The solar system consists of the sun, the nearest star to us, and the planets Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto, as well as numerous comets, asteroids, meteoroids, and the interplanetary medium. The nine planets, along with their satellites, revolve around the sun in definite orbits. The planets and the satellites are said to be the members of the solar family or the solar system.
It is believed that the sun, the center-piece of the solar system, was born five billion years ago, emitting heat and light non-stop, and it is expected to do so for the next five billion years. The sun is the richest repository of electromagnetic energy, in the form of heat and light. The sun contains 99.85 per cent of all the matter in the solar system. The planets, which were condensed out of the same disk of material that formed the sun, contain only 0.135 per cent of the mass of the solar system.
The four innermost planets x96 Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars x96 are called terrestrial planets. They all have compact, rocky surfaces like the Earth’s. Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune are known as the Jovian (Jupiter-like) planets on account of their gigantic sizes.
By volume, nearly all the solar system appears to be an empty void. However, this ‘vacuum of space’ encompasses the interplanetary medium containing various forms of energy, dust, and gas. The flow of gas and charged particles called plasma, mostly protons and electrons, is known as the solar wind. Its speed is about 250 miles (400 kilometers) per second in the vicinity of the Earth’s orbit.
The whole solar system, together with the stars visible on a clear night, orbits the center of our home galaxy called the Milky Way, which is a spiral disk of 200 billion stars.
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Solar System Models
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Solar system models tell the story of the system, whose bodies have orbited continuously around the sun since their coming into being. Various models explain how the system has evolved and how it might end billions of years from now. The birth of the sun...
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Solar System Projects
10 August 2010 8:30 PM |
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The sun-centered solar system, whose sharp and vivid images have been provided by various space missions, has created daunting challenges for students, teachers, educators, and researchers in drawing up major solar system projects. The main missions that provided the latest information about the solar system...
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Solar System Pictures
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In his quest for more information, Man has gone far and wide in his explorations. NASA and various such aerospace researchers have shared the breathtaking ‘out-ofx96thex96world’ pictures with all and sundry. Various space missions, coupled with advancements in satellite photography, have contributed to this achievement...
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Free Solar Panels
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Solar power is simply the conversion of light energy into electrical energy using devices attached with special materials like silicon. Man has been late in harnessing the light energy from the radiant sun, a repository of unfathomable power. But nature has been using it for...
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Solar Lighting
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Electric power obtained by conventional methods requires a substantial amount of fossil fuels. Solar energy is comparatively a newer and multifaceted concept in energy acquisition. Solar energy is limitless and could be an uncomplicated, inexpensive, and beneficial method to save rapidly exhausting natural resources. It...
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An Introduction To Solar Energy Panels
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Solar energy panels are photovoltaic (PV) devices to produce power from sunlight, the ultimate source of energy. Solar energy is harnessed using photovoltaic cells. Groups of photovoltaic cells are known as solar modules. There are a range of products using single crystal solar cells producing...
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Solar Panels
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Solar panels are devices used for harnessing the vast reservoir of power embedded in sunlight, a non-conventional energy source. On a bright day, it is calculated that the sun emits about one kilowatt of energy to a square meter of the Earth’s surface. Only a...
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Solar Outdoor Lighting
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Tapping the limitless solar energy is a simple, economical and a profitable way to save depleting natural resources. Solar energy, a relatively new multifaceted concept in energy harnessing, provides us with low cost alternative to traditional lighting systems. The energy of the sun is stored...
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Home Solar Panels
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Home solar panels are devices consisting of photovoltaic (PV) cells or modules that convert sunlight directly into electricity and these can power home and consumer products. PV modules are clusters of PV cells, electrically connected and made into one frame. Initially, PV panels were used...
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Sun Powered Heat Pumps
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Solar energy is fast becoming an alternative source of energy, and companies in the US are innovating solar-electric heat pump systems for residential and light-commercial space heating and cooling, and water heating. Solar-powered heat pumps can not only cool and heat residential spaces, and heat...