Master of The Universe: 1 Our Solar System

Space Probes: New Age of Discovery

Obliquity of the nine planets. Obliquity is the angle between a planet's equatorial plane and its orbital plane. Obliquity gives rise to Season, Polar Caps and even the Ice Ages. (Today only 8 Planets are recognised as part of our Solar System)
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The Sun

150 Million Km from Earth
109 Times Bigger than Earth
Avg Temperature: 5500 Deg Cel
Composition: Hdrogen and Helium
Energy comes from Nuclear Fusion
Has strong magnetic field and violent eruptions (Plasma)
We see this as visible light and heat.
Lucky for us, the Earth has a atmosphere which cuts of 60% of this Radiation.
Sun has 99.8% of the total Mass of our Solar System.
Age of Sun: 4.6 Billion yrs
Life Span: 9 Billion yrs

The sun and its atmosphere consist of several zones or layers.

How do we know ?

Mainly based on observations from Images and mathematical calculation.
The Core makes up 2% of the total Volume but contains half of the total Mass.

Plasma of the Sun. Can reach up to 100,oo0 miles
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Jupiter

A Jupiter Storm - In the Outer Planet

The Great Red Spot is a huge mass of swirling gas, 3 times the size of Earth. Imagine a storm lasting for millions of years.
Jupiter is the largest Planet in our Solar System
1000 times the size of Earth
800 mil Km from the Sun
A giant ball of gas & liquid, so if there is life it has to be air borne
Surface composed of dense red, brown, yellow and white clouds
Takes 12 years to go round the Sun
However, a Day is only abt 10 hours
Has strong magnetic fields and gravitaional pull
Has 3 Rings around the Equator (20km thick)

Three Moons Cast Shadows on Jupiter (3 eclipses)
Jupiter has 16 satellites (moons). The 4 largest are called
Io, Europa, Ganymede & Callisto.

Probes to Jupiter

Pioneer 10
Pioneer Saturn
Voyager 1
Voyager 2
Ulysses
Galileo

Comet Shoemaker Levy 9 bombards Jupiter
In 1994, 21 pieces of the Comet Shoemaker Levy 9
crashed into Jupiter. If this cosmic collision were to
happen to Earth, it will cause another mass Extinction.
Remember the Extinction of Dinosaurs 65 Mil years ago ???

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View of Saturn's Rings (total 7 flat rings of Ice Particles)
Saturn's ring is around the Equator.
About 900 mil miles from the Sun
Takes 29 and half yrs to round the Sun
A day in Sturn is only 10hrs 39mins
A Giant Ball of Gas with no solid surface
Mainly Hydrogenand Helium at surface
Has 25 Satellites, most famous is Titan
Cassini Probe orbited Saturn in 2004
Huygen Probe was dropped into Titan

One of Saturn's many moons casting shadow on the Planet (Eclipse)

View of Saturn - Over range of Light Spectrum

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Uranus has rings and moons.

the 7th Planet from the Sun
1.8 Billion Miles from the Sun
A giant ball of gas and liquied, with Methane Ice, Liquid Ammonia, and Water on surface. The Core might be Rocky.
Takes 84 years to go round the Sun
Uranus is so tilted, som might have been knocked into the obliquity by a cosmic collission with another Planet.
Has 21 Satellites (Most Famous is Miranda)

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Neptune is 30 times as far from the Sun as is Earth
Neptune has 17 Satellites (Triton is the largest
Goes round the Sun once in 165 years
A day is about 16 hours
Does not have a solid surface and blue color is frozen Methane
Neptune was first discovered by means of mathematic calculations
Has a rings like Saturn
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Mars - One of the Inner Planets

A team of NASA and university scientists has achieved the first definitive detection of methane in the atmosphere of Mars. This discovery indicates the planet is either biologically or geologically active.

The planet Mars, like Earth, has clouds in its atmosphere and a deposit of ice at its north pole. But unlike Earth, Mars has no liquid water on its surface. The rustlike color of Mars comes from the large amount of iron in the planet's soil.

4th Planet from the Sun
Strong evidence that water once flowed on the surface evidence includes channels, valleys, and gullies on the planet's surface
140 Mil Miles from the Sun
Takes 687days to go round the Sun
Length of Day is almost same as Earth
Gravity is about 38% of that on Earth
Has the Largest Volcano in the Solar System and many impact craters
Atmosphere consist mainly of CO2 with small amounts of 02, Nitrogen, CO, and water vapour.
Has 2 tiny Moons, Phobos and Deimos
Does have possibilities for Life (though not conclusive)

Mars has seasons like Earth, North and South Icy Poles.

Probes to Mars

Mariner 9, orbited Mars in 1971
Viking Probe landed on 1976
Mars Pathfinder landed a Rover Sojouner
Mars Global Surveyor, an Orbiter
Mars Odyssey Probe Mars in 2001
Mars Express Mission in 2003 landed Beagle 2

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Venus

Earth's Twin, almost same size as Earth
At closest, it is 23 mil miles from Earth
Takes only 225 days to go round the Sun
Rotates in Retrograde direction
Venus has a variety of surface features, including level ground, mountains, canyons, and valleys. About 65 percent of the surface is covered by flat, smooth plains. Has many Impact Craters
Thick clouds of sulfuric acid cover Venus

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Mercury The Closest to the Sun

Mercury is the planet nearest the sun
It moves round the sun faster than any other planet
Goes round the Sun once in 88 days
Rotation of the planet is slow, a day in Mercury is equivalent to 176 earth days.
The Surface is much like our Moon and the interior is like our Earth

Probes to Venus
Mariner 10 in 1974
Messenger Probe in 2004 and orbit it in 2011

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Clip1: Hubble Telescope: Beyond Earth

Clip 2: Other Space Telescopes

Clip 3 The Universe and Other Specialised Telescope

Click here to go to MENU

Do you know that Planets are named after Greek Gods & Goddess.

Mercury - Mercury represents the messenger god, Hermes, because Mercury revolves around the sun the fastest and Hermes was known to be swift of foot

Venus - Venus represents the goddess of love & beauty, Aphrodite. Venus is known as the most beautiful planet in the solar system, thus it's named after the goddess of beauty.

Earth - Earth represents Terra. From what I understand, she was a goddess of land.

Mars - Mars represents the god of war, Ares. Mars of course is red which is also the color of war (symbolic of blood). The two moons of Mars are named after the two sons of Ares, Phobos and Deimos

Jupiter - Jupiter represents the ruler of the gods, Zeus. The planet is the largest and most magnificent which is representative of the great Zeus. Jupiter has 16 moons. The 4 largest are named after some of Zeus' affairs, Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto. The other 12 moons represent more of Zeus' lovers, a few of his children, and others linked the great god. They are: Adrasta, Amalthea, Ananke, Carme, Elara, Himalia, Leda, Lysithia, Metis, Pasiphae, Thebe, and Sinope.

Saturn - Saturn represents the father of Zeus, Cronus. The 18 moons surrounding Saturn are named after various Titans, Gods, Goddesses, and other important figures in Greek mythology. They are: Atlas, Calypso, Dione, Enceladus, Epimetheus, Helene, Hyperion, Iapetus, Janus, Mimas, Pan, Pandora, Phoebe, Prometheus, Rhea, Telesto, Tethys, and Titan.

Uranus - stands for starry sky and thought to have come out from earth

Neptune - Neptune of course represents the god of the sea, Poseidon. I think the reason for this is because it's a blue planet and the sea looks blue under the sky. Neptune's largest moon is named after Poseidon's son, Triton. The rest are named after sea nymphs and others associated with the water. They are: Despina, Galatea, Larissa, Naiad, Neried, Proteus, and Thalassa.

Pluto - Pluto represents the god of the dead and underworld, Hades. It's the coldest and most desolate of the planets. Very appropriate for representing the cold, desolate state of being we call death. It's one moon is named after the ferryman of the dead, Charon.

The Mythologies of Greek and Roman Times are far more complex and warped than the brief description above.

Planets and Their Influence on you Zodiac Signs

What are Ruling Planets?:
Each of the planets has rulership over one or two of the Zodiac signs.

How were Ruling Planets assigned to the Zodiac Signs?:
Based on their observations over time of qualities and "energies" of both the planets and the Zodiac signs, early astrologers started to match them up.

When were they first assigned? :
Some have remained unchanged since the earliest days of Astrology, while other pairings were made after the discovery of Uranus in 1781, Neptune in 1846 and Pluto in 1930. The discovery of Chiron in 1977 and the recent demotion of Pluto to dwarf planet may alter these associations further.

What does it mean that a planet is "Ruler" of a particular sign?:

It means that the Ruling Planet, and all its energies, are in charge and is the primary influence. For example, if your Sun is in Gemini, the influence of Mercury prevails as far as your Sun sign is concerned. The "energy" of the Sun is harnessed by Mercury, whose influence overrules the Sun's unique qualities, and determine the way that solar power is expressed.

The Sun rules Leo.
The Moon rules Cancer.
Mercury rules Gemini and
Virgo.
Venus rules Taurus and Libra.
Mars rules Aries and
Scorpio.
Jupiter rules Sagittarius.
Saturn rules Capricorn.
Uranus
rules Aquarius.
Neptune rules Pisces.
Pluto rules Scorpio.

Constellations & Zodiac

Constellations are not real. They are totally imaginary things that poets, farmers and astronomers made up over the past 6000 years by breaking up the sky into manageable bits, more like diagrams to help them locate the stars they see above.

The accepted view is they have been used by farmers and travellers to know the times for harvest and identify their location on earth.

Today Stars are named according to their coordinates eg NTTS 045251+3015. (IAU), definitely less mysterious and less romatic as those named by the Greeks, Romans and Arabs.

Different constellations may be viewed in different months of the year, and over time they become associated with human birth and horoscopes.

Enjoy some Kagaya Art depicting Constellations and the Zodiac.

How was the Earth Formed ?

The Solar System is believed to be formed during the explosion of a nearby Star (A Supernova). From the clouds of gas and dust, gravity pulled them together forming a solar nebula and gradually from these our sun, planets and moons were formed.

The inner core of planets around the Sun became rocky and could stand the heat from the Sun. Those Planets formed in the Outer Core coalesced in gas Planets. The Sun with its mass pulled most of the Planets and dusts (asteroids) into an elliptical path around it.

Our Sun is estimated to have another 5 Billion years of life when it will eventually become a Red Giants sucking all the planets and dust into it. Planet Earth would probably be destroyed by then.

How LIfe Began on Earth ?

The Earth, the Sun and our whole Solar System was formed some 4.5 billion years ago. Earth was an inhospitable place, however as the Earth cools down, and the land masses formed, somehow the basic elements of Carbon, Hydrogen and Oxygen combined to form organic matter (now indentified as Stromatolites, Cyanobacteria) which could tap the energy locked in the elements and molecules particularly breaking down Methane and Carbon Dioxide releasing Oxygen.

Over the billions of years, Oxygen accumulated in the Atmosphere, providing for an environment for Organic Matter to further evolve into microorganisms and developing the ability to multiply. Diversity and Complxities of Life has already been proven to have existed some 550 million years ago.