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Modelling The Solar System

By: Gurkaranvir

Jovian Planets

Terrestrial Planets

Oort Cloud

Oort Cloud

The Sun

The Sun is the central star located within our solar system. All other planets orbit this star due its strong gravitational pull.

The Sun

The Sun

Scale & Size

Size and Scale:

  • The Sun is a star with a diameter of 1,392,784 km and a mass that 333,000 times larger than Earth fitting approximately 1.3 million Earths inside.

  • In spite of being the largest object within our solar system the Sun is only a medium-sized star.

  • Comparatively, Polaris, also known as the North Star, is around 50 times bigger than the Sun. Its mass is approximately 5.4 times bigger than the Sun's and its luminosity is 1260 times greater. Another visible star called Sirius A, aka the Dog Star is the brightest in the night sky. In reference to our Sun,this star has a mass double that of the sun and a luminosity that is 25x greater. Furthermore, our Sun's closest neighbouring star is Proxima Centauri, this star has one-eighth the mass of our Earth.

The Sun

Characteristics

Characteristics:

  • The Sun is classified as a G-type main sequence that is 4.6 billion years old which means it is half way through its life cycle.
  • The sun has a mass of 1.989 x 10^30 kg and a gravity of 274 m/s^2.
  • The Star has a volume of 1,412,000 x 10^12 km^3 and a density of 1408 kg/m^3.
  • It has a absolute magnitude of +4.83 and a apparent magnitude of -26.74.
  • The sun ejects streams of charged particles from its surface which are known as solar winds. These winds are a result of the Suns rotation and travel at approximately one million miles an hour.
  • On the inside of the Sun a process called nuclear fusion takes place releasing immense amounts of energy into space. It releases 3.846 × 10^26 Joules of energy every second.
  • The Sun has a surface temperature of 5605 degrees Celsius and an internal temperature of 15 million degrees Celsius at its core.
  • The Sun takes 24 days to make one full rotation.

An illustration of solar flares taking place

The Sun

Composition

  • The Sun is essentially a large blazing ball of gases in the form of plasma. Plasma is a state of matter that is similar to gas but has been ionized meaning that the particles have been stripped of their electrons.

  • The gas mixture that makes up the Sun consists of 73.42% hydrogen, 24.85% helium and other gases.

  • The Sun itself has six distinct regions: the core, the radiative zone, the convective zone, the photosphere, the chromosphere and the corona.

Composition

Suns layers

The Sun

Core and Radiative Zone:

  • The Sun's core typically maintains a temperature of 15 million degrees Celsius, which allows nuclear fusion to occur there. In the process known as nuclear fusion, hydrogen atoms accelerate and crash with one another, fusing (thus the name "fusion") and producing neutrinos and helium atoms. Huge amounts of energy are released throughout this process.

  • The radiative zone is the thickest region making up 70% of the Sun's radius. In this region a process called thermal radiation takes place. It is the process in which surrounding ions repeatedly absorb and emit photons that have been released by the core. This process can take a photon up to 200,000 years to complete.

The Core and Radiative Zone

The Sun

Convective Zone and Photosphere:

  • The convective zone is the region in which gasses are cooled and reheated through a process called thermal convection. This process is similar to how water is boiled, gasses boil away from the core through thermal columns and then directly fall back to be heated again.

  • The photosphere is the visible surface of the Sun, it is where sunspots, thermal columns, solar prominences and solar flares happen.

Convective Zone and Photosphere

The Sun

Chromosphere and Corona:

  • The chromosphere is a thin layer at the surface of the Sun. It is pinkish-red in colour and about 2000 km thick. It is the coolest in temperature closer to where it meets the photosphere and gets hotter as its altitude increases. It releases spicules which are similar to solar flares extending around 500 km out and lasting about 15 minutes before dissolving.

  • The corona is the outermost layer of the Sun's atmosphere and extends millions of kilometres into space. This is the region in which solar winds are formed.

Chromosphere

and

The Corona

Illustration of a Coronal Loop

Mercury

Location: Mercury is the first planet from the Sun. It is located between the Sun and Venus. Which is in the zone between the Sun and the Asteroid Belt.

Distance: The average distance between Mercury and the Sun is 57.91 million km away which converts to 0.4 AU away.

Significant Moons: Mercury does not have any moons due to the Suns strong gravitational pull.

Characteristics and Composition

Mercury

Characteristics

  • The diameter of Mercury is 4,879 km.
  • The Mass of Mercury is 0.330 x 10^24 kg. Which is approximately equal to 0.055 of Earths mass.
  • The density of Mercury is 5429 kg/m^3
  • Mercury is the second densest planet in the solar system.
  • Mercury’s gravity is 3.7 m/s^2.
  • Mercury’s average temperature is 167 degrees celsius which is approximately 440 K.
  • Mercury’satmosphere is made up of 3 layers including: the photosphere, the chromosphere and the corona.
  • Mercury has a very thin atmosphere and due to its close distance from the sun it is constantly burned away by solar winds.

Composition: Mercury is made up of a metallic core of iron, a rocky mantle and a thin crust.

Scale and Orbiting Characteristics

Convective Zone and Photosphere:

  • The convective zone is the region in which gasses are cooled and reheated through a process called thermal convection. This process is similar to how water is boiled, gasses boil away from the core through thermal columns and then directly fall back to be heated again.

  • The photosphere is the visible surface of the Sun, it is where sunspots, thermal columns, solar prominences and solar flares happen.

Mercury

Scale: Mercury is the smallest planet in the solar system. For reference it is a little more than one-third the width of Earth. Its volume is roughly 18x smaller than that of Earth, emplying that approximately 18 of the planet can fit inside Earth. The Sun is 277x larger than Mercury, which means that around 21 million of the planet can fit inside the Sun. On average the planet is 1 AU away from the Earth. Additionally, if you were to step on Mercury you would weigh approximately 38% less than you would on Earth.

Orbit Characteristics: Mercury has the fastest orbit out of all the planets in the solar system, with an orbital period of just 88 days, or nearly three months. It has an elliptical orbital plane with an eccentricity of 0.2056. The planet rotates counterclockwise with a period of 58.6 days. Mercury's axis of rotation is tilted 2 degrees, causing in a lack of distinct seasons.

Convective Zone and Photosphere:

  • The convective zone is the region in which gasses are cooled and reheated through a process called thermal convection. This process is similar to how water is boiled, gasses boil away from the core through thermal columns and then directly fall back to be heated again.

  • The photosphere is the visible surface of the Sun, it is where sunspots, thermal columns, solar prominences and solar flares happen.

Mercury

Scale: Mercury is the smallest planet in the solar system. For reference it is a little more than one-third the width of Earth. Its volume is roughly 18x smaller than that of Earth, emplying that approximately 18 of the planet can fit inside Earth. The Sun is 277x larger than Mercury, which means that around 21 million of the planet can fit inside the Sun. On average the planet is 1 AU away from the Earth. Additionally, if you were to step on Mercury you would weigh approximately 38% less than you would on Earth.

Orbit Characteristics: Mercury has the fastest orbit out of all the planets in the solar system, with an orbital period of just 88 days, or nearly three months. It has an elliptical orbital plane with an eccentricity of 0.2056. The planet rotates counterclockwise with a period of 58.6 days. Mercury's axis of rotation is tilted 2 degrees, causing in a virtually vertical rotation and a lack of distinct seasons.

Venus

Location: Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is located between mercury and Earth. Which is in the zone between the Sun and the Asteroid Belt.

Distance: The average distance between Venus and the Sun is 108.2 million km away which converts to 0.7 AU away.

Significant Moons: Venus does not have any moons due to the Suns strong gravitational pull.

Characteristics and Composition

Venus

Characteristics

  • The diameter of Venus is 12,104 km.
  • The Mass of Venus is 4.8673 x 10^24 kg.
  • The density of Venus is 5243 kg/m^3
  • Venus is the third densest planet in the solar system.
  • Venus’s gravity is 38.87 m/s^2.
  • Venus’s average temperature is 464 degrees celsius which is approximately 737 K.
  • Venus is the hottest planet in the solar system.
  • Venus’s atmosphere is made up of 96% carbon, 3.5% nitrogen and other gases.
  • Venus has a thick atmosphere and is the planet with the thickest atmosphere.

Composition: Venus is made up of a metallic core of iron and nickel, a rocky mantle with a crust made out of silicate rock

Venus

Characteristics

  • The diameter of Venus is 12,104 km.
  • The Mass of Venus is 4.8673 x 10^24 kg. Which is approximately equal to 0.055 of Earths mass.
  • The density of Venus is 5243 kg/m^3
  • Venus is the third densest planet in the solar system.
  • Venus’s gravity is 38.87 m/s^2.
  • Venus’s average temperature is 464 degrees celsius which is approximately 737 K.
  • Venus is the hottest planet in the solar system.
  • Venus’s atmosphere is made up of 96% carbon, 3.5% nitrogen and other gases.
  • Venus has a thick atmosphere and is the planet with the thickest atmosphere.

Composition: Venus is made up of a metallic core of iron and nickel, a rocky mantle with a crust made out of silicate rock

Scale and Orbiting Characteristics

Venus

Scale: For reference Venus is the second smallest planet in the solar system it is 1.1x smaller than our Earth. It is also 115x smaller than the Sun which means approximately 1.5 million of the planet can fit inside it. Additionally, Venus is only 0.72 AU away from Earth making it a close neighbor to our planet. Venus also has a lower gravity compared to Earth, you would weigh roughly 9% less on Venus than Earth.

Orbit Characteristics: Venus has an orbital period of 224.7 days which is approximately 7.5 months with an orbit that is more circular due to its eccentricity only being 0.007. The planet has a rotation period of 243 days and similarly to Uranus it rotates clockwise therefore classified as retrograde. Additionally, similar to Mercury the planet is only tiled 3 degrees. As a result the planet does not experience noticeable changes during the seasons.

Earth

Location: Earth is the third planet from the Sun. It is located between Venus and Mars. Which is in the zone between the Sun and the Asteroid Belt.

Distance: The average distance between Earth and the Sun is 149.6 million km away which converts to 1 AU away.

Characteristics and Composition

Earth

Characteristics

  • The diameter of Earth is 12,756 km.
  • The Mass of Earth is 5.97 x 10^24 kg.
  • The density of Earth is 5513 kg/m^3
  • Earth is the densest planet in the solar system.
  • Earth’s gravity is 9.8 m/s^2.
  • Earth’s average temperature is 15 degrees celsius which is approximately 288.15 K.
  • Earth’s atmosphere is made up of 78.08% nitrogen, 20.95% oxygen and other gases such as neon, argon, carbon dioxide.
  • 70% of the Earths surface is water and is the only planet in the solar system that is fit to support life.

Composition: Earth is made up of a metallic inner and outer core of iron, with a rocky mantle.

Scale and Orbiting Characteristics

Earth

Scale: For reference, Earth's mass is roughly 333,000 times smaller than the Sun so around 1.3 million Earths can fit inside the Sun. Furthermore, 11.2 Earths would be needed to make up the width of Jupiter. Earth is also the largest terrestrial planet.

Orbit Characteristics: With an orbital period of 365.2 days, the Earth takes a year to complete one orbit of the Sun. The Earth's orbit is also round because of its low eccentricity of 0.0167. The planet rotates counterclockwise and takes 23 hours and 56 minutes to complete one spin. Furthermore, the planet's seasonal cycle is greatly influenced by its axial tilt of 23.4 degrees.

The Moon

Earth has 1 moon which was first discovered as a natural satellite in 1610 by Galileo and was first explored by Neil Armstrong in 1969. Our Moon is the fifth largest moon in the solar system.

The Moon

Mars

Location: Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun. It is located between the Asteroid Belt and Earth. Which is in the zone between the Sun and the Asteroid Belt.

Distance: The average distance between Mars and the Sun is 249.2 million km away which converts to approximately 1.5 AU away.

Significant Moons: Mars has two moons Phobos and Deimos. Both moons are to small in size to have a gravity of their own due to this they are oddly shaped.

Characteristics and Composition

Mars

Characteristics

  • The diameter of Mars is 6,792 km.
  • The Mass of Mars is 0.642 x 10^24 kg.
  • The density of Mars is 3934 kg/m^3
  • Mars’s gravity is 3.711 m/s^2.
  • Mars’s average temperature is -63 degrees Celsius which is approximately 210.15 K.
  • Mars’s atmosphere is made up of 95.97% carbon, 1.93% argon, 1.89% nitrogen and other gases.
  • Mars receives its red colour from the iron oxide present in its atmosphere.
  • Its atmosphere is very thin which causes heat from the sun to escape easily causing fluctuations in temperature.
  • Mars as of today does not have a global magnetic field.

Composition: Mars is made up of a dense iron and nickel core which is surrounded by a silicate mantle.

Scale and Orbiting Characteristics

Mars

Scale: If Earth were the size of a nickel, Mars would be the size of a raspberry. Mars is roughly half the size of Earth. According to the mass of Mars compared to the Sun approximately 3.1m Mars can fit inside the Sun. Furthermore, your weight would be 38–40% less on Mars than it is on Earth.

Orbit Characteristics: Mars has an orbital period of 687 which amounts to nearly 2 years and a rotational period of 24.6 hours which is similar to Earth. The planet orbits the Sun in a counterclockwise direction and follows an elliptical yet round path due to its low eccentricity of 0.093. Furthermore, Mars is tilted 25 degrees which is similar to Earth but due to its elliptical orbit, it has longer but similar seasons to Earth.

Asteroid Belt

Location: The asteroid Belt is a region of space located between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. This region splits the Jovian planets and the Terrestrial planets. It is more broadly located within the inner solar system.

Distance: The Asteroid Belt is located between 2.2 AU to 3.2 AU away from the Sun.

Characteristics: Italian astronomer Giuseppe Piazzi made the initial discovery of the asteroid belt when he located the dwarf planet Ceres. Millions of asteroids, ranging in size from a few millimetres to boulders the size of the moon, are found inside the Asteroid Belt, which is a disc-shaped region of space. Additionally, Only asteroids that are more than 600 km in length have a strong enough gravitational pull to enable them to assume a spherical shape. The majority of asteroids in the Belt are too tiny to have a gravitational force, therefore, are irregularly shaped.

Composition and Orbiting Characteristics

Asteroid Belt

Composition:

There are three types of asteroids according to NASA, which are classified as C-type, S-type and M-type.

  • C-type (Chondrite): These are the most common asteroids and are dark in appearance. They are made of materials such as clay and silicate rocks.
  • S-type (“stony”): These asteroids are made up of silicate materials such as nickel-iron
  • M-type are metallic (nickel-iron): These asteroids' composition is directly attributed to their distance from the sun when being formed. Asteroids that experience higher temperatures start partially melting directly after their formation. this results in the iron sinking to the center and forces basaltic lava to the surface.

Orbiting Characteristics: Most of the asteroids that orbit the sun in the area between Mars and Jupiter follow an elliptical path in a similar direction as the planets and complete one full revolution around the sun in a period of three to six Earth years. Occasionally, some asteroids deviate from their orbit and head towards the inner solar system due to collisions with other asteroids or planets. Astronomers also suggest that Jupiter's strong gravitational force can deflect asteroids away from the inner solar system.

Jupiter

Location: Jupiter is the fifth planet away from our Sun. It is located between the Asteroid Belt and Saturn. Which is in the zone between the Asteroid Belt and the Kuiper Belt.

Distance: Jupiter is roughly 5.20 AU away from the Sun which roughly converts to 778.6 million km.

Significant Moons: Jupiter has 62 moons with the major ones being Europa, Io, Ganymede and Callisto. The largest moon

being Ganymede which is larger than both Pluto and

Mercury.

Characteristics and Composition

Jupiter

Characteristics

  • The diameter of Jupiter is 142,984 km.
  • The Mass of Jupiter is 1,898 x 10^24 kg. Making it the largest planet in our Solar System.
  • The density of Jupiter is 1,326 kg/m^3
  • Jupiter consists of a very dry and dense atmosphere which is made up of 90% hydrogen with the remaining 10% being helium with small amounts of other gases such as ammonia and methane.
  • Jupiter's gravity is 25.92 m/s^2.
  • Although Jupiter contains similar gases as the sun it does not generate enough heat to begin fusion. Which is the predominant process that keeps a star alive.
  • Jupiter's average temperature is -145 degrees Celsius which is approximately 128.15 K.

Composition: Astronomers theorize that the dense core must consist of a layer of metallic hydrogen surrounded by another layer of molecular hydrogen on top..

Scale and Orbiting Characteristics

Jupiter

Scale: For reference, Jupiter's mass is roughly 2.5 times larger than all the planets combined. Its diameter is 11.2 times larger than Earth and its radius is about a tenth of the Sun's. It's so large that around 1300 to 1400 Earth-sized planets can fit inside it. Furthermore, Jupiter has the strongest magnetic field of any planet within our Solar System.

Orbit Characteristics: Jupiter rotates counterclockwise and has the shortest day of any planet, lasting only 10 hours. Given that its eccentricity is only 0.048, it has an orbit that is circular and has an orbital period of around 4,331 Earth days. Additionally, the planet has a 3-degree mild tilt, which prevents seasonal fluctuations.

Saturn

Location: Saturn is the sixth planet away from our Sun. It is located between Jupiter and Uranus. Which is in the zone between the Kuiper Belt and the Asteroid Belt.

Distance: Saturn on average is 1433.5 million km away from our Sun which converts to approximately 9.5 AU away.

Significant Moons: In total Saturn has 69 moons with the main ones being Lapetus, Titan, Rhea, Dione, Tethys, Enceladus and Mimas.

Characteristics and Composition

Saturn

Characteristics

  • The diameter of Saturn is 120,536 km.
  • The Mass of Saturn is 568 x 10^24 kg.
  • The density of Saturn is 687 kg/m^3
  • Saturn's gravity is 11.19 m/s^2.
  • Saturn's average temperature is -178 degrees Celsius which is approximately 95.15 K.
  • Saturn's layered atmosphere is made up of 96.3% hydrogen and the remaining 3.25% helium and other gases.
  • Saturn has majestic rings surrounding the planet made out of rock and ice.

Composition:

  • Saturn's dense core is made of metals such as iron and nickel, which is enveloped by a layer of metallic hydrogen inside a layer of liquid hydrogen.
  • Saturn's outer layers are made up of hydrogen, helium and other gases.
  • Saturn's rings are made up of billions of particles ranging from grains of sand to big chunks of solid rock as well as water-ice particles.

Scale and Orbiting Characteristics

Saturn

Scale: For comparison, Saturn is 95 times as massive as Earth and has a diameter that is 9.5 times that of Earth. Saturn can roughly fit 764 Earths within it. As a gas giant, Saturn is eight times less dense than Earth and is regarded as the solar system's least dense planet. Despite its size, Saturn's gravity is also quite close to that of Earth; if you were to tread on Saturn, you would only weigh around 6.4% more than you would on Earth.

Orbit Characteristics: Saturn is the planet with the second-shortest day due to its 10.7 hour counterclockwise rotational cycle. It has an orbital period of 10,759 days which is approximately 29.5 years. Furthermore, the planet has an eccentricity of 0.054 and follows an elliptical path around the sun. Its axis is also tilted 26.73 degrees similar to Earth which means it has seasons that are comparable to Earth but differ in length.

Saturn

Scale: For comparison, Saturn is 95 times as massive as Earth and has a diameter that is 9.5 times that of Earth. Saturn can roughly fit 764 Earths within it. As a gas giant, Saturn is eight times less dense than Earth and is regarded as the solar system's least dense planet. Despite its size, Saturn's gravity is also quite close to that of Earth; if you were to tread on Saturn, you would only weigh around 6.4% more than you would on Earth.

Orbit Characteristics: Saturn is the planet with the second-shortest day due to its 10.7 hour counterclockwise rotational cycle. It has an orbital period of 10,759 days which is approximately 29.5 years. Furthermore, the planet has an eccentricity of 0.054 and follows an elliptical path around the sun. Its axis is also tilted 26.73 degrees similar to Earth which means it has seasons that are comparable to Earth but differ in length.

Uranus

Location: Uranus is the seventh planet from the sun. It is located between Saturn and Neptune which is between the Kuiper Belt and the Asteroid Belt.

Distance: On average Uranus is 2872.5 million km away from our Sun which converts to 19.8 AU away.

Significant Moons: Uranus has a total of 27 moons with the main ones being Miranda, Ariel, Umbrella, Titania and Oberon.

Characteristics and Composition

Uranus

Characteristics

  • Uranus has an unusual magnetosphere with its magnetic axis being tilted 60 degrees from the planet's axis of rotation. The poles are also shifted/offset from the center of the planet, it is offset by one-third of the planet's radius.
  • The diameter of Uranus is 51,118 km.
  • The Mass of Uranus is 86.8 x 10^24 kg.
  • The density of Uranus is 1270 kg/m^3
  • Uranus’s gravity is 9.01 m/s^2.
  • Uranus’s average temperature is -195 degrees Celsius which is approximately 78.15 K
  • Uranus’s atmosphere comprises 83% hydrogen, 15% helium, 2.3% methane and other gases.
  • Uranus receives its blue-green colour from the methane gas present within its atmosphere.
  • Winds on Uranus can reach up to 900 km an hour.

Composition: Uranus’s core is made up of a rocky core that is surrounded by a supercooled liquid water and ammonia mantle.

Scale and Orbiting Characteristics

Uranus

Scale: For reference, the volume of Uranus is 63 times more than that of Earth, meaning 63 Earths can fit within the planet. Its diameter is 4x wider than Earth's. Additionally, Uranus is 19.8 times farther from the Sun than Earth.

Orbit Characteristics: Uranus follows an elliptical orbit around the sun it has an eccentricity of 0.0472 and an orbital period of 30,589 days which approximates to 80.8 years. It has a rotational period of 17.2 hours with a clockwise rotation which classifies it as having a retrograde orbit. As a result of the planet's 97.77-degree tilt, Uranus' equator is also inclined at about 90 degrees. The planet has very harsh seasons as a result of its extreme tilt; for example, during one-fourth of the Uranian Year, the Sun shines on one pole, leading the other to experience a 21-year-long dark winter.

Neptune

Location: Neptune is the eighth planet away from the Sun. It is located between Uranus and the Kuiper Belt. Which is in the zone between the Kuiper Belt and the Asteroid Belt.

Distance: The average distance between Neptune and the Sun is 4495.1 million km away which converts to 30 AU.

Significant Moons: Neptune has a total of 14 moons with the main ones being Triton, Proteus and Nereid. Triton is Neptune's largest moon and is known as the only moon in the solar system that circles its planet in the opposite direction. Scientists classify it as having a retrograde orbit.

Characteristics and Composition

Neptune

Picture taken by Voyager

Characteristics

  • The diameter of Neptune is 49,528 km.
  • The Mass of Neptune is 102 x 10^24 kg.
  • The density of Neptune is 1638 kg/m^3
  • Neptune’s gravity is 11.27 m/s^2.
  • Neptune’s average temperature is -200 degrees Celsius which is approximately 73.15 K.
  • Neptune’s atmosphere comprises 80% hydrogen, 19% helium, 1.5% methane and other gases.
  • Neptune like Uranus receives its blue colour from the methane gas present within its atmosphere.
  • Neptune is the coldest and windiest planet in the solar system. Winds on the planet can reach up to 1800 km per hour.
  • Neptune has 5 main rings which are named Galle, Leverrier, Lassell, Arago, and Adams.

Composition: Neptune’s core is made up of a rocky core that is surrounded by a super-cooled liquid water and ammonia mantle.

Scale and Orbiting Characteristics

Neptune

Scale: In contrast, Neptune has a volume 57 times larger than Earth, meaning about 57 Earths could fit within the planet. It is 4 times wider than Earth and has a mass that is 17 times as great. Furthermore, Neptune’s distance from the Sun is 30 times that between the Earth and the Sun.

Orbit Characteristics: The orbit of Neptune is elliptical with an eccentricity of 0.0086 and a period of 59,800 Earth days, or 163 years. The planet rotates counterclockwise and takes 16.1 hours to complete one rotation. Its axis is also 28 degrees inclined similar to Earth, therefore it has seasons that are similar in appearance but differ in length. On Neptune, a season may extend upwards of 40 years.

Neptune

Scale: In contrast, Neptune has a volume 57 times larger than Earth, meaning about 57 Earths could fit within the planet. It is 4 times wider than Earth and has a mass that is 17 times as great. Furthermore, Neptune’s distance from the Sun is 30 times that between the Earth and the Sun.

Orbit Characteristics: The orbit of Neptune is elliptical with an eccentricity of 0.0086 and a period of 59,800 Earth days, or 163 years. The planet rotates counterclockwise and takes 16.1 hours to complete one rotation. Its axis is also 28 degrees inclined similar to Earth, therefore it has seasons that are similar in appearance but differ in length. On Neptune, a season may extend upwards of 40 years.

Kuiper Belt

Location: The Kuiper Belt is located beyond the orbit of Neptune and just before the Oort Cloud. It is the farthest confirmed region of space within our Solar System.

Distance: The Kuiper Belt begins at the orbits of Neptune and Uranus. It is located 30 to 50 AU away from the Sun.

Characteristics: The Kuiper Belt was suggested by various astronomers but was first written about by Gerard Kuiper in 1950. Another astronomer by the name of Kenneth Edgeworth also wrote papers about the existence of objects beyond Pluto in the 1940’s. The Kuiper Belt is also referred to as the Edgeworth-Kuiper Belt or the trans-Neptunian region. The existence of this region was confirmed in 1992. The region itself is a Flat Disc of spinning material which orbits the Sun but unlike other regions, it is too distant to be affected by solar winds. Temperatures in this region are extremely low dropping to the negatives due to its distance from the Sun. The Kuiper Belt is also the source of short-period comets such as Halleys Comet and the home of other KBOs, the largest being Pluto.

Composition and Orbiting Characteristics

Kuiper Belt

Composition: Composed of ice substances including water, nitrogen, ammonia, and methane, which typically group together to produce comets. Additionally, there are enormous ice bodies known as TNOs (trans-Neptunian objects) or KBOs (Kuiper Belt Objects) and SDOs (Scattered Disc Objects)

Orbiting Characteristics: Classic KBOs or TNOs orbit in a range from a circular to an elliptical pattern, following the plane of the planets. This is because they are gravitationally influenced by the sun. SDOs and short-term comets, on the other hand, are KBOs that are subject to the gravitational influence of Neptune. SDOs have an elliptical orbit as a result.

Oort Cloud

Oort Cloud

The Oort cloud is a theoretical region first theorized and named after the astronomer Jan Oort in 1950.

Location: The Oort cloud is a theorized region of space located on the far side of our solar system. It is thought to be the most distant zone from the Sun.

Distance: According to NASA, the innermost edge of the Oort cloud is between 2000 AU to 5000 AU from the sun. With the outermost layer being between 10,000 AU to 100,000 AU away from the Sun which is almost 2 LY. For reference, it would take NASA’s Voyager 1 spacecraft at its current speed of 1 million miles a day 300+ years to reach the inner Oort Cloud.

Oort Cloud

Characteristics &

Composition

Characteristics: The Oort Cloud is divided into two zones, with the Inner Oort Cloud being the nearest and the Outer Oort Cloud being the furthest. It is thought to encircle our whole solar system and be spherical. Its existence has not yet been established since it is too far away to be influenced by solar winds or studied. It is hypothesized that the Belt itself contains planetesimals, which are leftovers from the formation of our Sun. Additionally, the Belt was initially proposed to explain comets' paths. Long-period comets are those that approach the sun and remain in orbit for tens of thousands of years.

Composition: It is composed of various icy substances including water, methane, ethane, carbon monoxide, hydrogen cyanide and ammonia as well as other rocky materials which all act as time capsules from when the solar system was formed. The objects within the cloud are better known as TNOs (Trans Neptunian Objects) or Oort cloud bodies.

Oort Cloud

Orbiting Characteristics: According to NASA, the Oort Cloud does not necessarily share the same orbital plane as other bodies in the solar system. Instead, it can travel in various directions and inclinations around the sun. Furthermore, due to its immense distance, the Sun has minimal gravitational influence on the orbit of the Cloud. Additionally, the cloud is thought to be the origin of long-period comets, these comets approach the Sun from the Cloud and then get shot back towards the cloud due to the Sun's gravitational force.

Orbiting Characteristics

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