It is the largest planet in our solar system. The largest planet in the universe

The term "Universe" refers to a space that has no boundaries and is filled with galaxies, pulsars, quasars, black holes and matter. Galaxies, in turn, are made up of clusters of stars and star systems.

For example, the Milky Way includes 200 billion stars, among which the Sun is far from the largest and brightest. And our solar system, which includes the Earth and other planets, is certainly not the only one in the Universe. The largest and smallest planets of the solar system and the universe as a whole will be discussed below.

The largest planet in the solar system

Jupiter is the 5th largest planet in the solar system. The radius of the planet is 69,911 km.

• Jupiter is a "shield" for the Earth, blocking the path of comets and other celestial bodies due to its gravity.
• Jupiter's core temperature is 20,000 °C.
• There are no solid places on the surface of Jupiter; instead, a boiling hydrogen ocean rages.
• The mass of Jupiter is 2.5 times the total mass of the other planets in the solar system and is 1.8986 * 10²⁷ kg.

• Jupiter has the largest number of satellites in the solar system - 63 objects. And on Europa (a moon of Jupiter) there is supposedly water under the ice deposits.
• The Great Red Spot is an atmospheric vortex on Jupiter that has not subsided for 300 years. Its dimensions are gradually decreasing, but even 100 years ago, the volumes of the vortex were compared with the volume of the Earth.
• A day on Jupiter is only 10 Earth hours, and a year is 12 Earth years.

The smallest planet in the solar system

Not so long ago, this title passed to the planet Mercury from Pluto, which was previously included in the solar system as a planet, but since August 2006 it has not been considered as such.

Mercury is the closest planet to the Sun. Its radius is 2,439.7 km.

• Mercury is the only planet that does not have natural satellites.
• A day on Mercury is equivalent to 176 Earth days.
• The first mention of Mercury was recorded 3,000 years ago.

• The temperature range on Mercury is impressive: at night, the figure reaches -167°C, during the day - up to +480°C.
• At the bottom of the deep craters of Mercury, reserves of water ice have been discovered.
• Clouds form at the poles of Mercury.
• The mass of Mercury is 3.3*10²³ kg.

The largest stars in the universe

Betelgeuse. One of the brightest stars in the sky and one of the largest in the universe (red hypergiant). Another common name for the object is Alpha Orionis. As its second name suggests, Betelgeuse is located in the constellation of Orion. The size of the star is 1180 solar radii (the radius of the Sun is 690,000 km).

Scientists believe that over the next millennium, Betelgeuse will be reborn into a supernova, as it is rapidly aging, although it was formed not so long ago - several million years ago. Given that the distance from the Earth to it is only 640 light years, our descendants will observe one of the greatest spectacles in the universe.

RW Cephei. A star in the constellation Cepheus, also recognized as a red hypergiant. True, scientists are still arguing about its size. Some argue that the RW radius of Cepheus is equal to 1260 radii of the Sun, others believe that it is worth equating to 1650 radii. The stellar object is 11,500 light years away from Earth.

KW Sagittarius. A red supergiant located in the constellation Sagittarius. The distance to the Sun is 10,000 light years. As for the size, the radius of the supergiant is equal to 1460 solar radii.

KY Swan. A star belonging to the constellation Cygnus and distant from Earth at a distance of 5,000 light years. Since today scientists have not yet received a clear image of the object, disputes about its size are still ongoing. Most consider the radius of KY Cygnus to be 1420 solar radii. Alternative version - 2850 radii.

V354 Cephei. A red supergiant and variable star in the Milky Way galaxy. The radius of V354 Cephei is 1520 times greater than the sun. The stellar object is located relatively close to Earth - only 9,000 light years away.

WOH G64. A red hypergiant located in the constellation Dorado, which, in turn, belongs to the dwarf galaxy Large Magellanic Cloud. The star WOH G64 is 1540 times larger than the Sun and 40 times heavier.

V838 Unicorn. A red variable star belonging to the constellation Monoceros. The distance from the star to the Earth is equal to 20,000 light years, so the calculations made on the size of V838 Unicorn are only approximate. Today it is generally accepted that the size of the object exceeds the size of the Sun by 1170-1970 times.

Mu Cephei. Also known as Herschel's pomegranate star. It is a red supergiant located in the constellation Cepheus (the Milky Way galaxy). In addition to its size (Mu Cephei is 1650 times larger than the Sun), the star is notable for its brightness. It is more than 38,000 times brighter than the Sun, making it one of the brightest stars in the Milky Way.

VV Cephei A. A red hypergiant belonging to the constellation Cepheus and distant from Earth at 2,400 light years. The size of VV Cepheus A is 1800 times the size of the Sun. As for the mass, it exceeds the solar mass by 100 times. Component A has been scientifically proven to be a physically variable star that pulsates every 150 days

VY Canis Major. The largest star in the Universe is located in the constellation Canis Major and is a red hypergiant. The distance from a star to Earth is equivalent to 5,000 light years. The VY radius of Canis Major was determined in 2005, it is 2,000 solar radii. And the mass exceeds the solar 40 times.

magnet planets

Visually, the magnetic field cannot be observed, but its presence or absence is recorded with a high degree of accuracy by modern instruments. The earth is a huge magnet. Thanks to this, our planet is protected from cosmic radiation generated by the solar wind - highly charged particles "shot" by the Sun.

The protective magnetosphere of the Earth deflects the approaching flows of these particles and directs them around the axis. In the absence of a magnetic field, cosmic radiation will destroy the atmosphere on Earth. Scientists suggest that this is exactly what happened on Mars.

There is no magnetic field on Mars, but magnetic poles have been found on it, reminiscent of the magnetosphere at the bottom of the Earth's oceans. The magnetic poles of Mars are so strong that they extend hundreds of kilometers into the atmosphere. In addition, they interact with cosmic radiation and even create the auroras recorded by scientists.

However, the absence of a magnetosphere is a consequence of the absence of liquid water on Mars. And in order for a person to be able to move safely on the surface of the planet, it is required to develop individual protection, a personal "magnetic field" for everyone.

3. Magnetic field of Mercury. Mercury, like the Earth, is protected by the magnetosphere. This discovery was made in 1974. The planet also has north and south magnetic poles. The South Pole is exposed to much more radiation than the North Pole.

Discovered on Mercury and a new phenomenon - magnetic tornadoes. They are twisted beams originating in a magnetic field and passing into interplanetary space. Mercury's magnetic tornadoes are capable of covering an area 800 km wide and up to a third of the radius of the planet.

4. Magnetosphere of Venus. Venus, which is often compared to the Earth and even considered its twin, also has a magnetic field, however, extremely weak, 10,000 times weaker than the earth's. Scientists have not yet established the reasons for this.

5. Magnetospheres of Jupiter and Saturn. Jupiter's magnetosphere is 20,000 times stronger than Earth's and is considered the largest in the solar system. The electrically charged particles surrounding the planet periodically interact with other planets and objects, damaging their protective shells.

The magnetic field of Saturn is remarkable only in that its axis coincides 100% with the axis of rotation, which is not observed in other planets.

6. Magnetic field of Uranus and Neptune. The magnetospheres of Uranus and Neptune differ from the rest of the planets in that they have 2 north and 2 south poles. However, the nature of the origin and interaction of fields with interplanetary space is not completely clear.

The largest planet in the universe

TrES-4 is recognized as the No. 1 planet in the Universe in terms of its size. It was only discovered in 2006. TrES-4 is a planet in the constellation Hercules, the distance from it to Earth is 1,400 light years.

The giant planet is 1.7 times larger than Jupiter (the radius of Jupiter is 69,911 km), and the temperature on it reaches 1260 ° C. Scientists are convinced that there is no solid surface on the planet TrES-4, and the main component of the planet is hydrogen.

The smallest planet in the universe

In 2013, scientists discovered the world's smallest planet, Kepler-37b. This planet is one of three planets orbiting the star Kepler-37.

It has not yet been possible to establish its exact dimensions, however, in terms of dimensions, Kepler-37b is comparable to the Moon, whose radius is 1737.1 km. Presumably, the planet Kepler-37b is composed of rock.

Giant satellites and the smallest satellites in space

The largest moon in the universe today is Ganymede, a moon of Jupiter. Its diameter is 5270 km. Ganymede mostly consists of ice and silicates, the core of the satellite is liquid, scientists even suggest the presence of water in it. Ganymede also forms its own magnetosphere and the thinnest atmosphere in which oxygen is found.

S/2010 J 2 is considered the smallest satellite in the Universe. It is noteworthy that this is again a satellite of Jupiter. The diameter of S/2010 J 2 is 2 km. Its discovery took place in 2010, and today the detailed characteristics of the satellite are only being studied with the help of modern instruments.

The universe is equally known and unknown to mankind, since this space is extremely variable. And although today the knowledge of people is hundreds of times greater than the knowledge of our predecessors, scientists say that all the greatest discoveries of the Universe are yet to come.

- then you will certainly be very interested.

Today we will find out what is the largest planet in the solar system. But let's start with the basic concepts.

The largest planets in the solar system

In relation to other celestial bodies, it belongs to the category of "minor planets" of the solar system. We are talking about the largest space objects.

Right now you will learn the most interesting facts about the unique features of the planets of the solar system, which you probably have not heard about before.

planet classification

First of all, you should understand what types of planets are divided into. The solar system is divided into two parts by the main asteroid belt:

• To the first belong , and ;
• The second group includes , and ;
• At the very end is the Kuiper Belt.

Astronomers have designated the first four celestial bodies as "terrestrial planets".

In addition to their location in outer space, they are similar to each other in the presence of a core, metals and silicon, as well as a mantle and crust. Land in this list is in first place in terms of volume.

Astronomers call the second four planets "Gas giants". They significantly exceed the dimensions of the planets of the terrestrial group. The uniqueness of the largest planets lies in the fact that they are rich in the presence of various gases: hydrogen, methane, ammonia and helium.

Is Pluto a planet or not?

In 2006, scientists decided that Pluto should be classified as dwarf planets, including it in the Kuiper belt. According to astronomers, Pluto does not meet any of the conditions by which it is customary to determine full-fledged planets.

The main argument is that Pluto lacks the mass to clear its orbit of other objects. As a result of these scientific studies in the solar system, instead of the traditional 9 planets, there was one less.

The largest planet in the solar system

The largest planet in the solar system is Jupiter, which belongs to the category of gas giants. According to astronomers, he has repeatedly protected our Earth from meteorites.

Planet Jupiter

Since we found out that Jupiter has the status of "The largest planet", let's look at some interesting facts about him.

Striking dimensions

Jupiter is 1300 times larger than Earth. To make it easier to understand, the following comparison should be made: if the Earth could be reduced to the size of a pea, then Jupiter in relation to it would have the size of a basketball.

Also amazing is the speed of rotation of this giant planet. Jupiter makes 1 revolution around its axis in 10 hours at a speed of 13.07 km/s.

In order for the largest planet to manage to pass once in its orbit, 12 Earth years must pass. However, this is quite a bit, considering that Jupiter is 5 times farther from the Sun than our Earth.

ephemeral surface

Did you know that no one will ever be able to set foot on the surface of Jupiter? And all due to the fact that the atmosphere of the largest planet consists of helium and hydrogen in proportions of 1:9.

In fact, it flows into hydrogen. In simple terms, as such, there is simply no distinction between the atmosphere and the surface of this giant. The boundaries of Jupiter are very blurry and abstract, and are determined only by the difference in pressure.

Clouds and spots

Looking at images of Jupiter, it is easy to notice specific striped patterns on them. In fact, these are clouds: light zones alternate with red-brown belts.

Between them pass strong wind currents, which are called jets. They can move in completely different directions.

The main feature of Jupiter

Another unique feature of Jupiter is the Great Red Spot (GRS). It is the largest atmospheric vortex in the solar system.

Such formations in terms of brightness and persistence have not been found on any other planet. Interestingly, the BKP can move around Jupiter, changing only the longitude. Latitude has remained unchanged for more than 350 years.

In addition, at times the spot either increases or decreases. But in general, the trend is decreasing.

According to the latest data from researchers: The Great Red Spot is a huge anticyclone that makes 1 revolution in 6 days.

The second largest planet in the solar system

The second largest among the planets is Saturn. He is very easy to recognize in photographs due to his remarkable rings.

By the way, all gas giants have exactly such rings, they are just not so noticeable. In their composition, along with heavy elements and cosmic dust, there are ice particles.

Saturn also contains methane, helium, hydrogen and ammonia, and continuous winds rage on the surface.

Ice giants

Following Saturn in descending magnitude are Uranus and Neptune. Scientists classify these planets as ice giants, due to the absence of metallic hydrogen in them, and a huge amount of ice.

The uniqueness of Uranus lies in the tilt of its axis. This planet literally lies on its side, which is why the sun's rays alternately illuminate only its poles.

Strong winds constantly rage on Neptune. You can also find a characteristic formation on it, in many ways similar to the Great Red Spot. Astronomers have named this area the Great Dark Spot (also known as GDS-89).

So, now you know that the largest planet in the solar system is Jupiter. However, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune are also giant planets and have their own unique features.

Speaking frankly, he still has very modest knowledge about what is happening in our solar system, not to mention the universe as a whole.

One thing is for sure: there will be many interesting discoveries in the future.

Those who travel know that if you devote your whole life to this activity, there will still be a piece, a plot, or even a huge piece of the Earth that has remained unexplored. It seems as if our planet is full of endless expanses. The task of closing your eyes and imagining it in its entirety feels like an impossible task. Meanwhile, the Earth belongs to the type of space objects, which can be called "small planets of the solar system." Scientifically, they are designated as planets of the terrestrial group, rather modest in terms of universal scales. Our Earth would seem even more infinite if its dimensions approached the parameters of the gas giants, which will be discussed below.

Classification

To begin with, consider the principle underlying the types of planets astronomy divides into. The solar system is delimited by the Main into two parts. The first includes Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars. In the second - Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune, behind them is Pluto and the Kuiper belt. The first four are the terrestrial planets. In addition to their location, they are united by the structure: they consist of compounds of metals and silicon, have a core, mantle and crust. Earth is the largest planet in the solar system in this group.

The four beyond the Asteroid Belt are the so-called gas giants. As the name implies, they are huge, much larger than the terrestrial planets. However, their most important difference lies in the composition of the substance that forms such space objects. It is a mixture of gases: hydrogen, helium, ammonia, methane. Such a structure makes the giants fundamentally different from the Earth and similar planets.

Ninth

As for Pluto, in 2006 it was “demoted” to the dwarf planets and assigned to the Kuiper belt objects, a structure quite distant from the Earth, which, however, does not yet end the solar system. Pluto, according to scientists, does not correspond to one of the points of the accepted definition of the planet: it does not have enough mass to clear its orbit from other bodies. Apparently, at the same time, in composition, it is close to the bodies of the Kuiper belt, ice blocks formed by frozen methane and nitrogen.

Now in our system there are only eight planets and a few more dwarf planets, which will never grow up to their “brothers”.

What is the largest planet in the solar system?

Obviously, the most impressive is to be found among the gas giants. However, every student today knows the answer to the question “which planet in the solar system is the largest”. This is Jupiter - the first magnificent giant beyond the Main Asteroid Belt, which probably played a role in the emergence of life on Earth, protecting it from meteorites throughout its existence.

Striking dimensions

Again, it is extremely difficult to understand how huge Jupiter is if you try to imagine an object 1300 times the volume of the Earth. A comparison comes to the rescue: Jupiter is a planet in the solar system that surpasses our house in size, like a pea. The storm that broke out in the atmosphere of a giant is so massive that it can cover all the planets of the terrestrial group, except for Mercury, combined.

It affects not only the size, but also the speed of rotation of Jupiter. It makes one revolution around its axis in just 10 hours, moving at a speed of 45,300 km / h. At the same time, the giant passes the orbit in 12 years. And this is also quite fast, considering how far from the Sun it is (five times farther than the Earth).

ephemeral surface

Many schoolchildren, having learned which planet in the solar system is the largest, thought about how long it would be possible to walk and travel on it. And these dreams continued until they found out that no one could ever set foot on the surface of the planet. Jupiter is surrounded by an atmosphere of hydrogen and helium in a ratio of 9:1. It flows smoothly into liquid hydrogen. In fact, there is no boundary between the atmosphere and the surface; it is conventionally designated by the level of pressure.

Clouds and spots

If you look closely at the photographs of Jupiter, it is easy to see that the planet has a "characteristic appearance." The recognizable striped pattern of the upper atmosphere is made up of stable clouds: light zones are interspersed with reddish-brown belts. Between them wedged powerful atmospheric flows, or scientific jets. In fact, these are winds of great strength. Their direction either coincides with the movement of the planet, or opposite to it. Clouds, light and dark, as well as jets are conditionally designated as geographical objects on the equally conditional surface of the gas giant.

main feature

The surface of Jupiter is characterized by another phenomenon. This is the Great Red Spot. It can be called a special sign of the planet. There are no similar formations, equally bright and persistent, on other space objects of the solar system. Scientists suggest that the Great Red Spot is a giant storm in the atmosphere. It moves around the planet, changing longitude, but strictly adhering to the same latitude, for at least the last 350 years. The spot is characterized by changes in dimensions: it either increases to a huge size, or it is reduced by half.

Spacecraft studies have confirmed the hypothesis of astronomers: the Great Red Spot is a huge anticyclone, rotating counterclockwise at a speed of one revolution in six days.

Approximate giant

A lot of interesting processes take place on Jupiter, but it is worth mentioning its "brothers". The second largest planet is Saturn. It is unlikely that there will be a person who will not be able to identify him in the image of all the objects of the solar system. Its distinguishing feature is noticeable rings. By the way, all gas giants have similar formations, like satellites. best known for their impressiveness. They consist of ice particles with a small admixture of heavy elements and dust.

The composition of Saturn is similar to that of Jupiter: hydrogen, helium, methane, ammonia, various impurities. On the surface of the planet visible from space, no formations are as stable as on Jupiter. Much stronger winds rage here.

Ice giants

Next to Saturn is Uranus, then Neptune. Astronomers combine them into a separate subgroup because in their bowels there is no metallic hydrogen characteristic of Jupiter and Saturn, but there is a lot of ice in high-temperature modifications. Perhaps the most unusual characteristic of Uranus is its axial tilt. The planet, as it were, lies on its side and therefore the Sun mainly illuminates not the equatorial zone, but alternately either the North or the South Pole.

The strongest winds blow on Neptune. Its surface is characterized by a formation similar to the Great Red Spot. It was called the "Great Dark Spot".

So, the answer to the question "what is the largest planet in the solar system" sounds simple: it's Jupiter. Hidden behind this short word is a huge mass, the strongest winds, the Great Red Spot. It is followed by Saturn, Uranus and Neptune, each is unique in its own way, modern astronomy knows something interesting about each. The entire solar system with all the objects and structures, even compared to the giant Jupiter, is huge. And this corner of the Universe in many respects remains shrouded in mystery for us. A lot of information, including about gas giants, now remains without explanation, some theories need to be improved. We can say with confidence that many more discoveries await us, related both to the largest planets of the system, and to those more modest in size.

This planet belongs to the gas giants. In the name of a celestial body, the fifth from the Sun the ancient Roman supreme god of thunder. Accompany the planet has at least sixty-seven satellites, the name of one of which - Io - is so fond of guessing in crossword puzzles.

The largest (in the solar system) planet is JUPITER.

Jupiter is undoubtedly the largest planet in the solar system. This planet, by the way, the fifth in a row, is located at such a great distance that the approximate flight time to it on modern aircraft will be approximately equal to twenty-four months. In size, Jupiter is thirteen times larger than our planet Earth and one thousand three hundred times its volume. An interesting fact is that Jupiter constantly rotates around its axis at a very high speed, and makes a revolution in just ten earth hours. It also never changes seasons. The atmosphere of the planet Jupiter is almost entirely composed of hydrogen, with a few other gases mixed in.

The largest planet in the solar system- Jupiter, the fifth planet from the Sun.

Jupiter is just a giant, it is 11 times larger than the Earth and only ten times smaller than the Sun itself.

The largest planet in the solar system is made up of gas and liquid. and spins very fast.



Jupiter's atmosphere is made up of hydrogen and helium. Giant whirlwinds arise in the atmosphere, which can sustainably exist for hundreds of thousands of years. One of these Jupiter vortices is the Red Spot, which has been observed by several generations of astronomers.



The red spot is an amazing formation that is fraught with many mysteries.



By the way, the largest planet in the solar system there are satellites that are comparable in size to the planets.

On some of them, for example, on Europa, life may exist.

The largest planet in the solar system is the fifth planet - Jupiter.

Although it seems from the pictures that Jupiter is not much larger than our planet (Earth), but in fact Jupiter is several times larger than the Earth.

On this planet, as scientists say, hurricanes always blow.

Even some of Jupiter's moons are larger than Pluto.

The largest and heaviest planet in the solar system is Jupiter. The equatorial radius of Jupiter is about 71.4 thousand kilometers.

Jupiter has about 67 natural satellites, the largest of which are Callisto, Io, Europa and Ganymede were discovered by the great Italian scientist Galileo Galilei in 1610. Ganymede is the largest moon of Jupiter.



The largest planet in the solar system is Jupiter. This planet is the largest in all possible parameters: the largest in mass, in volume, in area, and in many other statistical parameters. This planet has a very intense beautiful aurora. According to scientists, Jupiter is completely composed of gas and does not have a solid core.

The largest planet in the solar system is Jupiter, with about 17 satellites per nm. Its area is many times larger than the area of ​​the planet Earth. This planet is the fifth farthest from the Sun after Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars.

As far as I know, at present the largest planet in the solar system is Jupiter, moreover, not only in size, but also in mass. In general, Jupiter belongs to the gas giants, and as of the moment it has 67 satellites.

The largest planet in the solar system is rightfully Jupiter, which is many times larger than our Earth. Jupiter has seventeen moons around it. And from the Sun, Jupiter is in fifth place in terms of distance. and here is a graphic representation of the location of Jupiter and the rest of the planets:



The answer to the question: which planet in the solar system is the largest, is very simple. This is Jupiter. It is the largest in the solar system, and is the fifth from the Sun. Jupiter is classified as a gas giant along with such planets as Uranus, Neptune, Saturn.