So…how many of you guys don’t have the slightest clue, of anything, when it comes to the topic of outer space? 

What about when it comes to knowing about the planets, we have in our Solar System? 

Or how about being able to name the planets in order one by one from the Sun? 

Well, if you started to scratch your head, with an eraser from a no.  2 pencil, then never fear.  I am here to give some quick and easy, basic to understand knowledge, on what’s beyond the planet Earth. 

This week’s focus is on our very own sweet tiny solar system (kidding..well in space terms it is). 

What is a Solar System? 

To kick things off, let’s start with the definition of a solar system.  A Solar System is defined as a system of objects that orbit their host star due to gravity.  The objects are in a locked orbital dance around the ball of hot gas a.k.a the sun (for us, our sun is made up of mostly hydrogen and helium).  Think of a solar system as kids (planets) playing on a merry go round, around the sun (which would be the center of the merry go round in this example) non-stop.  In other words, the planets are like kids jacked up on sugary soda and pop rocks filled with endless energy, spinning around non-stop for billions of years (can you really imagine that?) 

How many planets are in our Solar System? 

Now that you have a basic understanding of what a Solar System is, let’s talk about the planets.  Depending on what era you were born in, some say that we have 8 or 9 planets in our solar system.  We will name the planets, in order from the sun, starting with the inner rocky planets and then moving on to the outer gas giants.  From the closest to the Sun we have Mercury, Venus, Earth (where humans live in case you didn’t know) then comes Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune.  I know, I know poor ole’ Pluto was denounced as a planet back in 2006 and is considered a dwarf planet, such is another way of saying that Pluto failed as a planet (tears).  Also, just a little FYI, the 4 inner planets are made up of solid rock materials and have a surface.  The 4 outer planets are gassy planets and may not have a solid surface. 

Can we live on other planets in our Solar System? 

When is comes to habitable environments, Earth’s orbit is considered to be in the “Goldilocks” zone.  Which means it’s not too hot nor too cold for human life to exist comfortably.  The other planets, in our Solar System, range from being too hot for human life to exist, having pressures that are too intense for the human body to withstand, and planets not having a surface to even stand on.  Also, needing liquid water to drink, to being able breathe the air on other planets all play a factor in being able to survive and live on other planets.  Mars is the red headed step sister to Earth and we, as a human species, may be able to walk the surface of Mars one day very soon. 

Alrighty then, I don’t want to fill your heads with too much Space Junk (get it?  Space junk..hopefully you do) in one session.  I will be back very soon with more space talk.  For now, this is spacemannews.com signing off. 

P.S. check out my other blog channel planetgreenzen.com.  Where I bring Zen to the world mentally, physically, spiritually, and financially. 

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