Technological advances have helped scientists greatly increase their knowledge of the planets, thanks to spacecraft as well as improved observations from Earth. Our solar system contains eight known planets, although there were originally nine after Pluto was discovered in the 1930s. However, in 2006, astronomers adopted an official definition of the term “planet” that Pluto did not meet and was downgraded to dwarf planet status.
Largest planets in the solar system:
Jupiter
Jupiter is the largest among all the eight planets orbiting the Sun. Its radius is 69,911 km. Jupiter is so gigantic that the other seven planets could fit inside it. This is the fifth planet from the Sun, named after the king of the Roman gods. The planet's atmosphere consists of gases, mainly hydrogen and helium. The surface of Jupiter is an ocean of liquid hydrogen.
Jupiter has white, yellow, thick red and brown clouds. These clouds move at high speeds in the opposite direction as the planet rotates on its axis. The famous vortex - the Great Red Spot, moves parallel to the plane of the planet's equator at high speed, and is larger than the Earth.
Jupiter has the strongest magnetosphere of any planet, almost 20,000 times stronger than Earth's. The planet rotates around its axis in just 10 hours. Jupiter has three faint rings made up of dust particles that are the remains of comets and asteroids. The planet completely completes its orbit around the Sun once every 11.86 Earth years.
Saturn
The planet Saturn has a radius of 58,282 (excluding rings) km and is the second largest among the planets of the Solar System. It is the sixth planet and is easily visible to the naked eye from Earth. The discovery of Saturn is not credited to any one person. It was named after the ancient Roman god Saturn. The planet rotates around its axis in 10 hours and 34 minutes, and around the Sun in 29.4 Earth years. Saturn's atmosphere has three layers: the first layer consists mostly of ammonia ice, the second includes water ice, and a mixture of hydrogen and sulfur makes up most of the third layer.
Saturn is predominantly composed of hydrogen. It has thin and wide rings formed from ice particles and small particles of carbonaceous dust. These particles are believed to be remnants of asteroids, moons and comets destroyed near Saturn. The planet is located 1,424,600,000 km from the Sun. Saturn has 62 known moons and is the most oblate planet in the Solar System, largely due to its low density and rapid rotation rate.
Uranus
The discovery of the existence of the planet Uranus is attributed to the British astronomer William Herschel. This was an unprecedented discovery made on March 13, 1781. Uranus is in seventh position relative to distance from the Sun, preceding Neptune, and is also third in size with an average radius of 25,362 km. The name of the planet comes from the name of the ancient Greek deity of the sky - Ouranos. It takes Uranus 17 hours and 14 minutes to completely rotate around its axis, and about 84 Earth years to complete its orbit around the Sun. Uranus and Venus are the only planets of the eight known to move clockwise as they orbit the Sun. 80% of the planet consists of ice. Uranus has a pale blue color due to the presence of water, ammonia and methane ice in its outer atmosphere. Below the upper atmosphere there is a layer of hydrogen and helium. The planet contains a core of iron and magnesium silicate.
Neptune
Of all the known planets, Neptune is the most distant from the Sun. It was discovered on September 23, 1846 by Johann Gall. The discovery was facilitated by preliminary information from the French astronomer Urban Le Verrier and another independent British astronomer, John Cooch Adams. Neptune makes a complete revolution around the Sun once every 164.79 Earth years, has 14 satellites and five faint rings.
Neptune is a gas planet composed primarily of hydrogen, helium and methane. Methane in the atmosphere absorbs red light in significant quantities, so Neptune has Blue colour. The name of the planet comes from Roman mythology, where Neptune was the god of the seas. The core is mainly composed of rock. The planet is experiencing a massive storm called the Great Dark Spot. The climate on Neptune is very active with strong storms and winds swirling around the planet at high speeds. Only one spaceship Called Voyager 2, it approached Neptune in 1989.
Other planets and Pluto
The others in size are in the following order: Earth with a radius of 6,371 km, Venus with a radius of 6,052 km, Mars with a radius of 3,390 km and Mercury with a radius of 2,440 km. It is noteworthy that the list does not include Pluto, which recently ceased to be considered the ninth planet. A new definition of the term "planet" adopted by astronomers in 2006 led to the reclassification of Pluto into the group of dwarf planets.
Table ranking the sizes of planets in the solar system in decreasing order
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Space is fraught with many mysteries. With the naked eye, we can only see a tiny fraction of celestial objects, large and small. In addition to the Earth, other large cosmic bodies also revolve around the Sun. Some of them are much larger in size than our home planet. What are they, the largest planets in the solar system?
Diameter: 2,326 km
Opens a list of the largest planets in the Solar System. It is the second largest cosmic object after Pluto and the furthest dwarf planet from the Sun. Previously, Eris was called Xena. For some time it claimed to be the tenth planet in the solar system, but in 2006, along with Pluto, it was classified as a dwarf planet. For a long time It was believed that Eris was larger in size than Pluto, but recent studies made by the New Horizons spacecraft have proven that Pluto is still slightly larger than Eris.
The surface of this dwarf planet, like that of Pluto, consists of rocks, ice and methane snow.
Diameter: 2,326 km.
Diameter: 2,326 km
Until recently, it was one of the nine planets of the solar system. In 2006, after much debate, by decision of the International Astronomical Union, it was deprived of its status as an ordinary planet. Pluto is now considered the largest dwarf planet. It is one of the largest Kuiper Belt objects. Composed of ice and rock, Pluto is relatively small. For comparison: its volume is three times less than the volume of the Moon. The surface of this dwarf planet is icy desert, covered with many craters. Pluto has five moons: Kerberos, Styx, Hydra, Charon and Nix.
In 2006, automatic space station New Horizons, which aims to study Pluto and Charon. The device safely reached the planet's orbit and transmitted to Earth the collected data and photographs of Pluto and all its satellites.
Diameter: 2,372 km.
Diameter: 4879 km
It occupies eighth place in the ranking of the largest planets in the solar system. It is interesting because it is closest to the Sun, so the Mercury year lasts only 88 Earth days. At the same time, the length of a day on Mercury is 176 Earth days, and all due to the slow rotation of the planet around its axis.
The proximity to the Sun leads to the fact that on the side of the planet facing the sun the temperature reaches 349.9 °C.
The surface of Mercury is bleak - it is a lifeless desert, covered with craters of all sizes. The planet has no satellites.
Diameter: 4879 km.
Diameter: 6780 km
In 7th place on the list of the largest planets in the solar system is. This is one of the most studied planets by people - spacecraft from Earth have visited it more than 30 times. Mars is very interesting. The largest peak in the solar system is located here - Mount Olympus, whose height reaches 27 km. Mars has changing seasons, just like Earth, polar caps of frozen carbon dioxide and ice. A day here lasts 24 hours 40 minutes. Mars is one of the most suitable planets for colonization in the future.
Satellites of Mars: Deimos and Phobos.
Diameter: 6780 km.
Diameter: 12103 km
Continues the list of the largest planets in the Solar System. Named after the Roman goddess of love, Venus, the second planet from the Sun has several other poetic names: Evening Star and Morning Star. Venus is not much smaller than Earth. Although it belongs to the Earth-like planets, its conditions differ from those of Earth. The atmosphere on the planet consists mainly of carbon dioxide, and its surface is hidden by huge clouds of sulfuric acid. It is assumed that Venus is still experiencing active volcanic activity. The surface temperature is 460 °C.
Diameter: 12103 km.
Diameter: 12742 km
In 5th place on the list of the largest planets in the solar system is. This is one of the most unique planets in the observable universe, on which intelligent life has appeared. Most of the planet (about 70%) is covered with water. Due to its location and slight tilt of the axis of rotation, the planet created optimal conditions for the origin of life.
The Earth has one satellite - the Moon.
Diameter: 12742 km.
Diameter: 49224 km
One of the largest and most distant planets from the Sun in the Solar System. This is a huge gas giant, whose mass is 17 times that of Earth. The planet's atmosphere consists of helium and hydrogen. Neptune's core is solid, made of rocks and ice. The planet is interesting because incredible winds are constantly raging on its surface, the speed of which can reach 2100 km/h. Invisible to the naked eye, Neptune was discovered thanks to mathematical calculations.
Neptune is the third most massive planet in the solar system. The spacecraft visited it only once. It was Voyager 2, which flew close to the planet in 1989. It made it possible to obtain images of the most powerful cyclones and storms raging on the planet.
Neptune is surrounded by the most number of satellites - it has 14.
Diameter: 49224 km.
Diameter: 50724 km
The gas giant is a very interesting research object. It was visited only once by the Voyager 2 spacecraft, which transmitted images of Uranus to Earth. In the future, a full-scale study of the planet and its satellites is planned.
Uranus has a ring system and 27 moons ranging in size from 20 to 1500 km.
Diameter: 50724 km.
Diameter: 116464 km
It takes second place in the list of the largest planets in the solar system. Like Uranus and Neptune, it consists of a mixture of various gases that turn into a liquid state at depth. The mass of this gas giant is 95 times the mass of the Earth. Saturn is famous primarily for its rings and huge number of satellites. Today there are 62 of them. Titan, the largest of Saturn's moons, is larger than Mercury. Saturn is one of the most studied giant planets. It was visited by the Pioneer, Voyager and Cassini spacecraft.
Diameter: 116464 km.
Diameter: 139822 km
The gas giant, named after the supreme Roman deity, ranks first on the list of the largest planets in the Solar System. Its atmosphere consists of hydrogen, ammonia and methane. The mass of the giant is 2.5 times greater than the mass of all other planets in the solar system. Enormous storms and storms rage on the surface of Jupiter. One of them, the Great Red Spot, has been observed by scientists for several centuries. Jupiter has about 69 moons. The largest of them are Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto.
Diameter: 139822 km.
