To date, scientists know only one large solar system in which our planet is located. It was formed 4.6 billion years ago. Star clouds of matter began to thicken in the Galaxy. Because of this, a large amount of thermal energy gradually began to be generated. With the formation of high temperature and density, nuclear reactions began to form, which provoked the formation of various gases and helium. These streams provoked the formation of a star, which we now call the Sun. The process of its creation took about several tens of millions of years.

Due to the high temperature, stellar dust accumulated in dense compounds, forming separate planets with its structure. Since the formation of all the planets and satellites of the solar system, no special changes have been observed.

Heliocentric theory of world building

In the second century AD, a scientist from Alexandria put forward a hypothesis about the location of our planet. It was from her that all scientists repelled, until the end of the fifteenth century. According to his theory, our planet was in the very center of the universe, and all other planets, including the Sun, could only rotate around its axis. But only thanks to the painstaking work of Nicolaus Copernicus, this hypothesis suffered a crushing failure. His observations were published only after his death, so the astronomer did not wait for world recognition. His observations were able to prove the fact that it is the Sun that is the center of the system, and all other planets can revolve around it along a given trajectory.

Number of planets in the solar system

Everyone knows that at the moment, there are eight planets in the solar system. But until recently, it was believed that Pluto, which was discovered in early 1930, was also part of the solar system. But after long observations and research, it turned out that the planet farthest from the Sun does not rotate at all along a given trajectory. She is constantly in one position and does not move at all. Only with the onset of 2006, at a meeting of the International Assembly in Prague, was it possible to prove that the dwarf planet is not part of the solar system at all.

The principle of the largest solar system

It is worth noting that the solar system is part of the Milky Way, which is located in our galaxy. It is located on its outskirts, and is located at a distance equal to thirty thousand light years from its central point. The solar system includes the Sun itself, as well as numerous planets, satellites and asteroids, which constantly move along a given trajectory.

Planet placement

All planets are divided into two different types. These are the inner and outer planets. The first type includes four planets that are closest to the surface of the Sun. This is:

Mercury;

Their sizes in relation to other planets are not so great, and the surface is covered with a stone hard crust.

The second type includes the giant planets:

These are the planets that are mainly composed of accumulations of various gases. They are located almost in the same plane. From the North Pole, one can clearly see that the planets move around the Sun, in a direction that is opposite to the clockwise movement.

But be that as it may, in the universe there are constantly unexplored sections of space that can hide huge secrets. Perhaps in a few decades, scientists will be able to get to the most intimate corners.

The planet Jupiter was first seen 400 years ago. Then only the first telescopes appeared, and through them it was possible to see this planet. The planet Jupiter conquers with its volume, scale. It is the largest planet in the solar system in terms of volume, mass, and area.

By the way, there are planets that are 15 times larger than Jupiter, but this is only in theory. The planet was named Jupiter by the Romans, in honor of the supreme deity.

The largest planet in the solar system: interesting facts about Jupiter

It is one of the largest gas giants. Divided into the inner space, and the atmospheric layer. The air is filled with 90% hydrogen and 10% helium. The planet also has methane, silicon and ammonia. Small amounts of carbon, oxygen, neon, phosphine are present.

The interior of the planet houses dense materials. A mixture of liquid hydrogen with helium and an outer layer of molecular hydrogen is called the core. It's not clear yet, but some believe the core could be rocky.

Even 20 years ago, the question of the core was raised. It was assumed that it can reach from 12 to 45 Earth masses and cover from 4 to 14% of the mass of Jupiter. The closer you are to the core, the higher the temperature and pressure become. Near the core, the temperature reaches 35700 degrees and about 4000 GPa, on the very surface it is 67 degrees and 10 BAR.

Near Jupiter there is a family of 67 moons. Galileo Galilei discovered 4 of the largest in the distant past. This is:

• Io (active volcanoes);
• Europa (subsurface ocean);
• Ganymede (largest moon);
• Callisto (underground ocean).

Auroras are observed near the north and south poles.

The largest planet in the solar system: top 8 planets

• Mercury is the smallest planet in the solar system. But it is closest to the Sun. There is no season change on this planet, because the axis of rotation is perpendicular to the rotation of the Sun. It is somewhat similar to the moon, the surface is rocky, covered with craters, such as on the moon. Like the Moon, Mercury has no atmosphere. This planet occupies the 8th place;
• Mars - Unlike Mercury, Mars is in 4th place from the Sun. She is also rocky like Mercury. This planet has been visited many times by terrestrial spacecraft. By the way, Mars rovers are working there now. The average temperature on Mars is -153 degrees. This planet occupies the 7th place;
• Venus - she is also called the "sister of the Earth." It is closer to the Sun than the Earth, but this is not very important. The average temperature is +470 degrees. Carbon dioxide is used instead of oxygen. This planet occupies the 6th place;
• The Earth is in 3rd place from the Sun. The only planet where life boils. 70% of the planet is covered with water. This planet occupies the 5th place;
• Neptune is the most distant of all the largest planets. Neptune is 17 times heavier than Earth and has a larger diameter. In 1846, astronomers calculated this planet, and then looked at it through a telescope. This planet occupies the 4th place;
• Uranus is the 3rd planet of all the big ones. The average temperature is -220 degrees. It is named after an ancient Greek god, not a Roman god like most others. It has 27 satellites in its orbit. This planet occupies the 3rd place;
• Saturn - this planet is also one of the largest. Saturn has the largest number of satellites, about 62. This planet occupies 2nd place;
• Jupiter is the largest planet in the solar system. Gas giant. The average temperature is about -140 degrees. Jupiter has many moons that can be seen with any binoculars, the most popular being Europa, Io, Ganymede, and Callisto.

Stars, comets, asteroids and meteorites have attracted the attention of people since the beginning of time. Priests prayed to heavenly idols, astrologers predicted fate along the trajectory of the planets, astronomers studied the constellations.

The ancient Romans and Greeks paid special respect to Jupiter. In ancient Rome, he personified the supreme God, and among the Greeks he was considered the king of Olympus. A worthy place, considering that Jupiter is the largest planet in the solar system.

gas giant

At the center of our star system is the brightest star - the Sun, around which Uranus, Saturn, Neptune, Mercury, Mars, Earth, Venus and Jupiter revolve. All planets are very interesting, and each has its own distinctive characteristics. The largest of them is Jupiter.

It has a number of unusual features:

• entirely made up of gas. Almost 90% is hydrogen, about 10% is helium, the rest is an insignificant part - methane, sulfur, ammonia and water vapor;
• colossal pressure was recorded in the lower layers of the atmosphere, due to which the gas passes into a liquid state, and the core of Jupiter is metallic hydrogen;
• it weighs 2.5 times more than all the other planets of the solar system combined, 318 times heavier than the Earth;
• its diameter is 1.39 thousand km! This means that 1,300 planets like our own Earth can easily fit in Jupiter. Such a huge scale is even difficult to imagine;
• the strength of the magnetic field of this celestial body exceeds the strength of the earth by 20 thousand times and is the largest in the solar system. This causes as yet insurmountable difficulties for a careful study of the planet, since no aircraft can get close enough;
• its rotation rate is the highest of any known planet in the galaxy. The length of a day on Jupiter is less than 10 Earth hours. This, combined with the incredible size and gaseous state, leads to the flattening of the celestial body;
• temperature in the lower layer of the troposphere - minus 150°С, and in the upper layers of the atmosphere - plus 730°С;
• the gas giant is known for its endless storms of terrible force. Whirlwinds are rushing at a breakneck speed of 640 km/h! But the most amazing hurricane has been observed by astronomers since the end of the 17th century. It was called the Great Red Spot, has not been interrupted for more than 300 years, and is 3 times larger than the earth's diameter;
• Jupiter is many millions of kilometers away from the Earth, but due to its impressive size, it is visible to the naked eye. With a medium-power telescope, you can see the surface of the giant, the Great Red Spot, rings and satellites.

Jupiter is not only the largest planet in the solar system, but also one of the largest planets in the universe known to scientists today.

The most...

Jupiter is an exclusive of its kind. It is the largest planet in the solar system and has the strongest magnetic field. Jupiter is the fastest rotating planet, with the sharpest temperature difference - almost 900 ° C.

It is difficult to find such a celestial body not only in the Galaxy, but throughout the entire infinite space.

Moons and rings of Jupiter

A total of 67 moons of Jupiter have been discovered. The first 4 - Io, Europa, Callisto and Ganymede - were discovered by Galileo Galilei in 1610. In his honor they are named Galileevs. They are also the largest.

Ganymede is larger than all known satellites, even larger than such planets as Mercury and Pluto. Io is the only satellite in the Universe that has its own magnetic field, and it is also the most volcanically active celestial body known. The entire surface of Europa's moon is covered in ice. Callisto has an incredibly low reflective effect, which gives scientists reason to consider it a huge piece of colorless stone.

Also in 1979, the Voyager spacecraft discovered 3 faint rings around Jupiter.

Jupiter, along with its satellites, is very similar to the solar system in miniature. Therefore, most scientists in the world agree that in millions of years Jupiter will be able to be reborn into a Star and become the center of another system in the Universe. Satellites around the planet can turn into celestial bodies with habitable conditions.

Other giants of the solar system

In addition to Jupiter, our system has 3 more large planets:

• Saturn. Its diameter is slightly inferior to Jupiter and is 116 thousand km. It is 95 times heavier than the Earth, is in a gaseous state, the speed of storms on its surface is 1800 km/h. Has 62 satellites.
• Uranus has a diameter of 50.7 thousand km, it is relatively "light" - only 14 times heavier than the Earth, gaseous, winds rush along its surface at a frantic speed - 900 km / h, a year on Uranus is equal to 84 Earth years, has 27 satellites.
• Neptune is another large planet with a diameter of 49.2 thousand km. It also consists of gases, 17 times heavier than the Earth. The wind speed here reaches 2100 km/h and is the most significant in the Universe. Has 14 satellites.

All the largest planets in the solar system, except for their huge size, have the following common features:

• gaseous state (the main components are hydrogen and helium);
• low density;
• very high rotation speed, which leads to some oblateness of the planets from the poles;
• powerful gravitational field;
• a large number of satellites.

Queen of the Universe

Many are interested in which planet is the largest in all the vast space. In 2006, scientists at the Lovell Observatory in the United States, Arizona, received an answer to this question. They discovered a giant planet in the Hercules system. There are not enough epithets in modern Russian to describe its size. It's impossible to imagine. She is a huge giantess, against her background, even Jupiter seems like a baby. They called it laconic and completely unromantic - TrES-4.

Although the diameter of the newly discovered planet is several times larger than the giant Jupiter, it is inferior to it in weight, which is explained by the very low density of the gaseous substance from which the giantess is "built". You cannot descend to the planet, you can only plunge into it in the literal sense. Scientists around the world are at a loss as to how TrES-4 can even exist at such a density without being sprayed into interstellar space.

The giant gas ball is hot up to 1300°C and is very similar to the Sun. For some time it was even considered a star, but then it was nevertheless proved that TrES-4 is a planet. It orbits its star, GSC02620-00648, 1400 light-years away.

The above facts testify that the endless expanses of the cosmos keep their secrets in silence. Exploring the airless space, scientists are faced with inexplicable and mysterious phenomena, most of the questions still remain unanswered.

To determine how big a particular planet is, you need to take into account criteria such as its mass and diameter. The largest planet in the solar system is 300 times the size of Earth., and its diameter exceeds the earth by eleven times. A list of the largest planets in the solar system, their names, sizes, photos and what they are known for, read in our rating.

Diameter, mass, length of day and orbital radius are relative to the Earth.

Planet	Diameter	Weight	Orbital radius, a. e.	Orbital period, Earth years	Day	Density, kg/m³	satellites
	0.382	0.055	0.38	0.241	58.6	5427	0
	0.949	0.815	0.72	0.615	243	5243	0
Earth	1	1	1	1	1	5515	1
	0.53	0.107	1.52	1.88	1.03	3933	2
	11.2	318	5.2	11.86	0.414	1326	69
	9.41	95	9.54	29.46	0.426	687	62
	3.98	14.6	19.22	84.01	0.718	1270	27
	3.81	17.2	30.06	164.79	0.671	1638	14
	0.186	0.0022	39.2	248.09	6.387	1860	5

9. Pluto, diameter ∼ 2370 km

Pluto is the second largest dwarf planet in the solar system after Ceres. Even when he was among the full planets, he was far from the largest of them, since his mass is equal to 1/6 of the mass of the moon. Pluto has a diameter of 2370 km and is made up of rock and ice. It is not surprising that it is quite cold on its surface - minus 230 ° C.

8. Mercury ∼ 4,879 km

A tiny world with a mass of almost twenty times less than the mass of the Earth, and a diameter of 2 ½ less than the Earth. In fact, Mercury is closer in size to the Moon than to the Earth, and today is considered the smallest of the planets in the solar system. Mercury has a rocky surface dotted with craters. The Messenger spacecraft recently confirmed that deep craters on the perpetually shadowed side of Mercury contain icy water.

7. Mars ∼ 6,792 km

Mars is about half the size of Earth and has a diameter of 6.792 km. However, its mass is only a tenth of the earth's. This not too big planet of the solar system, the fourth closest to the Sun, has an axial tilt of 25.1 degrees. Due to this, the seasons change on it, as on Earth. A day (sol) on Mars is equal to 24 hours and 40 minutes. In the southern hemisphere, summers are hot and winters are cold, while in the northern hemisphere there are no such sharp contrasts, where both summer and winter are mild. We can say ideal conditions for building a greenhouse and growing potatoes.

6. Venus ∼ 12,100 km

In sixth place in the ranking of the largest and smallest planets is a celestial body named after the goddess of beauty. It is so close to the Sun that it appears first in the evening and last to disappear in the morning. Therefore, Venus has long been known as the "evening star" and "morning star". It has a diameter of 12,100 km, which is almost comparable to the size of the Earth (1000 km less), and 80% of the mass of the Earth.

The surface of Venus mainly consists of large plains of volcanic origin, the rest - of giant mountains. The atmosphere is composed of carbon dioxide, with thick clouds of sulfur dioxide. This atmosphere has the strongest greenhouse effect known in the solar system, and the temperature on Venus is kept at around 460 degrees.

5. Earth ∼ 12,742 km

The third planet closest to the Sun. Earth is the only planet in the solar system that has life. It has an axial tilt of 23.4 degrees, its diameter is 12,742 km, and its mass is 5.972 septillion kg.

The age of our planet is very respectable - 4.54 billion years. And most of this time it is accompanied by a natural satellite - the Moon. It is believed that the Moon was formed when a large celestial body, namely Mars, impacted the Earth, causing enough material to be ejected so that the Moon could form. The Moon has had a stabilizing effect on the tilt of the Earth's axis and is the source of the ebb and flow of the oceans.

“It is rather inappropriate to call this planet Earth, when it is obvious that it is Ocean” - Arthur Clarke.

4. Neptune ∼ 49,000 km

The gas giant planet of the solar system is the eighth celestial body closest to the Sun. The diameter of Neptune is 49,000 km, and the mass is 17 times greater than the earth. It has powerful cloud bands (they, along with storms and cyclones, were photographed by Voyager 2). The wind speed on Neptune reaches 600 m / s. Due to its great distance from the Sun, the planet is one of the coldest, with temperatures reaching minus 220 degrees Celsius in the upper atmosphere.

3. Uranus ∼ 50,000 km

On the third line of the list of the largest planets in the solar system is the seventh closest to the Sun, the third largest and the fourth heaviest of the worlds. The diameter of Uranus (50,000 km) is four times the Earth's, and its mass is 14 times the mass of our planet.

Uranus has 27 known moons ranging in size from over 1500 km to less than 20 km in diameter. The planet's moons are made up of ice, rocks, and other trace elements. Uranus itself has a rocky core, surrounded by a cover of water, ammonia and methane. The atmosphere consists of hydrogen, helium and methane with a top layer of clouds.

2. Saturn ∼ 116,400 km

The second of the largest planets in the solar system is known for its ring system. She was first seen by Galileo Galilei in 1610. Galileo believed that Saturn is accompanied by two other planets that are on either side of it. In 1655, Christian Huygens, using an improved telescope, was able to see Saturn in enough detail to suggest that there are rings around it. They extend from 7,000 km to 120,000 km above the surface of Saturn, which itself has a radius 9 times that of the Earth (57,000 km) and a mass 95 times that of the Earth.

1. Jupiter ∼ 142,974 km

Number one is the winner of the planetary heavy hit parade, Jupiter is the largest planet bearing the name of the Roman king of the gods. One of the five planets visible to the naked eye. It is so massive that it would contain the rest of the worlds of the solar system, minus the sun. The total diameter of Jupiter is 142.984 km. Given its size, Jupiter rotates very quickly, making one rotation every 10 hours. At its equator, there is a rather large centrifugal force, due to which the planet has a pronounced hump. That is, the diameter of Jupiter's equator is 9000 km larger than the diameter measured at the poles. As befits a king, Jupiter has many satellites (more than 60) but most of them are quite small (less than 10 km in diameter). The four largest moons, discovered in 1610 by Galileo Galilei, are named after the favorites of Zeus, the Greek counterpart of Jupiter.

What is known about Jupiter

Before the invention of the telescope, planets were viewed as objects roaming the sky. Therefore, the word "planet" from Greek is translated as "wanderer". Our solar system has 8 known planets, although originally 9 celestial objects were recognized as planets. In the 1990s, Pluto was "demoted" from the status of a true planet to the status of a dwarf planet. BUT The largest planet in the solar system is called Jupiter..

The radius of the planet is 69,911 km. That is, all the largest planets in the solar system could fit inside Jupiter (see photo). And if we take only our Earth, then 1300 such planets will fit inside the body of Jupiter.

It is the fifth planet from the Sun. It is named after a Roman god.

Jupiter's atmosphere is made up of gases, mainly helium and hydrogen, which is why it is also called the gas giant of the solar system. Jupiter's surface is made up of an ocean of liquid hydrogen.

Jupiter has the strongest magnetosphere of all the other planets, 20,000 times stronger than Earth's magnetosphere.

The largest planet in the solar system rotates around its axis faster than all the "neighbors". One complete revolution takes just under 10 hours (Earth takes 24 hours). Because of this rapid rotation, Jupiter is convex at the equator and "flattened" at the poles. The planet is 7 percent wider at the equator than at the poles.

The largest celestial body in the solar system revolves around the Sun once every 11.86 Earth years.

Jupiter broadcasts radio waves so strong that they can be detected from Earth. They come in two forms:

1. strong spikes that occur when Io, the closest of Jupiter's large moons, passes through certain regions of the planet's magnetic field;
2. continuous radiation from the surface and high energy particles of Jupiter in its radiation belts. These radio waves could help scientists explore the oceans on the space giant's satellites.

The most unusual feature of Jupiter

Undoubtedly, the main feature of Jupiter is the Great Red Spot - a giant hurricane that has been raging for more than 300 years.

• The diameter of the Great Red Spot is three times the diameter of the Earth, and its edge rotates around the center and counterclockwise at a tremendous speed (360 km per hour).
• The color of the storm, which typically ranges from brick red to light brown, may be due to the presence of small amounts of sulfur and phosphorus.
• The spot either increases or decreases over time. A hundred years ago, education was twice as large as it is now and much brighter.

There are many other spots on Jupiter, but only in the Southern Hemisphere do they exist for some reason for a long time.

Rings of Jupiter

Unlike Saturn's rings, which are clearly visible from Earth even through small telescopes, Jupiter's rings are very difficult to see. Their existence became known thanks to data from Voyager 1 (NASA spacecraft) in 1979, but their origin was a mystery. Data from the Galileo spacecraft that orbited Jupiter from 1995 to 2003 later confirmed that these rings were created by meteoroid impacts on small nearby moons of the largest planet.

Jupiter's ring system includes:

1. halo - inner layer of small particles;
2. the main ring is brighter than the other two;
3. outer "spider" ring.

The main ring is flattened, about 30 km thick and 6,400 km wide. The halo extends halfway from the main ring down to the Jovian cloud tops and expands as it interacts with the planet's magnetic field. The third ring is known as the spider ring due to its transparency.

Meteorites that strike the surface of Jupiter's small inner moons kick up dust, which then enters orbit around Jupiter, forming rings.

Jupiter has 53 confirmed moons orbiting it and 14 more unconfirmed moons.

Jupiter's four largest moons—called the Galilean moons—are Io, Ganymede, Europa, and Callisto. The honor of their discovery belongs to Galileo Galilei, and it was in 1610. They are named after those close to Zeus (the Roman counterpart of which is Jupiter).

Volcanoes rage on Io; there is a subglacial ocean on Europa and, perhaps, there is life in it; Ganymede is the largest of the satellites in the solar system, and has its own magnetosphere; and Callisto has the lowest reflectivity of the four Galilean satellites. There is a version that the surface of this moon consists of a dark, colorless rock.

Video: Jupiter is the largest planet in the solar system

We hope that we have given a complete answer to the question of which planet in the solar system is the largest!

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 for the size of V838 Monoceros 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 safely move around 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.