Importance of the Solar System

Serena Cuoghi
Title of Professor of Biology

A solar system is a set of celestial bodies orbiting constantly around a star, as a result of its great gravitational force. In the particular case of the system in which we inhabit, we simply call our star the sun and it provides us with all the energy necessary for the existence and evolution of life, in addition to the maintenance of the stability of the climate, atmosphere and temperature conditions necessary for it.

In addition to its importance to life on Earth, the solar system is a fascinating subject for scientists and astronomers to study, which has provided information about the history and evolution of both planets and celestial bodies as well as the Universe itself, with much still to be discovered and interpreted for reach the answers to the greatest unknowns of humanity about the very origin of life and the possibility of its existence in other corners of the outer space.

The neighborhood

Rotating harmonically around the sun we find a small outstanding group of large objects known as Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars, who are classified as rocky planets due to the solid and consistent characteristics of their surface, coupled with the low density of their atmospheres, being positioned in the innermost area of ​​the system, while Jupiter and Saturn, the largest in this system, are classified as gas giants, as well as Uranus and Neptune, two ice giants, They are considered the planets of the outer zone, a perimeter that Pluto also occupies with its changing classification, currently being known as a dwarf planet, with no intention of offend him

Within this last classification, and for a couple of decades, they have managed to be spotted accompanying us another group of dwarf planets, being possible their observation as the technology of astronomical optics has gone going forward. These colleagues of Pluto within the intermediate scale between planets and asteroids, but with a sufficiently spherical shape, have been named Ceres, Eris, Makemake and Haumea, following with the tradition of granting names of mythological beings, giving opportunity to others belonging to cultures other than Greek, but nevertheless, they are not the only ones of their kind roaming the periphery of our neighborhood, while complying with the elliptical aesthetics of the rotation around the sun, for which it is expected to continue having new confirmations and classifications in the not too distant future.

the interplanetary dance

Along with all these planets and planetoids, the solar system is populated by an immense number of other space objects, from the respective natural satellites that various planets may have orbiting around them while accompanying them on their solar journey, such as the case of Selene, the moon that orbits the Earth, or the dust ring cosmic and other debris that adorns Saturn, to gigantic belts full of space debris that obediently follow the dance promoted by the force of gravity of the sun.

These regions of the solar system have been named as: 1) the Asteroid Belt, located between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter; 2) the Kuiper Belt, an area within which Pluto's own orbit is located, having started on the outskirts of the enclosure of Neptune, considering as trans-Neptunian objects all those that roam our system from there solar; and 3) the Oort Cloud, even further away than the previous track and with a very low population density of celestial bodies, presumably asteroids and rocks of simple frozen elements, of which there is still very little information, but which virtually represent the maximum range limit of our system solar.

spatial musings

One of the most humanly important qualities of the solar system has been its ability to inspire imagination and creativity. creativity, becoming the protagonist of innumerable stories, myths and legends, which have been transmitted from generation to generation in generation, also inexhaustibly inspiring all artists and writers throughout history and at some point of their lifes.

In the same way, thousands have been those who, attracted by the mysteries of natural forces and space objects that keep this system operating, have turned towards the exploration of the universe and the search for extraterrestrial life, turning the planets of the solar system and their moons into objects of study and exploration by of space missions, such as the Voyager mission, the Cassini-Huygens mission and the New Horizons mission, through which valuable information has been obtained about the composition, structure and history of the solar system, while maintaining the aspiration to one day find evidence of life beyond the Land.

References

Anguita, f. (2003). Chronicles of the solar system. Sirius team.

Montes Street, a. (2013). Exploration of the Solar System. Science Magazine, (1), 21-28.

Pabon, J. d. (2001). The universe, the solar system and the planet Earth.

Quillfeldt, J. TO. (2010). Astrobiology: water and life in the solar and German system. Caderno Brasileiro de Ensino de Física.

Strathern, P. (2015). Galileo and the solar system. AKAL Editions.