OPEN-SITES Info



 



Top: Science: Astronomy: Solar System:

[ history ]

Overview

The Solar System is a collection of the Sun and its orbiting planets, moons, asteroids, comets, and perhaps undiscovered types of bodies. It is located about half-way along the Orion Arm of the Milky Way Galaxy, and is about 26,000 light years from the Milky Way's Galactic Center. It takes approximately 226 million years for the Solar System to orbit completely around the Galactic Center.

In its present form, the Solar System is about five billion years old. This is one-fourth to one-half the currently estimated age of the Universe itself.

The origin of the Solar System has always been a puzzle, but astronomers are learning more with time. In the 1700s, Laplace proposed his Nebular Hypothesis. This hypothesis stated that the Sun and planets were the condensed remains of an earlier lens-shaped nebula. In 1770, Buffon proposed his Catastrophic Hypothesis. This hypothesis stated that some large body had collided with the Sun, sending forth the planet masses as a result. Around 1900, Chamberlain and Moulton proposed their Planetesimal Theory. This conjectured that a second Sun passed close to our own, and its gravitational attraction caused our Sun to spew out great masses that condensed and became planets as they cooled. Currently, Steven Hawking believes that our Sun is a second- or third-generation sun. He conjectures that an earlier sun had to form, go through nuclear fusion to produce the heavier elements of the planets and other bodies, collapse, and explode as a supernova to give birth to the present Sun and other Solar System objects.

During Europe's Middle Ages, astronomers followed Ptolemy's hypothesis that the Earth was the center of the Solar System. In the late 1500s, Nikolaus Copernicus found that planetary orbits could be predicted by assuming that the planets revolved in circular orbits around the Sun. This was contrary to the time-honored belief that all planets and the Sun revolved around the Earth. In the early 1600s, Johannes Kepler found with careful telescope measurements that planetary orbits were not perfect circles, but were better described as elliptical orbits with the Sun at one focus.

In the late 1600s, Sir Isaac Newton demonstrated that planets, the Sun, and other bodies revolve around each other by mutual gravitational attraction. He also showed how objects revolve around their mutual center of gravity, which is closest to the largest of all rotating objects. He was able to use his new theory of gravitation to show how the planets naturally followed elliptical orbits around the Sun, as shown by Kepler.

The Solar System's center of gravity is known as the Solar System Barycenter. The Sun, being by far the most massive object in the Solar System, is always very near the Barycenter.


[ history ]

based

1. http://www.windows.ucar.edu Windows on the Universe


> addthis_url = location.href; addthis_title = document.title; addthis_pub = 'opensite'; src="http://s7.addthis.com/js/addthis_widget.php?v=12" >



 

oSlar_Syste , Sloar Syste , Soalr Syste , Solra Syste , Sola rSyste , SolarS yste , Solar ySste , Solar Ssyte , Solar Sytse , Solar Syset , olar Syste , aolar Syste , bolar Syste , colar Syste , olar Syste , [olar Syste , dolar Syste , eolar Syste , folar Syste , 1olar Syste , golar Syste , 2olar Syste , holar Syste , 3olar Syste , iolar Syste , 4olar Syste , jolar Syste , 5olar Syste , kolar Syste , 6olar Syste , lolar Syste , 7olar Syste , molar Syste , 8olar Syste , nolar Syste , 9olar Syste , oolar Syste , polar Syste , rolar Syste , solar Syste , xolar Syste , ,olar Syste , ;olar Syste , tolar Syste , uolar Syste , volar Syste , yolar Syste , zolar Syste , Slar Syste , Salar Syste , Sblar Syste , Sclar Syste , S lar Syste , S[lar Syste , Sdlar Syste , Selar Syste , Sflar Syste , S1lar Syste , Sglar Syste , S2lar Syste , Shlar Syste , S3lar Syste , Silar Syste , S4lar Syste , Sjlar Syste , S5lar Syste , Sklar Syste , S6lar Syste , Sllar Syste , S7lar Syste , Smlar Syste , S8lar Syste , Snlar Syste , S9lar Syste , Solar Syste , Splar Syste , Srlar Syste , Sslar Syste , Sxlar Syste , S,lar Syste , S;lar Syste , Stlar Syste , Sular Syste , Svlar Syste , Sylar Syste , Szlar Syste , Soar Syste , Soaar Syste , Sobar Syste , Socar Syste , So ar Syste , So[ar Syste , Sodar Syste , Soear Syste , Sofar Syste , So1ar Syste , Sogar Syste , So2ar Syste , Sohar Syste , So3ar Syste , Soiar Syste , So4ar Syste , Sojar Syste , So5ar Syste , Sokar Syste , So6ar Syste , Solar Syste , So7ar Syste , Somar Syste , So8ar Syste , Sonar Syste , So9ar Syste , Sooar Syste , Sopar Syste , Sorar Syste , Sosar Syste , Soxar Syste , So,ar Syste , So;ar Syste , Sotar Syste , Souar Syste , Sovar Syste , Soyar Syste , Sozar Syste , Solr Syste , Solar Syste , Solbr Syste , Solcr Syste , Sol r Syste , Sol[r Syste , Soldr Syste , Soler Syste , Solfr Syste , Sol1r Syste , Solgr Syste , Sol2r Syste , Solhr Syste , Sol3r Syste , Solir Syste , Sol4r Syste , Soljr Syste , Sol5r Syste , Solkr Syste , Sol6r Syste , Sollr Syste , Sol7r Syste , Solmr Syste , Sol8r Syste , Solnr Syste , Sol9r Syste , Solor Syste , Solpr Syste , Solrr Syste , Solsr Syste , Solxr Syste , Sol,r Syste , Sol;r Syste , Soltr Syste , Solur Syste , Solvr Syste , Solyr Syste , Solzr Syste , Sola Syste , Solaa Syste , Solab Syste , Solac Syste , Sola Syste , Sola[ Syste , Solad Syste , Solae Syste , Solaf Syste , Sola1 Syste , Solag Syste , Sola2 Syste , Solah Syste , Sola3 Syste , Solai Syste , Sola4 Syste , Solaj Syste , Sola5 Syste , Solak Syste , Sola6 Syste , Solal Syste , Sola7 Syste , Solam Syste , Sola8 Syste , Solan Syste , Sola9 Syste , Solao Syste , Solap Syste , Solar Syste , Solas Syste , Solax Syste , Sola, Syste , Sola; Syste , Solat Syste , Solau Syste , Solav Syste , Solay Syste , Solaz Syste , SolarSyste , SolaraSyste , SolarbSyste , SolarcSyste , Solar Syste , Solar[Syste , SolardSyste , SolareSyste , SolarfSyste , Solar1Syste , SolargSyste , Solar2Syste , SolarhSyste , Solar3Syste , SolariSyste , Solar4Syste , SolarjSyste , Solar5Syste , SolarkSyste , Solar6Syste , SolarlSyste , Solar7Syste , SolarmSyste , Solar8Syste , SolarnSyste , Solar9Syste , SolaroSyste , SolarpSyste , SolarrSyste , SolarsSyste , SolarxSyste , Solar,Syste , Solar;Syste , SolartSyste , SolaruSyste , SolarvSyste , SolarySyste , SolarzSyste , Solar yste , Solar ayste , Solar byste , Solar cyste , Solar yste , Solar [yste , Solar dyste , Solar eyste , Solar fyste , Solar 1yste , Solar gyste , Solar 2yste , Solar hyste , Solar 3yste , Solar iyste , Solar 4yste , Solar jyste , Solar 5yste , Solar kyste , Solar 6yste , Solar lyste , Solar 7yste , Solar myste , Solar 8yste , Solar nyste , Solar 9yste , Solar oyste , Solar pyste , Solar ryste , Solar syste , Solar xyste , Solar ,yste , Solar ;yste , Solar tyste , Solar uyste , Solar vyste , Solar yyste , Solar zyste , Solar Sste , Solar Saste , Solar Sbste , Solar Scste , Solar S ste , Solar S[ste , Solar Sdste , Solar Seste , Solar Sfste , Solar S1ste , Solar Sgste , Solar S2ste , Solar Shste , Solar S3ste , Solar Siste , Solar S4ste , Solar Sjste , Solar S5ste , Solar Skste , Solar S6ste , Solar Slste , Solar S7ste , Solar Smste , Solar S8ste , Solar Snste , Solar S9ste , Solar Soste , Solar Spste , Solar Srste , Solar Ssste , Solar Sxste , Solar S,ste , Solar S;ste , Solar Stste , Solar Suste , Solar Svste , Solar Syste , Solar Szste , Solar Syte , Solar Syate , Solar Sybte , Solar Sycte , Solar Sy te , Solar Sy[te , Solar Sydte , Solar Syete , Solar Syfte , Solar Sy1te , Solar Sygte , Solar Sy2te , Solar Syhte , Solar Sy3te , Solar Syite , Solar Sy4te , Solar Syjte , Solar Sy5te , Solar Sykte , Solar Sy6te , Solar Sylte , Solar Sy7te , Solar Symte , Solar Sy8te , Solar Synte , Solar Sy9te , Solar Syote , Solar Sypte , Solar Syrte , Solar Syste , Solar Syxte , Solar Sy,te , Solar Sy;te , Solar Sytte , Solar Syute , Solar Syvte , Solar Syyte , Solar Syzte , Solar Syse , Solar Sysae , Solar Sysbe , Solar Sysce , Solar Sys e , Solar Sys[e , Solar Sysde , Solar Sysee , Solar Sysfe , Solar Sys1e , Solar Sysge , Solar Sys2e , Solar Syshe , Solar Sys3e , Solar Sysie , Solar Sys4e , Solar Sysje , Solar Sys5e , Solar Syske , Solar Sys6e , Solar Sysle , Solar Sys7e , Solar Sysme , Solar Sys8e , Solar Sysne , Solar Sys9e , Solar Sysoe , Solar Syspe , Solar Sysre , Solar Sysse , Solar Sysxe , Solar Sys,e , Solar Sys;e , Solar Syste , Solar Sysue , Solar Sysve , Solar Sysye , Solar Sysze , Solar Syst , Solar Systa , Solar Systb , Solar Systc , Solar Syst , Solar Syst[ , Solar Systd , Solar Syste , Solar Systf , Solar Syst1 , Solar Systg , Solar Syst2 , Solar Systh , Solar Syst3 , Solar Systi , Solar Syst4 , Solar Systj , Solar Syst5 , Solar Systk , Solar Syst6 , Solar Systl , Solar Syst7 , Solar Systm , Solar Syst8 , Solar Systn , Solar Syst9 , Solar Systo , Solar Systp , Solar Systr , Solar Systs , Solar Systx , Solar Syst, , Solar Syst; , Solar Systt , Solar Systu , Solar Systv , Solar Systy , Solar Systz ,