You may be wondering how many planets are in our solar system. You may have heard of Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune, but do you really know how many there are? Here are some answers. Read on to learn about the other planets! Listed in order of size:
Saturn
Scientists have determined that there are more than nine planets in our solar system. These eight planets have varying densities, with Jupiter being nine times the size of Earth. There are more than seventy moons orbiting Saturn. And, of course, there is Pluto. Pluto has a surface area of nearly three billion square kilometers. Its average density is about two percent of Earth’s. The moons of Jupiter and Saturn make up about a third of its mass.
Scientists use a mathematical formula to calculate the number of planets that might share an orbit. For example, they used Hill radii to find out how many Earth-sized planets could share the same orbit. The maths revealed that 42 Earth-sized planets would be able to fit in a single orbit. But since they’re smaller, more would fit. Hence, there are more planets in our solar system than the eight we see!
The Solar System contains eight planets: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, and Saturn. The other four planets, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune, are small, low-density, and rocky. According to the IAU definition, there are eight planets in our solar system. Of these, four are terrestrial (Venus, Earth, Mars, and Pluto), four are giants (Jupiter, Saturn, and Uranus), and two are ice-giants. Of those eight planets, six of them have at least one natural satellite, and three of them orbit their star.
In the 1990s, several other objects were discovered in the Kuiper belt, and Pluto was revealed to be one of many. Later, Quaoar, Sedna, and Eris were heralded as the tenth planet. The newest discoveries led to the official definition of a planet. These objects, together with Pluto, are two-thirds of the mass of the sun and were found to be rocky.
As far as size goes, the biggest planets in our Solar System are Jupiter, Saturn, and Neptune. These planets have a diameter that is around five hundred miles (950 kilometers) and can fit a lot of Earths inside. Jupiter, in particular, has a huge storm that blows for hundreds of years. Similarly, Saturn is known for its rings of ice and dust. The two largest planets in our solar system are four times larger than Earth.
Uranus
A common question among astronomers is “How many planets are in space?” We know about the known planets, but what about the ones we can’t see? Astronomers know how to spot things they can’t see, but our telescopes are not sensitive enough to pick up those stealthy planets orbiting far-off stars. Thankfully, some regions of space are relatively populated, and astronomers are confident of finding all the planets within a certain range.
We know that there are eight planets in our solar system. Pluto is the smallest planet, named after the Roman god of darkness. Pluto has one moon, Charon, and is surrounded by the darkest part of the sun. It also has a frozen, dark surface. There are so many planets, but how many do they all have moons? And how do we know they’re even planets?
The largest of the solar system is Jupiter, which has a diameter nine times that of Earth and a volume equal to 763.5 Earths. Its average density is only one eighth of Earth’s, and it takes 12 Earth years to circle around the sun. The second largest planet, Saturn, is a gaseous planet with nine rings and several ringlets made of rock. Scientists think that an object twice the size of Earth once collided with Uranus 4 billion years ago, and the planet’s tilt explains its extreme seasons and how the sun beats down on its pole for 84 Earth-years.
The International Astronomical Union (IAU) defines a planet as a body that orbits the sun in an elliptical orbit. It must be large enough to support gravity, be rounded by its gravity, and clear a neighborhood of other orbiting bodies. It is not a planet if it is part of the Kuiper Belt and is no longer considered a planet. Besides Pluto, there are also dwarf planets and asteroids in the solar system.
As far as the distance from the sun is concerned, the planets are all pretty far from the sun. However, some of them are much closer to the sun. Pluto is the furthest away from the sun and has an average temperature of minus 346 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 210 degrees Celsius).
Neptune
The idea of planets has evolved from the divine lights of ancient Greece to earthly objects of the scientific era. As astronomers have gained insight into the formation of planets, the concept of planets has grown to include other worlds outside of our solar system, and hundreds of extrasolar systems have been identified. The concept of a planet has undergone several changes over time, with a consensus definition that included asteroids and dwarf planets like Pluto.
Astronomers have counted 4,108 confirmed exoplanets, or worlds outside our Solar System. However, these numbers are far from complete, as we still don’t know where these planets exist. The vast majority of planets can’t be seen with our telescopes, as they are far too distant. However, in some regions of space, scientists are confident that they’ll find all the planets within a certain radius.
Mars, also known as the “red planet,” is the fourth planet in our solar system. It is the second smallest planet, after Earth. Like Earth, it has a solid surface and a thin atmosphere. The planet is also the only one in our solar system that has liquid water. Its distance from the Sun is 2.8 billion miles, so it takes 164.8 Earth years to complete one revolution around the sun.
Pluto was discovered in 1930. It was originally considered a planet, but later demoted to a dwarf planet. Another asteroid, Ceres, was discovered by NASA in the same area. Its surface is composed of rock and ice, but the asteroid might have a liquid ocean underneath. NASA’s Dawn spacecraft is currently flying Ceres. While it is impossible to know the total number of planets in space, its discovery highlights the possibility of alien life.
The largest planet in our solar system is Jupiter, which is made of gas and is larger than Earth. It is big enough to hold 1,321 Earth-sized planets inside it. Jupiter also has a storm the size of the Earth, named the Great Red Spot. Another planet, Saturn, has rings of ice and dust around it. These rings of ice make it the most dense planet in our solar system.
Pluto
The first planet discovered in 1930, Pluto, was regarded as a dwarf planet, but debate ensued about whether it should be counted as a planet. The International Astronomical Union ultimately decided that Pluto would be considered a dwarf planet, coming after Neptune on the list. As a dwarf planet, Pluto orbits the sun at a wildly tilted distance, and it is likely that Pluto could be the ninth planet.
Pluto, which was named after the Roman god of darkness, is the smallest planet in our solar system. It has a single moon, and its orbit is elliptical, meaning that it does not fall on the same plane as the other planets. In fact, Pluto takes 288 years to complete one orbit. That’s more than twice as long as Earth’s orbit, so Pluto is incredibly cold and dark.
Currently, science has discovered 4,424 exoplanets and 7,576 candidates. As of July 20, 2021, there are still seventy-one exoplanets, and another 7,576 are in the process of being confirmed as planets. In addition, there are a number of other objects called dwarf planets, which are not actually planets, but are in direct orbits of stars. These planets are massive enough to crush into a spherical shape, but are so small that they have not cleared their surrounding space of other materials.
As the number of planets increases, astronomers continue to look for Planet Nine. The Atacama Cosmology Telescope, a 6-meter telescope in Chile, has discovered thousands of candidates but was unable to confirm any of them. Then, the Kuiper Belt, the outermost region of the solar system, is also an area of space where planets can be found. Its limit is nine billion miles away from the sun.
The Solar system contains eight planets, Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, and Jupiter. Earth and Mars are innermost, while Jupiter and Saturn are giant plant-like objects. Jupiter and Saturn have moons and Uranus are ice-giants. Despite these differences, all eight planets orbit the sun. So, what does this mean for us? The answer is that they are all orbiting the same star.