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Definition: Solar System from The Penguin Dictionary of Science

The Sun and the bodies that orbit it: the planets and their ➤satellites, ➤asteroids, ➤comets, ➤meteoroids and other interplanetary material.


solar system

From The Columbia Encyclopedia
the sun and the surrounding planets, natural satellites , dwarf planets, asteroids, meteoroids, and comets that are bound by its gravity. The sun is by far the most massive part of the solar system, containing almost 99.9% of the system's total mass. The principal members of the sun's retinue are the eight major planets ; other parts of the solar system are discussed in separate articles: see asteroid , comet , dwarf planet , and meteor . In order of increasing average distance from the sun, the planets are Mercury , Venus , earth , Mars , Jupiter , Saturn , Uranus , and Neptune . The planets orbiting nearer the sun than the earth are termed inferior planets; those whose orbits are larger are called superior planets. The unit for measuring distance in the solar system is the astronomical unit (AU), the average distance between the earth and the sun. The mean distances of the planets from the sun range from 0.39 AU for Mercury to 30.04 AU for Nepture. Pluto , regarded for many years…
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Proplyds are young stellar objects...
Abstract The origin of the solar system has long been a fascinating subject posing difficult questions of deep significance. We currently lack a self-consistent model for the origin of the solar system and other planetary systems. The early stages of planet formation are obscure and we have only a…
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Full text Article The Evolving Solar System

From History of the Solar System
The solar corona during a total solar...
Abstract Advances in the observation of the heavens from the ground and from satellites, novel computational techniques, and theoretical advances in a number of related (and some unrelated) fields permit changes in the solar system to be monitored in ever increasing detail. The greatest progress has…
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Immanuel Kant suggested in 1755 that the solar system had condensed out of a nebulous mass of gas which had developed into a flat rotating disc as it contracted. This disc rotated faster and faster as it continued to contract, and, eventually, it started throwing off masses of gas as it became…
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Full text Article solar system

From The Columbia Encyclopedia
the sun and the surrounding planets, natural satellites , dwarf planets, asteroids, meteoroids, and comets that are bound by its gravity. The sun is by far the most massive part of the solar system, containing almost 99.9% of the system's total mass. The principal members of the sun's retinue are…
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Full text Article SOLAR SYSTEM

From Gaither's Dictionary of Scientific Quotations
Yesterday, a numerous and highly respectable meeting of gentlemen and ladies interested in the stability of the solar system was held, pursuant to advertisement in the Vox Stellarum, True Sun, &c. at the sign of the Great Bear in the North Hemisphere, at One P. M. (sidereal time). Bentley's…
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Full text Article solar system

From The American Heritage Student Science Dictionary
The sun together with the eight planets and their moons and all other celestial objects that orbit the sun, including asteroids and comets. See more at nebular hypothesis . A system of planets or other celestial objects orbiting another star. solar system We usually think of our solar system as…
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Full text Article Solar System

From Collins Dictionary of Astronomy
A group of celestial bodies comprising the Sun and the large number of bodies that are bound gravitationally to the Sun and revolve in approximately elliptical orbits around it. The latter include the nine known planets, Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto…
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Full text Article Solar System

From The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia with Atlas and Weather Guide
Sun (a star) and all the bodies orbiting it: the eight planets (Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune), their moons, and smaller objects such as asteroids , comets , and the members of the distant Kuiper belt and Oort cloud . The Sun contains 99.86% of the mass of the…
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Full text Article The Solar System

From The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia with Atlas and Weather Guide
The Sun, the planets and their moons, comets, and asteroids make up the collection of astronomical bodies we call the Solar System . The Sun is at the centre of our Solar System. It is our nearest star . Over 90% of the mass of the Solar System is in the Sun. It is a very, very large body. There are…
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Full text Article The Solar System

From Collins Stargazing: Beginners Guide to Astronomy
Our active star, a ball of hydrogen and helium...
THE SUN The Sun is a yellow dwarf star, its brightness is too low for it to be a giant star. In the core of the Sun, hydrogen atoms are fused to form helium at a rate of about one hundred trillion trillion trillion reactions per second! The energy released by this process is light of all different…
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