Saturn ( ♄ , शनि ) can be deemed as the most royal planet of the Solar System. With a huge set of rings, the distinctive look of Saturn makes it the most talked-about planet. This fascinating planet is even more interesting from the close. Here are some interesting facts about Saturn, the one with the rings:   Saturn has only one-eighth of the average density of Earth   Saturn’s astronomical symbol (♄) represents the god’s sickle   An apparent oddity is that it does not have any known Trojan Asteroids. Trojans have been discovered for Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Uranus, and Neptune Appendix: AU   The equatorial diameter of Saturn is 11,808 km longer than the diameter measured through the poles while the diameter of Earth is only 12,742 km   The outermost layer of Saturn spans 1,000 km and consists of gas Appendix: Metallic Hydrogen   Saturn’s finer cloud…

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Jupiter

Jupiter (♃ , बृहस्पति) is the giant of our Solar System. Not only Jupiter is very huge, its gravitational force also helped in sculpting the structure of the Solar system, as we see today. First of the giant planets, Jupiter is a mammoth ball of gas with many striking features. Here are some interesting facts about Jupiter, the giant of the giants:   Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the largest in the Solar System   Roman god Jupiter is also called Jove which is the reason behind the name Jovian planets. ‘Jovian planets’ is the other term used for ‘Giant planets’   Jupiter’s upper atmosphere is about 88–92% Hydrogen and 8–12% Helium by percent volume of gas molecules   Jupiter’s rotation is the fastest of all the Solar System‘s planets   But like the other giant planets, Jupiter lacks a well-defined solid surface   Astronomers have…

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Mercury

Mercury ( ☿ , बुध ), the closest planet to the Sun is the one which faces its maximum fury. This tiny piece of rock has its own fascinating features. Here are some interesting facts about the mighty Mercury:   Both moons individually only have a mass equal to 40% of Mercury   The Roman god Mercury serves as the guide of souls to the underworld   An observer on Mercury would see only one day every two Mercurian years   The polar region is constantly below -93° C   Mercury is too small and hot for its gravity to retain any significant atmosphere over long periods of time Appendix: Exosphere   This Exosphere contains Hydrogen, Helium, Oxygen, Sodium, Calcium, Potassium and others.   Mercury’s gravity is double that of our Moon   Mercury’s magnetic field is much weaker than Earth‘s magnetic field. It is still strong enough to deflect…

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The Solar System

Billions of years ago, there was no Sun and there were no planets. All there was a big cloud full of gases. So, how it all turned into a balanced system of a star and planets orbiting around it? How a star and planetary bodies around it made it possible to have life? The story of the Solar System ( सौर मण्डल ). Here are some interesting facts about our Solar System which will give you some insights on this series covering our planetary system:   The Local Interstellar Cloud (LIC) in Orion–Cygnus Arm, also known as the Local Fluff is roughly 30 light-years across ————————————   As is typical of molecular clouds, this one consisted mostly of hydrogen, with some helium. It also had small amounts of heavier elements fused by previous generations of stars   Within 50 million years, the pressure and density of hydrogen in the centre…

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