Our Solar System
We live on the planet Earth. Our planet is one of the
nine planets that revolve periodically around the Sun. The nine planets and the
sun make up what we know as our Solar System. Nearest to the Sun is the planet
Mercury. Mercury is a tiny planet that is hardly visible to the naked eye.
Further out is Venus, sometimes called the Morning
Star or the Evening Star. It is thus called because it is frequently seen in
the morning or evening as a very bright object in the sky. Next comes Earth.
Earth is the only planet in the entire Solar System known to support life. Why
is this so no one really knows. The fourth planet from the Sun is Mars. This planet is
sometimes visible as a reddish object in the night sky. Viewed through a
powerful telescope one may even see some details on the planet’s surface.
After Mars comes the giant planet Jupiter. It is the
largest planet in the Solar System. There are a number of moons orbiting Jupiter.
They can be seen through a telescope. Also the surface of Jupiter shows a
variety of patterns of which a huge red spot is plainly visible. The red spot
is said to be many times the size of Earth.
Between Jupiter and Mars there exist many small objects
called asteroids. They are not normally visible but scientist have confirmed
they exist. Next, come the beautiful Saturn. It is quite a sight to view Saturn
through a telescope and see distinctly the multicoloured rings it is so famous
for. Saturn is not as big as Jupiter but it is bigger than the other planets.
Further out we have Neptune, Uranus, Pluto. Pluto is
the smallest of the planets and can hardly be seen even with a powerful
telescope. Millions of miles separate the planets from one another. Thus, it is
only recently that man could visit our neighbouring planets.
If we look at the night sky we see literally millions
of stars. Our Sun is merely a star too. So could it be that there are other
solat systems too? Perhaps each star has its own solar system. We do not know.
One day when we are able to, we may find out.
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