MORE THAN JUST THE NO.1 TOP 10 IN THE SOLAR SYSTEM

MORE THAN JUST THE NO.1TOP 10 IN THE SOLAR SYSTEM

SOLAR SYSTEM

THE SOLAR SYSTEM,WHICH IS MORE THAN 12 BILLION KM (7.5 BILLION MILES) ACROSS, CONSISTS OF NINEPLANETS; 61 KNOWN MOONS;VAST NUMBERS OF COMETS,ASTEROIDS, AND METEOROIDS; AND INTERPLANETARY GASAND DUST.LATEST THEORIES SUGGEST THAT THE SOLARSYSTEM BEGAN 4.6 BILLION YEARS AGO AS A SPINNINGCLOUD OF GAS AND DUST THAT CONDENSED TO CREATE THE SUN.THE ROCKY PLANETS(MERCURY,VENUS,EARTH,AND MARS)FORMED FROM LEFTOVER MATERIAL NEAREST THE SUN,WHILE IN THE COLDER OUTER RACHES, THE GAS GAINTS(JUPITER,SATURN,URANUS,AND NEPTUNE) DEVELOPED FROMICE,GAS AND DUST. THE SMALLEST PLANET-PLUTO- IS NEITHER GAS GIANT NOR ROCKY PLANET; IT IS COMPOSEDOF ROCK AND ICE.THE PLANETS ALL ORBIT THE SUN, FOLLOWING ELLIPTICAL PATHS THAT ARE ON ROUGHLY THE SAME PLANE.PLUTO’SORBIT IS NOT ONLY THE MOST ECCENTRIC (ELONGATED),BUT ALSO THE MOST TILTED (17DEGREE).  

      
T0P 10 LARGEST PLANETARY MOONS

1    MOON / PLANET / DIAMETER (KM/MILES)1 GANYMEDE / JUPITER (5,262.4 /      3,269.9)DISCOVERED BY GALILEO IN 1610,GANYMEDE IS THOUGHT TO HAVE A  

SURFACEOF ICE ABOUT 97 KM (60 MILES) THICK.

2    TITAN / SATURN (95,150.0 / 3,200.1TITAN HAS A DENSE ATMOSPHERECONTAINING NITROGEN, ETHANE ANDOTHER GASES THAT SHROUD ITS SURFACE.

3   CALLISTO / JUPITER (4,820.6 / 2,9995.4)CALLISTO IS HEAVILY PITTED WITH CREATERS,PERHAPS MORE SO THAN ANY OTHER BODYIN THE SOLAR SYSTEM.

4   IO / JUPITER (3,642.6 / 2,263.40IO HAS A CRUST OF SOLID SULPHER, WITHMASSIVE VOLCANIC ERUPTIONS HURLINGSULPHUROUS MATERIAL 300 KM (186 MILES)INTO SPACE.

5   MOON / EARTH (3,476.2 / 2, 160.0)OUR OWN SATELLITE IS THE FIFTH LARGEST INTHE SOLAR SYSTEM AND, TO DATE, THE ONLY ONE TO HAVE BEEN EXPLORED BY HUMANS.

6   EUROPA / JUPITER (3,121.6 / 1,939.7 )EUROPA’S ICE-COVERED SURFACE IS APPARENTLYSMOOTH AND CRATER-FREE BUT IS COVEREDWITH BLAK LINES.

7   TRITON / NEPTUNE (2,706.8 / 1,681.9)TRITON IS THE ONLY KNOWS SATELLITE IN THESOLAR SYSTEM THAT REVOLVES AROUND ITS PLANET IN THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION TO THEPLANET’S ROTATION.

8   TITANIA / URANUS (1,577.8 / 980.4 )TITANIA WAS DISCOVERED BY WILLIAM HERSCHEL(WHO HAD DISCOVERED THE PLANET SIX YEAR EARLIER) IN 1787, AND HAS A SNOWBALL-LIKE SURFACE OF ICE. 9 RHEA / SATURN (1,528.0 / 947.6)RHEA WAS DISCOVERED IN 1672 BY THEASTRONOMER JEAN-DOMINIQUE CASSINI.ITS ICY SURFACE IS PITTED WITH ENORMOUS CRATERS

10  OBERON / URANUS (1,522.8 / 946.2)OBERON WAS DISCOVERED BY HERSCHEL AT THE SAME TIME AS TITANIA AND GIVEN THE NAME OF HER FAIRY-KING HUSBAND.