Science is fraught with a huge number of various interesting facts. I would like to talk about one of them now. It will be about how much the Earth's mass is and how it was possible to calculate it.

Pioneers

At the very beginning, it is worth telling that for the first time the figures of interest about the mass of the Earth were received by Neville Makelin from the Scottish town of Perthshire back in the distant 18th century, namely in 1774. As a result of his calculations, the Scottish scientist determined that the mass of the Earth is 5,879,000,000,000,000,000,000 tons. How to pronounce this number correctly? So, that's 5879 sextillion tons.

About the present

It is definitely worth mentioning that these figures did not give rest to scientists for a long time. Did Makelin calculate everything correctly, is it possible that his calculations were wrong? So, modern physicists decided to double-check this and presented their calculations for discussion. According to their calculations, the mass of the planet Earth is 5,976,000,000,000,000,000,000, i.e. 5976 sextillion tons. This is just a mere 97 sextillion tons more than previous results. However, not so much. In addition, the fact that the weight of the Earth is constantly increasing will be important. All the fault is cosmic dust (according to some, but not all scientists), which every minute settles on the surface of our planet, giving it additional weight.

About measurements

Many people may have a logical question: "How can you measure the mass of the Earth, because you can't just take it and put it on a huge scale?" However, scientists were not afraid of difficulties and took the gravitational field as a basis, which causes objects to be attracted to each other. All calculations were obtained experimentally. First, a small weight was suspended on a string, the position of which in space was measured. Further, next to this load, scientists placed a rather weighty lead cube, which weighed a ton (after all, everyone knows that the heavier an object, the stronger its gravitational field attracts surrounding objects). In the course of this experiment, the gravitational field of a huge lead cube attracted a small weight to itself by only 0.00002 millimeters, but this was enough for scientists to calculate the mass of planet Earth, having received such coveted figures.

About expansion

As mentioned above, the mass of the Earth is constantly increasing. However, it should be said that our planet is also expanding. After all, how can you explain the fact that all continents can be put together without any problems, like one big puzzle? Maybe this means that they were all once connected, and then diverged? It should be said that for the first time, the scientist I.O. Yurkovskiy. And, although at that time there was no confirmation of this yet, these thoughts did not disappear without a trace and from time to time they were visited by a variety of scientists around the world.

About the formula

There is a fairly simple formula that connects the force of gravity on the Earth, its mass, as well as the distance of its surface from the center. In the literal version, this will look like the ratio of the mass of the Earth and the square of the distance from its center to the surface.

1. If it is possible to prove that the force of gravity decreases with time, then it can be proved that the increase in the planet was due to the increase in its volume. At the same time, the mass remained unchanged.
2. However, if we prove that the force of gravity increases with time, then the following conclusion is logical: it's all about the increase in the mass of the Earth.

About calculations

It is also worth mentioning that today the mass of the Earth can be calculated even by a schoolboy on his own at home. To do this, you just need to know the above formula: g = φ (M / R 2). First of all, you need to extract a lot from it. So, by means of simple configurations we obtain the following relation: M = g R 2 / φ. At the same time, the radius of the earth is already known, it does not need to be calculated, it is 6300 km (in meters - 6.38x10 6). The numerical variants of g and φ were obtained long ago by experience. So, thanks to rather simple mathematical operations, you can get the desired figure, which is 5976 sextillion tons.

Development of events

So does the mass of the Earth increase over time? Yes! And this has been proven by modern scientists. Over 50 years of observations in Washington, gravity has increased from 980098 to 980120 milligal. As for Central Asia, these indicators were as follows: on average, gravity here increased by about 0.05-0.10 milligals per year. However, how much is it, is it a lot or is it not enough? If you look at the figures obtained in relation to years and even centuries, then this is very small. However, if we recalculate these indicators for millions of years? Scientists have done this too. So, for one hundred million years on the surface of the Earth, the force of gravity has increased by about 2.5 times. At the same time, the radius of our planet has doubled! The following fact will turn out to be interesting: even 600 million years ago, our planet was about 6-8 times smaller than its modern version. Has its mass changed at the same time? Scientists still do not have an unequivocal answer to this question. Dust from space falls to Earth, that's for sure. But no one knows yet how much the planet is losing.

What happened?

However, how has the weight of our planet changed since its formation? Scientists managed to find out that the mass of the Earth at the first stages of its origin was 99 times less than its present version. To explain everything is simple: even before the atmosphere appeared on Earth and it became suitable for life, our planet was constantly attacked by giant asteroids. Scientists believe that only thanks to such "shelling" the Earth has lost unnecessary excess weight and thus became fit for life. And all because these bombings brought the core of the planet into a "working" state, including a global process inside the planet itself.

Henry Cavendish method

It is worth saying that the mass of the Earth was of interest to many different scientists. One of them is Henry Cavendish, who tried to get these numbers by measuring the gravitational constant using a device such as a torsion balance. What conclusion did he eventually come to? So the results will be quite interesting. The scientist said that the mass of the planet Earth is equal to zero, since it is in a state of free fall, and the gravity that acts on it from other space objects is mutually balanced and does not lead to a change in the position of the Earth on the trajectory of its "fall".

Comparison: Sun

Everyone knows that our planet is part of the solar system, in the center of which is the star Sun. It should also be said that this is the largest body in this system, around which all the planets revolve. The following fact will turn out to be very informative: the mass of the Sun is approximately 99.866% of the mass of the entire solar system! I also want to know how much this star is larger than our home planet? You can find out thanks to simple calculations. If the mass of the Sun is 2 trillion quadrillion tons, and the mass of the Earth, as already mentioned, is almost 6 sextillion, then the difference will be quite impressive. The center of our system - the Sun - is about 333,000 times larger than the planet Earth!

Comparison: Moon

It is also worth considering slightly different numbers. I wonder how many times the mass of our planet is greater than the mass of the Moon, our constant satellite? This figure is 81.3. This value was adopted as constant in 1964 by the International Astronomical Union. It is imperative to clarify that this fact was once again confirmed in 1966.

Earth is a unique planet in the solar system. It is not the smallest, but also not the largest: it takes the fifth place in terms of dimensions. Among the terrestrial planets, it is the largest in mass, diameter, density. The planet is located in outer space, and it is difficult to find out how much the Earth weighs. It cannot be put on a scale and weighed, therefore, it is said about its weight, summing up the mass of all the substances of which it consists. This figure is approximately 5.9 sextillion tons. To understand what number it is, you can simply write it down mathematically: 5,900,000,000,000,000,000,000. This number of zeros somehow dazzles the eyes.

History of attempts to determine the size of the planet

Scientists of all ages and peoples have tried to find an answer to the question of how much the Earth weighs. In ancient times, people assumed that the planet was a flat plate held by whales and a turtle. In some nations, elephants were used instead of whales. In any case, different peoples of the world imagined the planet as flat and having its own edge.

During the Middle Ages, ideas about shape and weight changed. The first to speak about the spherical form was J. Bruno, however, for his convictions, the Inquisition executed him. Another contribution to science, which shows the radius and mass of the Earth, was made by the traveler Magellan. It was he who suggested that the planet is round.

First discoveries

The earth is a physical body that has certain properties, among which there is weight. This discovery made it possible to start a variety of studies. According to physical theory, weight is the force of action of the body on the support. Considering that the Earth has no support, we can conclude that it has no weight, but there is mass, and it is large.

Earth weight

For the first time, Eratosthenes, an ancient Greek scientist, tried to determine the size of the planet. In different cities of Greece, he took measurements of the shadow, and then compared the data obtained. Thus, he tried to calculate the volume of the planet. After him, the Italian G. Galilei tried to carry out the calculations. It was he who discovered the law of free gravitation. The relay race to determine how much the Earth weighs was taken by I. Newton. Through attempts to make measurements, he discovered the law of gravity.

For the first time, the Scottish scientist N. Makelin managed to determine how much the Earth weighs. According to his calculations, the mass of the planet is 5.9 sextillion tons. Now this figure has increased. The differences in weight are due to the deposition of cosmic dust on the planet's surface. Roughly thirty tons of dust is left on the planet annually, making it heavier.

Earth mass

To find out exactly how much the Earth weighs, you need to know the composition and weight of the substances that make up the planet.

1. Mantle. The mass of this shell is approximately 4.05 X 10 24 kg.
2. Core. This shell weighs less than the mantle - only 1.94 X 10 24 kg.
3. The earth's crust. This part is very thin and weighs only 0.027 X 10 24 kg.
4. Hydrosphere and atmosphere. These casings weigh 0.0015 X 10 24 and 0.0000051 X 10 24 kg, respectively.

Adding all this data, we get the weight of the Earth. However, according to different sources, the mass of the planet is different. So how much does planet Earth weigh in tons, and how much do other planets weigh? The weight of the planet is 5.972 X 10 21 tons. The radius is 6370 kilometers.

Based on the principle of gravity, the weight of the Earth can be easily determined. For this, a thread is taken, and a small load is suspended from it. Its location is precisely determined. A ton of lead is placed nearby. An attraction arises between the two bodies, due to which the load is deflected to the side by a small distance. However, even a deviation of 0.00003 mm makes it possible to calculate the mass of the planet. To do this, it is enough to measure the force of attraction in relation to the weight and the force of attraction of a small load to a large one. The data obtained make it possible to calculate the mass of the Earth.

Mass of the Earth and other planets

The Earth is the largest planet of the terrestrial group. In relation to it, the mass of Mars is about 0.1 Earth's weight, and Venus is 0.8. is about 0.05 of the earth. Gas giants are many times larger than Earth. If we compare Jupiter and our planet, then the giant is 317 times larger, and Saturn is 95 times heavier, Uranus is 14. There are planets that weigh 500 times more than the Earth or more. These are huge gaseous bodies located outside our solar system.

Billions of people live on the planet, and do not even think about how many interesting and unusual things are around. Teachers of geography, astronomy, physics begin to tell interesting facts about the planet Earth at school lessons. But, the information received is erased in memory, and in the process of evolution new facts come in. The main thing is that you need to know as much as possible about planet Earth so that today's generations live comfortably, and they would like to preserve it for posterity.

Many scientists conduct research on the study of the Earth, and they share their knowledge.

To date, the most interesting facts about planet Earth:

The sun is not the largest star. But the Earth is almost 1.5 million times smaller than it.
On Earth, there are also phases similar to the Lunar ones.
There are much more small living organisms in a teaspoon of soil than there are people on Earth.
Before the trees appeared, the planet was inhabited by gigantic mushrooms.
There are no less than 2 billion planets similar to the Earth in the galaxy.
There is a core inside the Earth, the temperature of which reaches the temperature of the Sun.

Most of the people have not even heard about the many interesting facts related to our planet, and therefore I would like to talk about them in more detail. For example, that only on the only one of all the planets - Earth, water is capable of acquiring a liquid, solid and gaseous state.

Earth speed

For 1 revolution around the center of the solar system, the Earth needs 365 days 5 hours 48 minutes 46 seconds (1 astronomical year). But for convenience, it is customary to count 365 days for a calendar year, and the remaining time "accumulates" and adds one day to each leap year. The orbital distance is 942 million km. Based on calculations, the speed of the Earth is 30 km per second or 107,000 km / h.

Earth mass

The mass of the Earth is a fairly relative quantity that is constantly changing. The mass of the earth is 5.97219? 1024 kg. The mass increases due to the deposition of cosmic dust on the surface of the planet, the fall of meteorites, etc., due to which the mass of the Earth annually increases by about 40,000 tons. But due to the dispersion of gases into outer space, the mass of the Earth decreases by about 100,000 tons per year.

Land area

The surface area of ​​the Earth is 510,072,000 km ,? of which water expanses occupy 361,132,000 km?, which is 70.8% of the Earth's surface. Land area 148,940,000 km? this represents 29.2% of the Earth's surface area. Due to the fact that water covers much more of the planet's surface, it was more logical to call our planet Water.
The volume of the Earth is 10.8321 x 1011 km?

Tectonic plates

The planet's crust is divided into specific areas, which scientists call tectonic plates. They float at the top of the magmatic bowels and have the ability to shift, go one under the other. This process helps the atmosphere to get rid of carbon, which is formed by the death of microscopic plants and living organisms in the ocean. The remains emit carbon, which, having fallen to the bottom, goes into the depths and returns back. So plate sliding is a way to recycle carbon. This protects the planet from overheating, and the formation of a greenhouse effect.

Since the movement of tectonic plates is known to be a sign of life on Earth, ending earthquakes is a bad sign for humans. Also, this plate movement affects volcanic eruption and mountain building, and this confirms the fact that once there were huge continents that changed their configuration, then disintegrating, then gathering again.

What is interesting is that this process continues now, and every year the plates of the lithosphere move a few centimeters. This means that someday a new continent will form.

Many amazing facts related to the planet Earth can be cited as an example. But even scientists can not always explain these or those occurring phenomena.

For example, in ancient times, when people tried to understand the structure of the universe, many myths appeared. The fact that the Earth is flat as a dish, and lies on the backs of animals. When earthquakes occurred, the Indians, for example, explained this by the fact that the turtle took a step.

Modern scientists explain the appearance of "earth tremors" by the collision of tectonic plates. And many interesting facts are connected with this phenomenon. Like what:

daily - 8000 earthquakes occur imperceptibly to humans;
500 thousand earthquakes happen on the planet every year;
the phenomena of destructive force do not happen often on the Earth.

The earth is not a ball

The usual expression for people that the Earth is round is somewhat erroneous. The shape of the globe is more like a flattened spheroid. This means that the radius of the planet along the equator is greater than from pole to pole. An interesting fact is that the highest mountain is Chomolungma. But the point farthest from the center of the Earth is not she, but the mountain in Ecuador - Chimborazo.

Water and Atmosphere

The Earth is called the Blue Planet not because of the blue sky that people see. A stunning view was opened to man in space, after which the Earth received this name. And the astronauts saw that only 30% is growing above sea level, and the remaining 70% is the blue ocean. Few people know, but 75% of the Earth's atmosphere, which give life to all living organisms, is contained only in the first 10 kilometers above the surface.

A magnetic field

The globe is a large magnet with magnetic poles at the top and bottom of the planet, close to the geographic poles, and forming a magnetic field. This is a magnetosphere, which extends thousands of kilometers from the planet, and protects all life on Earth from radiation and other harm. Everyone knows that the Earth has a satellite, the Moon, but few people know that there are two additional small asteroids, each of which has its own trajectory.

Amazing planet Earth

It is impossible to find out all the secrets, all the interesting facts about the beautiful planet. Everyone knows that this is the only place in the universe where there is life. The earth's crust contains the most oxygen, and the core contains 88% iron, which, when molten, forms the earth's magnetic field. As a result of global warming, the level of the World Ocean is increasing. People should be concerned about this fact, and they may also have to rethink the land-to-water ratio soon.

Stones

An interesting fact about the movement of stones exists in California. This process is not associated with a tectonic process. The strange thing is that the stones in Death Valley move on their own, leaving clear marks on the surface of the dry lake. Scientists have been observing this movement for a long time, and cannot explain this mysterious phenomenon in any way. And although there are no witnesses to how they "walk", over the past 7 years, stones have covered a distance of 200 meters, and they "run" especially fast in winter.

Continuing the topic of interesting facts about strange stones, it is worth mentioning the Trovantes in Romania. According to people living in those places, stones multiply like cacti. At first, a build-up appears on the smooth surface of a round boulder, which peels off slightly, and begins to grow rather quickly. Stones grow right from the ground in Russia too. People treat such inexplicable phenomena with reverence. It is believed that by touching such stones you can get good health and strength.

When it comes to walking stones, the hypothesis of the Earth's magnetic field comes to mind. Scientists began to study volcanic lava, and there were more questions than answers.

You can endlessly list entertaining facts about our planet. And every day something appears that no one thought about. But with the advent of new technologies, branches of science and various processes occurring in nature, there are more and more opportunities to learn useful information and explain everything that was considered mystical.

We all live on the beautiful planet Earth, about which humanity has already managed to learn a lot, but even more is still hidden from us and is waiting in the wings until the human desire for knowledge reveals all the secrets of our world.

General information about planet Earth

Let's remember what we know about planet Earth. Earth is the only inhabited planet in our solar system, even more so, the only one on which there is life. The Earth is the third planet, if you count from the Sun, there are two more planets, Mercury and Venus, in front of the Earth. The Earth revolves around the Sun and the tilt of the rotation axis relative to the Sun is 23, 439281 °, thanks to this tilt, we can observe the change of seasons throughout the year. The distance from the earth to the sun is 149.6 million km, for the stream of light to cover the distance from the sun to the earth, it needs 500 seconds or 8 minutes. Our planet also has a satellite, the Moon, which revolves around the earth, just as the earth revolves around the sun. The distance from the Earth to the Moon is 384,400 km. The speed of the Earth in its orbit is 29.76 km / sec. The Earth makes a complete revolution on its axis in 23 hours 56 minutes and 4.09 seconds. For convenience, it is generally accepted that there are 24 hours in a day, but to compensate for the remaining time in the calendar, one more day is added every 4 years and this year is called a leap year. The day is added in the month of February, which is usually 28 days, in a leap year, 29 days. There are 365 days and 366 days in a year with a leap year, this is a full cycle of changing seasons (winter, spring, summer, autumn).

Terrestrial dimensions and parameters

Now let's move from space to the planet Earth itself. In order for life to arise on the planet, there must be many factors and conditions that create a favorable habitat for countless living organisms inhabiting the Earth. In fact, the more we learn about our common home, the more clearly we understand how complex and perfect planet Earth is. There is nothing superfluous, everything has its place, and each has its own important role.

The structure of the planet Earth

In total, there are 8 planets in our solar system, 4 of which belong to the terrestrial planets and 4 to the gas group. Planet Earth is the largest planet in the terrestrial group and has the greatest mass, density, magnetic field and gravity. The structure of the Earth is not homogeneous, and conditionally it can be divided into layers (levels): the earth's crust; mantle; core.
Earth's crust - the uppermost layer of the Earth's hard shell, which, in turn, is divided into three layers: 1) sedimentary layer; 2) granite layer; 3) basalt layer.
The thickness of the earth's crust can be in the range from 5 to 75 km deep into the Earth. This run-off depends on the measurement sites, for example, the thickness is minimal on the ocean floor, and on the continents, on mountain ranges, the maximum. As we already said, the earth's crust is divided into three parts, the basalt layer was formed first, therefore it is the lowest, followed by the granite layer, which is absent on the ocean floor, and the uppermost sedimentary layer. The sedimentary layer forms and changes constantly, and man plays an important role in this.
Mantle - the layer following the earth's crust, which is the most voluminous, about 83% of the total volume of the Earth and about 67% of its mass, the thickness of the mantle reaches 2900 km. The upper layer of the mantle, which is 900 km long, is called magma. Magma is molten minerals, also the release of liquid magma is called lava.
Core - this is the center of the planet Earth, consists mainly of iron and nickel. The radius of the earth's core is approximately 3500 km. The core is also divided into an outer core 2200 km thick, it has a liquid structure and an inner core, the radius of which is about 1300 km. The temperature in the center of the core is close to 10,000 ° C, on the surface of the core the temperature is well below 6,000 ° C.

The shape of the earth. Diameter of the Earth. Mass of the Earth. Age of the Earth.

If you ask the question, "What is the shape of the Earth?", We will hear the answer options: round, ball, ellipsoid, but this is not entirely true, the special term Geoid was introduced to denote the shape of the Earth. A geoid is essentially an ellipsoid of revolution. Determining the shape of the planet made it possible to accurately establish the diameters of the planet Earth. Yes, it is the diameters of the Earth, due to their irregular shape, that they are distinguished by several:
1) the average diameter of the Earth is 12,742 km;
2) the equatorial diameter of the Earth is 12756.2 km;
3) the polar diameter of the Earth is 12,713.6 km.

The circumference along the equator is 40,075.017 km, and along the meridian is slightly less than 40,007.86 km.
The mass of the Earth is a fairly relative quantity that is constantly changing. The mass of the earth is 5.97219 × 10 24 kg. The mass increases due to the deposition of cosmic dust on the surface of the planet, the fall of meteorites, etc., due to which the mass of the Earth annually increases by about 40,000 tons. But due to the dispersion of gases into outer space, the mass of the Earth decreases by about 100,000 tons per year. Also, the loss of Earth's mass is affected by an increase in temperature on the planet, which contributes to more intense thermal movement and leakage of gases into space. The less the Earth's mass becomes, the less its gravity and the more difficult it becomes to hold the atmosphere around the planet.
Thanks to the method of radioisotope dating, scientists were able to establish the age of the Earth, it is 4.54 billion years. The age of the Earth was more or less accurately determined back in 1956, subsequently, with the development of technologies and measurement methods, it was slightly corrected.

Other information about planet Earth

The surface area of ​​the Earth is 510,072,000 km², of which the water expanses occupy 361,132,000 km², which is 70.8% of the Earth's surface. The land area of ​​148,940,000 km² is 29.2% of the Earth's surface area. Due to the fact that water covers much more of the planet's surface, it was more logical to call our planet Water.
The volume of the Earth is 10.8321 x 10 11 km³.
The highest point of the earth's surface above sea level is Mount Everest, which is 8848 m high, and the Mariana Trench is considered the deepest place in the world ocean, its depth is 11022 m.Well, if you give average values, then the average height of the Earth's surface above sea level is 875 m , and the average ocean depth is 3800 m.
Acceleration of free fall is also the acceleration of gravity in different parts of the planet will be slightly different. At the equator g = 9.780 m / s² and gradually increases, reaching g = 9.832 m / s² at the poles. The average value of the acceleration due to gravity is assumed to be g = 9.80665 m / s²
The composition of the atmosphere of the planet Earth: 1) 78.08% nitrogen (N2); 2) 20.95% oxygen (O2); 3) 0.93% -argon (Ar); 0.039% - carbon dioxide (CO2); 4) 1% water vapor. Other elements from Mendeleev's periodic table are also present in small amounts.
The planet Earth is so big and interesting that, despite how much we already know about the Earth, it never ceases to amaze us with those mysteries and unknowns with which we continue to face.

The mass of the Sun can be found from the condition that the gravity of the Earth to the Sun manifests itself as a centripetal force holding the Earth in its orbit (for simplicity, we will consider the Earth's orbit as a circle)

Here is the mass of the Earth, the average distance of the Earth from the Sun. Denoting the length of the year in seconds through we have. Thus

whence, substituting numerical values, we find the mass of the Sun:

The same formula can be used to calculate the mass of any planet that has a satellite. In this case, the average distance of the satellite from the planet, the time of its revolution around the planet, the mass of the planet. In particular, according to the distance of the Moon from the Earth and the number of seconds in a month, the mass of the Earth can be determined in this way.

The mass of the Earth can also be determined by equating the weight of a body with the gravity of this body to the Earth, minus the component of gravity that manifests itself dynamically, imparting a corresponding centripetal acceleration to a given body participating in the daily rotation of the Earth (§ 30). The need for this correction disappears, if for such a calculation of the mass of the Earth we use the acceleration of gravity that is observed at the poles of the Earth Then, denoting through the average radius of the Earth and through the mass of the Earth, we have:

where does the mass of the earth come from

If the average density of the globe is denoted by then, obviously, Hence the average density of the globe is equal to

The average density of the mineral rocks of the upper layers of the Earth is approximately.Therefore, the core of the globe should have a density significantly exceeding

The study of the density of the Earth at various depths was undertaken by Legendre and continued by many scientists. According to the conclusions of Gutenberg and Gaalka (1924), at different depths, approximately the following values ​​of the Earth's density take place:

The pressure inside the globe, at great depths, is apparently enormous. Many geophysicists believe that already at depth the pressure should reach atmospheres, per square centimeter In the core of the Earth, at a depth of about 3000 kilometers or more, the pressure may reach 1-2 million atmospheres.

As for the temperature in the depths of the globe, it is certain that it is higher (the temperature of the lava). In mines and boreholes, the temperature rises by an average of one degree for each. It is assumed that at a depth of about the temperature reaches 1500-2000 ° and then remains constant.

Rice. 50. Relative sizes of the Sun and planets.

The complete theory of the motion of the planets, set forth in celestial mechanics, allows you to calculate the mass of a planet by observing the influence that a given planet has on the motion of any other planet. At the beginning of the last century, the planets Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus were known. It was observed that the movement of Uranus showed some "irregularities" that indicated that there was an unobserved planet behind Uranus, influencing the movement of Uranus. In 1845, the French scientist Le Verrier and, independently of him, the Englishman Adams, having studied the motion of Uranus, calculated the mass and location of the planet, which no one had yet observed. Only after this was the planet found in the sky exactly at the place indicated by the calculations; this planet was named Neptune.

In 1914, the astronomer Lovell similarly predicted the existence of another planet even further from the Sun than Neptune. Only in 1930 was this planet found and named Pluto.

Basic information about major planets

(see scan)

The following table contains basic information about the nine major planets of the solar system. Rice. 50 illustrates the relative sizes of the Sun and planets.

In addition to the large planets listed, there are about 1300 very small planets, the so-called asteroids (or planetoids). Their orbits are mainly located between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter.