Solar System
From Slackerpedia Galactica
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The special name we've given to our nice little stellar/planetary system. It includes the Sun (technically named "Sol"), some number of planets, a handful or two of dwarf planets, and thousands of other small bodies that answer to the will of the Sun's gravity.
Contents |
History
The Solar System began its formation some 5 billion years ago as an over-dense region in a nebula. Once the central region was dense enough and hot enough to support nuclear fusion, the Sun was born. We assume the whole region was well endowed with things like metals and angular momentum. A large rotating disk of dust and gas formed around the Sun, eventually forming larger clumps known as planetesimals. These planetesimals smashed each other to smithereens. The leftovers of the collision, beeing in a similar orbit, coalesced into a planetesimal larger than either of the parents. Eventually, they became big enough to stick to each other when they collided, instead of flying apart. Over 5-10 million years these pieces had formed the planets we see today.
Some of the smaller bodies were expelled by king Jupiter at this point due to erratic behavior. They formed the Oort Cloud, which is where most comets originate.
A-List Membership
Sun | Mercury |Venus |Earth and the Moon | Mars | Asteroid Belt
Ceres | Jupiter | Saturn | Uranus | Neptune | Kuiper Belt | Pluto
The View from Earth
Admitting that the Sun was in charge of the Solar System was a bit of a sticking point for some (see also Aristotle, Ptolemy and Copernicus), but it would seem that it is the central figure influencing happenings involving Earth (do not see also: Astrology) and the rest of the things in our little corner of the Universe.
Originally, humans could only see the Sun, Moon, and the first five planets with our unaided eye. With the invention of the telescope, we've been able to see many more things, and now know of a couple more planets and all kinds of other rubble. We have explored many of the A-List Members listed above through manned and unmanned space missions (see also: Pioneer, Voyager and New Horizons as examples).
The Outside
Past Eris and the elusive Kuiper Belt Objects lies the Oort Cloud and the even more elusive heliopause, which is generally considered the substantive and (somewhat) visible border of our little corner of the galactic whole. Here, the Sun's own strong solar winds give way to the interstellar medium.
Binary System?
Many believe that the solar system is a binary system and that the sun has a brown dwarf which is nearly invisible lying in the outer edges. However not many consider the theory to be credible.
Future Plans
The Sun will die in another 5 billion years or so, possibly engulfing the Earth in the process. Enjoy life now, while you can. (Unless we can develop decent space travel and a good life support we're stuck here, so get used to it! Or unless the Vogons actually show up one day.)
