Jupiter also has over 60 moons, including the four large moons called the Galilean moons that were first discovered by Galileo Galilei in They are Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto. The average distance from Jupiter to the Sun is about 5. Saturn is the second largest planet in the Solar System. Saturn is probably best known for its system of planetary rings, which makes it the most visually remarkable object in the solar system.
The rings are made mostly of ice particles with a smaller amount of rocky debris and dust. The diameter of the rings are over ,km but the thickness is just few hundreds meters. Saturn has a large number of moons. There are sixty known satellites and the number is constantly being corrected with improvements in telescope capabilities. Titan is Saturn's largest moon with a diameter of km. The average distance between Saturn and the Sun is 9.
Uranus is the third largest planet in the Solar System. Jupiter and Saturn are composed only from hydrogen and helium. Uranus was never recognized as a planet by ancient observers although it was observed much earlier than other Solar System planets but was misclassified as a star.
Uranus has a weak planetary ring system and the rings are composed of extremely dark particles, which vary in size and can be up to 10 meters large. Uranus has 27 known natural satellites. When you are signed in, you can take quizzes, earn badges, and work your way toward becoming a certified Big Historian!
By signing up, I agree to the Terms and Conditions. This site is intended for use by users 13 and older. Users under 13 should not create an account. Chapter 1 The Universe. Chapter 3 Life. Chapter 4 Humans. Chapter 2 Our Solar System and Earth. Chapter at a Glance. Tasty morsels of gas and rock Those chemically rich leftovers orbiting our young Sun were stewing with all the ingredients to form the planets in our Solar System.
Activity The lifecycle of our Sun. See how our Sun and stars will evolve Stellar Nursery. Heating Up. Shining Bright. Gradually Increasing. Red Giant. Planetary Nebula. White Dwarf. Pyle SSC. How Did the Planets Form? The cosmic creation of our Solar System.
Letting the Sun take center stage It took billions of years for the Earth to form and settle into orbit around the Sun. Ptolemy about 85— Claudius Ptolemy's theory extended the cosmological theories of Aristotle. Copernicus — A Catholic, Polish astronomer, Nicolaus Copernicus, synthesized observational data to formulate a Sun-centered cosmology, launching modern astronomy and setting off a scientific revolution.
Galileo — Galileo Galilei, an Italian Renaissance man, used a telescope of his own invention to collect evidence that supported the Sun-centered model of the Solar System. Sir Isaac Newton — By combining physics, mathematics, and astronomy, Newton developed the three basic laws of motion and the theory of universal gravity. Henrietta Leavitt — By measuring the amount of time between the fluctuating brightness levels of variable stars, Leavitt discovered that it would be possible to estimate their distance away from the Earth, and possible to map the Universe.
Edwin Hubble — Hubble drew upon existing ideas and evidence to demonstrate that the Universe was much larger than previously thought and proved that it is expanding — laying the foundations for the Big Bang theory.
Touching the edge of the Universe In the scale of the Universe, light would take eight minutes to reach the Sun. Naming the biosphere Combining "bio," meaning life, and "sphere," referencing the Earth's rounded surface, English-Austrian Geologist Eduard Suess coins the term that expressed the portion of the Earth that supports life. Meet the young Earth.
Activity Goldilocks Conditions. So, yes, way too hot. Why we're all Lava Surfers Journey with our Big Historian team on assignment in Iceland, a land of fire and ice, as they walk upon the spot the North American and Eurasian plates collide. Courtesy of Princeton University Archives. New emerging stars Incorrect, Try again Concentrations of matter Incorrect, Try again Large differences in pressure and temperature Correct Which process best describes how new planets are planets?
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Welcome to big history! The final step from the Sun's surface to Earth, however, takes only eight minutes. Evolution The Sun has been shining for about 5 billion years. Considerable hydrogen has already been converted to helium in the core. The Sun becomes 10 percent brighter every billion years and it must now be at least 40 percent brighter than at the time of formation of the Solar System. The increase in solar brightness can be expected to continue as the hydrogen in the core is consumed and the region of nuclear burning moves outward from the core.
The evolution of the Sun should follow the same path as most stars. As the core hydrogen is used up, the nuclear burning will take place in a growing region surrounding the old exhausted core.
The star will continue to grow brighter, and when the burning approaches the surface, the Sun will become a red giant. At that point only the lightest elements existed, such as hydrogen, helium and minuscule amounts of lithium. Elements are matter that cannot be broken down into simpler substances.
On the periodic table, each element is distinguished by its atomic number, which describes the number of protons in the nuclei of its atoms. The first generation of stars formed as lumps of gas drew together and eventually began to combust.
This would cause a nuclear reaction in the centre of a star. The first stars burned their fuel quickly and were able to make only a few elements heavier than hydrogen and helium. When those stars went supernova and expelled the elements they had produced, they seeded the next generation of stars. Scientists can tell the temperature and age of stars from their colour. Hotter stars burn blue, while cooler and older stars burn red.
The next generation of seeded stars were then able to produce other, heavier kinds of elements such as carbon, magnesium and nearly every element in the periodic table. Any element in your body that is heavier than iron has travelled through at least one supernova. The burning that takes place inside stars draws on a huge amount of fuel and creates an enormous amount of energy.
Meanwhile, the burning inside a star creates energy which counteracts the squeeze of gravity which is why our sun is stable. About 2, massive stars in the centre of 30 Doradus produce intense radiation and powerful 'winds' of ejected material.
X-rays are shown in blue, produced by superheated gases, resulting from supernova explosions and stellar winds. The multimillion-degree gas carves out giant bubbles in surrounding cooler gas and dust.
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