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Solar Extremes

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Pages

Physical Realm
Universe Astronomical Instrument
Galaxy Milky Way, Andromeda
Planetary System Star, Brown Dwarf, Planet, Moon

Solar System Sun
Terrestrial Planet Mercury, Venus, Earth (Moon), Mars
Asteroid Belt Ceres, Vesta
Jovian Planet Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune
Trans-Neptunian Object
Kuiper Belt Pluto, Haumea, Makemake
Scattered Disc Eris, Sedna, Planet X
Oort Cloud Etc. Scholz’s Star
Small Body Comet, Centaur, Asteroid

Spotlight

Resources

These are organized by a classification scheme developed exclusively for Cosma. More…

General

Portal

Solar System and Beyond (NASA)
Solar System Exploration (NASA)
Solar System Simulator : View Anyplace from Anyplace (NASA, JPL)
Astrogeology Science Center (USGS)

Our Sun & Solar System Internet Resources (Library of Congress)
Solar System Portal (Wikipedia)

Dictionary

Solar System : the sun together with the group of celestial bodies that are held by its attraction and revolve around it; also : a similar system centered on another star — Webster

OneLook, Free Dictionary, Wiktionary, Urban Dictionary

Encyclopedia

Solar System is the gravitationally bound system comprising the Sun and the objects that orbit it, either directly or indirectly. Of those objects that orbit the Sun directly, the largest eight are the planets, with the remainder being significantly smaller objects, such as dwarf planets and small Solar System bodies. Of the objects that orbit the Sun indirectly, the moons, two are larger than the smallest planet, Mercury.

The Solar System formed 4.6 billion years ago from the gravitational collapse of a giant interstellar molecular cloud. The vast majority of the system’s mass is in the Sun, with most of the remaining mass contained in Jupiter. The four smaller inner planets, Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars, are terrestrial planets, being primarily composed of rock and metal. The four outer planets are giant planets, being substantially more massive than the terrestrials. The two largest, Jupiter and Saturn, are gas giants, being composed mainly of hydrogen and helium; the two outermost planets, Uranus and Neptune, are ice giants, being composed mostly of substances with relatively high melting points compared with hydrogen and helium, called volatiles, such as water, ammonia and methane. All planets have almost circular orbits that lie within a nearly flat disc called the ecliptic. — Wikipedia

Solar System (Eric Weisstein’s World of Astronomy, Wolfram Research)
Planets (Eric Weisstein’s World of Astronomy, Wolfram Research)
David Darling’s Internet Encyclopedia of Science, Encyclopædia Britannica
Encyclopedia of the Solar System

Introduction

A Traveler’s Guide to the Planets (National Geographic Channel)

Note: These are 360° Videos — press and hold to explore!

Search

Solar System (Wolfram Alpha)
Planets (Wolfram Alpha)

Science

Weight on Other Planets (Online Conversion.com)

The Planets We Don’t Have (Adam Frank, NPR)

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Preservation

History

Almagest (Wikipedia)
Ptolemy (Wikipedia)

Orrery (Wikipedia)

Solar System Exploration at 50 (NASA)

Library

WorldCat, Library of Congress, UPenn Online Books, Open Library

Participation

Education

Solar System (Space Place, NASA)
Solar System Explorer (Space Place, NASA)
NASA Virtual Field Trip: Solar System Math
Our Solar System (Ask an Astronomer, Cornell University)
The Nine Planets Solar System Tour
Solar System (Cosmos4Kids)
Solar System, More than Planets (Cosmos4Kids)
Solar System II| Exploration (Cosmos4Kids)

Course

Crash Course Astronomy (YouTube)

OER Commons: Open Educational Resources

Community

Expression

Fun

Poem

OEDILF: The Omnificent English Dictionary In Limerick Form

More…

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Solar System News -- ScienceDaily Solar System Planets. Astronomy articles on the eight planets, plus the two dwarf planets, Pluto and Eris. Great pictures of everything in the solar system. Updated daily.

Scientists model Saturn's interior, explain...
on May 5, 2021 at 5:05 pm
New simulations offer an intriguing look into Saturn's interior, suggesting that a thick layer of helium rain influences the planet's magnetic field.
Geology helps astronomers find habitable planets
on May 4, 2021 at 3:25 pm
Astronomers have identified more than 4,000, and counting, confirmed exoplanets -- planets orbiting stars other than the sun -- but only a fraction have the potential to sustain life. Now, new research is using the geology of early planet formation to help identify those that may be capable of supporting life.
Hubble watches how a giant planet grows
on April 29, 2021 at 5:53 pm
NASA's Hubble Space Telescope is giving astronomers a rare look at a Jupiter-sized, still-forming planet that is feeding off material surrounding a young star.
Meteorite amino acids derived from substrates...
on April 29, 2021 at 1:02 pm
Scientists have recreated the reaction by which carbon isotopes made their way into different organic compounds, challenging the notion that organic compounds, such as amino acids, were formed by isotopically enriched substrates. Their discovery suggests that the building blocks of life in meteorites were derived from widely available substrates in the early solar system.
Measuring the Moon's nano dust is no small matter
on April 28, 2021 at 3:37 pm
Researchers are now measuring tinier moon dust particles than ever before, a step toward more precisely explaining the Moon's apparent color and brightness. This in turn might help improve tracking of weather patterns and other phenomena by satellite cameras that use the Moon as a calibration source.
Icy clouds could have kept early Mars warm enough...
on April 26, 2021 at 7:48 pm
A new study led by a planetary scientist uses a computer model of Mars to put forth a promising explanation onto how Mars once contained rivers and lakes: Mars could have had a thin layer of icy, high-altitude clouds that caused a greenhouse effect.
Seismicity on Mars full of surprises, in first...
on April 23, 2021 at 5:00 pm
The SEIS seismometer package from the Mars InSight lander has collected its first continuous Martian year of data, revealing some surprises among the more than 500 marsquakes detected so far.
Mars has right ingredients for present-day...
on April 22, 2021 at 7:04 pm
New research suggests that rocks in the Martian crust could produce the same kind of chemical energy that supports microbial life deep beneath Earth's surface.
Mars' changing habitability recorded by ancient...
on April 22, 2021 at 2:29 pm
An international team has found evidence of ancient dunes on Mars that could help explain ancient surface conditions.
NASA's Perseverance Mars rover extracts first...
on April 21, 2021 at 7:49 pm
The milestone, which the MOXIE instrument achieved by converting carbon dioxide into oxygen, points the way to future human exploration of the Red Planet.