New scientific research on the planet of the solar system - Mars
Scientists have discovered that the highest mountain in the solar system, Olympus Mons, is located on Mars. Its height is 21.2 km from its base. In fact, it is a volcano. It is several times higher than Everest, and its area would cover the entire territory of France.
As a result of recent research, NASA scientists have found that the soil on Mars is surprisingly similar to the soil in your dacha or backyard of a country house. It contains all the nutrients necessary for life support. Martian soil is ideal for growing asparagus and turnips.
New scientific research on the planet of the solar system - Venus
Scientists have developed a theory that suggests that particles of life can move with solar pressure. But this can only happen away from the Sun. That is, life could get from Earth to Mars, and to Earth only from Venus. In other words, there is a possibility that life once existed on Venus, but as the Sun warmed up, the biomass on Venus began to decompose, life gradually disappeared, which means that when the Sun heats up even more, the same could happen to the Earth.
It is very important to study Venus. On this inhospitable planet, the surface temperature reaches 480 degrees Celsius and the pressure is 92 times higher than on Earth. The planet is shrouded in thick clouds of sulfuric acid. By studying Venus, scientists will be able to find out why it became so ugly and how the Earth can avoid a similar fate.
New scientific research on the planet of the solar system - Mercury
NASA recently launched a spacecraft specifically designed to study the planet Mercury. According to planetary scientists, the diameter of the first planet in the solar system has decreased by about seven kilometers. Measurements were taken using the Messenger probe, which showed that Mercury began to cool and “deflate” at a much faster rate than expected.
Most of Mercury is a hot core, which is covered by a thin shell of crust and mantle. It formed approximately 4.5 billion years ago, and since then has cooled, decreasing in volume.
The Messenger probe regularly photographed the surface of Mercury. After analyzing the images obtained, specialists from the Carnegie Institution for Science in Washington found that the rate of compression of the planet is approximately 8 times greater than previously thought.
New scientific research on the planet of the solar system - Jupiter
A new image of Jupiter taken from the Juno spacecraft has been published on the website of the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
The photo clearly shows numerous storms in the planet's atmosphere. Some formations resemble tangled strands of yarn. Wind speeds on Jupiter can exceed 600 km/h.
Let us add that now all Juno’s scientific instruments are functioning normally. The device will operate at least until February 2018. After this, the station will be deorbited and sent into the atmosphere of the gas giant, where it will cease to exist.
Study of the Planets of the Solar System
Until the end of the 20th century, it was generally accepted that there were nine planets in the solar system: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto. But recently, many objects have been discovered beyond the orbit of Neptune, some of them similar to Pluto, and others even larger in size. Therefore, in 2006, astronomers clarified the classification: the 8 largest bodies - from Mercury to Neptune - are considered classical planets, and Pluto became the prototype of a new class of objects - dwarf planets. The 4 planets closest to the Sun are usually called terrestrial planets, and the next 4 massive gas bodies are called giant planets. Dwarf planets mainly inhabit the region beyond Neptune's orbit - the Kuiper Belt.
Moon
The Moon is the Earth's natural satellite and the brightest object in the night sky. Formally, the Moon is not a planet, but it is significantly larger than all dwarf planets, most satellites of planets, and is not much inferior in size to Mercury. On the Moon there is no atmosphere familiar to us, there are no rivers and lakes, vegetation and living organisms. The gravity on the Moon is six times less than on Earth. Day and night with temperature changes of up to 300 degrees last for two weeks. And yet, the Moon is increasingly attracting earthlings with the opportunity to use its unique conditions and resources. Therefore, the Moon is our first step in getting to know the objects of the Solar System.
The Moon has been well explored both with the help of ground-based telescopes and thanks to the flights of more than 50 spacecraft and ships with astronauts. The Soviet automatic stations Luna-3 (1959) and Zond-3 (1965) were the first to photograph the eastern and western parts of the lunar hemisphere, invisible from Earth. Artificial satellites of the Moon studied its gravitational field and relief. Self-propelled vehicles "Lunokhod-1 and -2" transmitted to Earth many images and information about the physical and mechanical properties of the soil. Twelve American astronauts with the help of the Apollo spacecraft in 1969-1972. visited the Moon, where they conducted surface studies at six different landing sites on the visible side, installed scientific equipment there and brought about 400 kg of lunar rocks to Earth. The Luna-16, -20 and -24 probes automatically drilled and delivered lunar soil to Earth. The new generation spacecraft Clementine (1994), Lunar Prospector (1998-99) and Smart-1 (2003-06) received more accurate information about the relief and gravitational field of the Moon, as well as discovered deposits of hydrogen-containing materials, possibly water ice, on the surface. In particular, increased concentrations of these materials are found in permanently shadowed depressions near the poles.
The Chinese Chang'e-1 spacecraft, launched on October 24, 2007, photographed the lunar surface and collected data to compile a digital model of its relief. On March 1, 2009, the device was dropped onto the surface of the Moon. On November 8, 2008, the Indian spacecraft Chandrayaan 1 was launched into selenocentric orbit. On November 14, the probe separated from it and made a hard landing near the south pole of the Moon. The device operated for 312 days and transmitted data on the distribution of chemical elements on the surface and on relief heights. The Japanese Kaguya satellite and two additional microsatellites, Okina and Oyuna, which operated in 2007-2009, carried out the scientific program of lunar research and transmitted data on the heights of the relief and the distribution of gravity on its surface with high accuracy.
A new important stage in the study of the Moon was the launch on June 18, 2009 of two American satellites “Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter” (Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter) and “LCROSS” (lunar crater observation and detection satellite). On October 9, 2009, the LCROSS probe was sent to the Cabeo crater. The spent stage of the Atlas-V rocket, weighing 2.2 tons, first fell to the bottom of the crater. About four minutes later, the LCROSS spacecraft (weighing 891 kg) also fell there, which, before falling, rushed through the cloud of dust raised by the stage, having managed to do the necessary research until the device dies. American researchers believe that they still managed to find some water in a cloud of lunar dust. Lunar Orbiter continues to explore the Moon from polar lunar orbit. The Russian LEND (Lunar Research Neutron Detector) instrument, designed to search for frozen water, is installed on board the spacecraft. In the area of the South Pole, he discovered a large amount of hydrogen, which may be a sign of the presence of water there in a bound state.
In the near future, exploration of the Moon will begin. Already today, projects are being developed in detail to create a permanent inhabited base on its surface. The long-term or permanent presence on the Moon of replacement crews of such a base will make it possible to solve more complex scientific and applied problems.
The Moon moves under the influence of gravity, mainly from two celestial bodies - the Earth and the Sun at an average distance of 384,400 km from the Earth. At apogee this distance increases to 405,500 km, at perigee it decreases to 363,300 km. The period of revolution of the Moon around the Earth in relation to distant stars is about 27.3 days (sidereal month), but since the Moon revolves around the Sun together with the Earth, its position relative to the Sun-Earth line is repeated after a slightly longer period of time - about 29.5 days (synodic month). During this period, a complete change of lunar phases takes place: from the new moon to the first quarter, then to the full moon, to the last quarter and again to the new moon. The Moon rotates around its axis at a constant angular velocity in the same direction in which it revolves around the Earth, and with the same period of 27.3 days. That is why from the Earth we see only one hemisphere of the Moon, which we call visible; and the other hemisphere is always hidden from our eyes. This hemisphere, not visible from Earth, is called the far side of the Moon. The figure formed by the physical surface of the Moon is very close to a regular sphere with an average radius of 1737.5 km. The surface area of the lunar globe is about 38 million km 2, which is only 7.4% of the earth's surface area, or about a quarter of the area of the earth's continents. The mass ratio of the Moon and Earth is 1:81.3. The average density of the Moon (3.34 g/cm3) is significantly less than the average density of the Earth (5.52 g/cm3). The gravity on the Moon is six times less than on Earth. On a summer afternoon near the equator, the surface heats up to +130° C, in some places even higher; and at night the temperature drops to -170 °C. Rapid cooling of the surface is also observed during lunar eclipses. There are two types of areas on the Moon: light - continental, occupying 83% of the entire surface (including the far side), and dark areas called seas. This division arose in the middle of the 17th century, when it was assumed that there was actually water on the Moon. In terms of mineralogical composition and the content of individual chemical elements, lunar rocks on dark areas of the surface (seas) are very close to terrestrial rocks such as basalts, and on light areas (continents) - to anorthosites.
The question of the origin of the Moon is not yet completely clear. The chemical composition of lunar rocks suggests that the Moon and Earth were formed in the same region of the solar system. But the difference in their composition and internal structure makes us think that both of these bodies were not a single whole in the past. Most of the large craters and huge depressions (multi-ring basins) appeared on the surface of the lunar ball during a period of heavy bombardment of the surface. About 3.5 billion years ago, as a result of internal heating, basaltic lavas poured out onto the surface from the depths of the Moon, filling the lowlands and round depressions. This is how the lunar seas were formed. On the reverse side, due to the thicker bark, there were significantly fewer outpourings. On the visible hemisphere, seas occupy 30% of the surface, and on the opposite hemisphere - only 3%. Thus, the evolution of the lunar surface basically ended about 3 billion years ago. The meteorite bombardment continued, but with less intensity. As a result of prolonged processing of the surface, the upper loose layer of rocks of the Moon was formed - regolith, several meters thick.
Mercury
The planet closest to the Sun is named after the ancient god Hermes (to the Romans Mercury) - the messenger of the gods and the god of dawn. Mercury is at an average distance of 58 million km or 0.39 AU. from the sun. Moving along a highly elongated orbit, at perihelion it approaches the Sun at a distance of 0.31 AU, and at its maximum distance it is at a distance of 0.47 AU, making a full revolution in 88 Earth days. In 1965, using radar methods from the Earth, it was established that the rotation period of this planet is 58.6 days, that is, in 2/3 of its year it completes a full rotation around its axis. The addition of axial and orbital motions leads to the fact that, being on the Sun-Earth line, Mercury is always turned with the same side towards us. A solar day (the period of time between the upper or lower culminations of the Sun) lasts 176 Earth days on the planet.
At the end of the 19th century, astronomers tried to sketch the dark and light features observed on the surface of Mercury. The best known are the works of Schiaparelli (1881-1889) and the American astronomer Percival Lovell (1896-1897). Interestingly, astronomer T. J. C. even announced in 1901 that he had seen craters on Mercury. Few believed it, but subsequently the 625-kilometer crater (Beethoven) ended up in the place marked by Xi. French astronomer Eugene Antoniadi compiled a map of the “visible hemisphere” of Mercury in 1934, since it was then believed that only one hemisphere was always illuminated. Antoniadi gave names to individual details on this map, which are partially used on modern maps.
It was possible for the first time to compile truly reliable maps of the planet and see the fine details of the surface relief thanks to the American space probe Mariner 10, launched in 1973. It approached Mercury three times and transmitted television images of various parts of its surface to Earth. In total, 45% of the planet's surface was removed, mainly the western hemisphere. As it turned out, its entire surface is covered with many craters of different sizes. It was possible to clarify the value of the planet’s radius (2439 km) and its mass. Temperature sensors made it possible to establish that during the day the surface temperature of the planet rises to 510° C, and at night drops to -210° C. The strength of its magnetic field is about 1% of the strength of the earth's magnetic field. More than 3 thousand photographs taken during the third approach had a resolution of up to 50 m.
The acceleration of gravity on Mercury is 3.68 m/s 2 . An astronaut on this planet will weigh almost three times less than on Earth. Since it turned out that the average density of Mercury is almost the same as that of the Earth, it is assumed that Mercury has an iron core, occupying approximately half the volume of the planet, above which there is a mantle and a silicate shell. Mercury receives 6 times more sunlight per unit area than Earth. Moreover, most of the solar energy is absorbed, since the surface of the planet is dark, reflecting only 12-18 percent of the incident light. The surface layer of the planet (regolith) is highly crushed and serves as excellent thermal insulation, so that at a depth of several tens of centimeters from the surface the temperature is constant - about 350 degrees K. Mercury has an extremely rarefied helium atmosphere created by the “solar wind” that blows across the planet. The pressure of such an atmosphere at the surface is 500 billion times less than at the surface of the Earth. In addition to helium, an insignificant amount of hydrogen, traces of argon and neon were detected.
The American spacecraft Messenger (Messenger - from the English Courier), launched on August 3, 2004, made its first flyby of Mercury on January 14, 2008 at a distance of 200 km from the surface of the planet. She photographed the eastern half of the planet's previously unphotographed hemisphere. The studies of Mercury were carried out in two stages: first, surveys from the flight path during two encounters with the planet (2008), and then (September 30, 2009) - detailed ones. The entire surface of the planet was photographed in various spectral ranges and color images of the terrain were obtained, the chemical and mineralogical composition of the rocks was determined, and the content of volatile elements in the near-surface soil layer was measured. The laser altimeter measured the heights of the surface relief of Mercury. It turned out that the difference in relief heights on this planet is less than 7 km. At the fourth approach, on March 18, 2011, the Messenger satellite should enter the orbit of the artificial satellite of Mercury.
According to the decision of the International Astronomical Union, craters on Mercury are named after figures: writers, poets, artists, sculptors, composers. For example, the largest craters with a diameter of 300 to 600 km were named Beethoven, Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, Shakespeare and others. There are exceptions to this rule - one crater with a diameter of 60 km with a ray system is named after the famous astronomer Kuiper, and another crater with a diameter of 1.5 km near the equator, taken as the origin of longitude on Mercury, is named Hun Kal, which is in the language of the ancient Mayans means "twenty". It was agreed to draw a meridian through this crater with a longitude of 20°.
The plains are given the names of the planet Mercury in different languages, such as Sobkou Plain or Odin Plain. There are two plains named for their location: the Northern Plain and the Heat Plain, located in the region of maximum temperatures at 180° longitude. The mountains bordering this plain were called the Heat Mountains. A distinctive feature of Mercury's topography is its extended ledges, which are named after marine research vessels. The valleys are named after radio astronomy observatories. The two ridges are named Antoniadi and Schiaparelli, in honor of the astronomers who compiled the first maps of this planet.
Venus
Venus is the planet closest to Earth; it is closer to us than the Sun and is therefore illuminated more brightly by it; Finally, it reflects sunlight very well. The fact is that the surface of Venus is covered under a powerful cover of the atmosphere, completely hiding the surface of the planet from our view. In the visible range it cannot be seen even from the orbit of the artificial satellite of Venus, and, nevertheless, we have “images” of the surface that were obtained by radar.
The second planet from the Sun is named after the ancient goddess of love and beauty Aphrodite (for the Romans - Venus). The average radius of Venus is 6051.8 km, and its mass is 81% of the mass of the Earth. Venus revolves around the Sun in the same direction as the other planets, completing a full revolution in 225 days. The period of its rotation around its axis (243 days) was determined only in the early 1960s, when radar methods began to be used to measure the rotation speeds of the planets. Thus, Venus's daily rotation is the slowest among all the planets. In addition, it occurs in the opposite direction: unlike most planets, for which the directions of orbit and rotation around the axis coincide, Venus rotates around its axis in the direction opposite to the orbital motion. If you look at it formally, this is not a unique property of Venus. For example, Uranus and Pluto also rotate in the opposite direction. But they rotate practically “lying on their side,” and Venus’s axis is almost perpendicular to the orbital plane, so it is the only one that “really” rotates in the opposite direction. That is why the solar day on Venus is shorter than the time it takes to rotate around its axis and is 117 Earth days (for other planets, the solar day is longer than the rotation period). And a year on Venus is only twice as long as a solar day.
The atmosphere of Venus consists of 96.5% carbon dioxide and almost 3.5% nitrogen. Other gases - water vapor, oxygen, sulfur oxide and dioxide, argon, neon, helium and krypton - add up to less than 0.1%. But it should be kept in mind that the Venusian atmosphere is about 100 times more massive than ours, so there is, for example, five times more nitrogen there than in the Earth’s atmosphere.
The foggy haze in the atmosphere of Venus extends upward to an altitude of 48-49 km. Further up to an altitude of 70 km there is a cloud layer containing droplets of concentrated sulfuric acid, and in the uppermost layers hydrochloric and hydrofluoric acids are also present. The clouds of Venus reflect 77% of the sunlight that hits them. At the top of the highest mountains of Venus - the Maxwell Mountains (altitude about 11 km) - the atmospheric pressure is 45 bar, and at the bottom of the Diana Canyon - 119 bar. As you know, the pressure of the earth’s atmosphere at the surface of the planet is only 1 bar. Venus's powerful carbon dioxide atmosphere absorbs and partially transmits about 23% of solar radiation to the surface. This radiation heats the planet's surface, but thermal infrared radiation from the surface travels through the atmosphere back into space with great difficulty. And only when the surface heats up to approximately 460-470 °C, the outgoing energy flow turns out to be equal to the incoming energy flow. It is because of this greenhouse effect that the surface of Venus remains hot, regardless of latitude. But in the mountains, over which the atmosphere is thinner, the temperature is several tens of degrees lower. Venus was explored by more than 20 spacecraft: Venus, Mariners, Pioneer-Venus, Vega and Magellan. In 2006, the Venus Express probe operated in orbit around it. Scientists were able to see the global features of the surface topography of Venus thanks to radar sounding from the Pioneer-Venera orbiters (1978), Venera-15 and -16 (1983-84) and Magellan (1990-94). .). Ground-based radar allows you to “see” only 25% of the surface, and with much lower detail resolution than spacecraft are capable of. For example, Magellan received images of the entire surface with a resolution of 300 m. It turned out that most of the surface of Venus is occupied by hilly plains.
Uplands account for only 8% of the surface. All noticeable details of the relief received their names. In the first ground-based radar images of individual areas of the surface of Venus, researchers used various names, of which now remain on the maps - Maxwell Mountains (the name reflects the role of radio physics in the study of Venus), the Alpha and Beta regions (the two brightest parts of the relief of Venus in radar images are named after the first letters of the Greek alphabet). But these names are exceptions to the naming rules adopted by the International Astronomical Union: astronomers decided to name the surface features of Venus with female names. Large elevated areas were named: the Land of Aphrodite, the Land of Ishtar (in honor of the Assyrian goddess of love and beauty) and the Land of Lada (the Slavic goddess of love and beauty). Large craters are named in honor of outstanding women of all times and peoples, and small craters bear personal female names. On the maps of Venus you can find such names as Cleopatra (the last queen of Egypt), Dashkova (director of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences), Akhmatova (Russian poetess) and other famous names. Russian names include Antonina, Galina, Zina, Zoya, Lena, Masha, Tatyana and others.
Mars
The fourth planet from the Sun, named after the god of war Mars, is 1.5 times farther from the Earth. One orbital revolution takes Mars 687 Earth days. The orbit of Mars has a noticeable eccentricity (0.09), so its distance from the Sun varies from 207 million km at perihelion to 250 million km at aphelion. The orbits of Mars and Earth lie almost in the same plane: the angle between them is only 2°. Every 780 days, Earth and Mars find themselves at a minimum distance from each other, which can range from 56 to 101 million km. Such rapprochements of planets are called oppositions. If at this moment the distance between the planets is less than 60 million km, then the opposition is called great. Great confrontations occur every 15-17 years.
The equatorial radius of Mars is 3394 km, 20 km more than the polar one. Mars is ten times smaller in mass than Earth, and in surface area it is 3.5 times smaller. The axial rotation period of Mars was determined by ground-based telescopic observations of contrasting surface features: it is 24 hours 39 minutes and 36 seconds. The rotation axis of Mars is tilted at an angle of 25.2° from the perpendicular to the orbital plane. Therefore, on Mars there is also a change of seasons, but the duration of the seasons is almost twice as long as on Earth. Due to the elongation of the orbit, the seasons in the northern and southern hemispheres have different durations: summer in the northern hemisphere lasts 177 Martian days, and in the southern it is 21 days shorter, but warmer than summer in the northern hemisphere.
Due to its greater distance from the Sun, Mars receives only 43% of the energy that falls on the same area of the earth's surface. The average annual temperature on the surface of Mars is about -60 °C. The maximum temperature there does not exceed a few degrees above zero, and the minimum was recorded on the northern polar cap and is -138 °C. During the day, the surface temperature changes significantly. For example, in the southern hemisphere at a latitude of 50°, the characteristic temperature in mid-autumn varies from -18 °C at noon to -63 °C at night. However, already at a depth of 25 cm below the surface, the temperature is almost constant (about -60 ° C), regardless of the time of day and season. Large changes in temperature on the surface are explained by the fact that the atmosphere of Mars is very rarefied, and the surface quickly cools at night and is quickly heated by the Sun during the day. The atmosphere of Mars consists of 95% carbon dioxide. Its other components: 2.5% nitrogen, 1.6% argon, less than 0.4% oxygen. The average atmospheric pressure at the surface is 6.1 mbar, i.e. 160 times less than the pressure of the earth's air at sea level (1 bar). In the deepest depressions on Mars it can reach 12 millibars. The atmosphere of the planet is dry, there is practically no water vapor in it.
The polar caps of Mars are multi-layered. The lower, main layer, several kilometers thick, is formed by ordinary water ice mixed with dust; this layer remains in the summer, forming permanent caps. And the observed seasonal changes in the polar caps occur due to the upper layer less than 1 meter thick, consisting of solid carbon dioxide, the so-called “dry ice”. The area covered by this layer grows rapidly in winter, reaching a parallel of 50°, and sometimes even crossing this line. In spring, as the temperature rises, the top layer evaporates, leaving only a permanent cap. The “wave of darkening” of surface areas observed with the change of seasons is explained by a change in the direction of the winds, constantly blowing in the direction from one pole to the other. The wind carries away the top layer of loose material - light dust, exposing areas of darker rocks. During periods when Mars passes perihelion, the heating of the surface and atmosphere increases, and the balance of the Martian environment is disrupted. The wind speed increases to 70 km/h, whirlwinds and storms begin. Sometimes more than a billion tons of dust rises and is held in suspension, while the climate conditions on the entire Martian globe change dramatically. The duration of dust storms can reach 50 - 100 days. Exploration of Mars by spacecraft began in 1962 with the launch of the Mars-1 probe. The first images of parts of the surface of Mars were transmitted by Mariner 4 in 1965, and then by Mariner 6 and 7 in 1969. The Mars 3 lander managed to make a soft landing. Based on the Mariner 9 images (1971), detailed maps of the planet were compiled. He transmitted to Earth 7329 photographs of Mars with a resolution of up to 100 m, as well as photographs of its satellites - Phobos and Deimos. A whole flotilla of four spacecraft Mars-4, -5, -6, -7, launched in 1973, reached the vicinity of Mars in early 1974. Due to a malfunction of the on-board braking system, Mars-4 passed at a distance about 2200 km from the surface of the planet, having only photographed it. Mars-5 carried out remote sensing of the surface and atmosphere from the orbit of an artificial satellite. The Mars 6 lander made a soft landing in the southern hemisphere. Data on the chemical composition, pressure and temperature of the atmosphere were transmitted to Earth. Mars 7 passed at a distance of 1,300 km from the surface without completing its program.
The most effective flights were the two American Vikings launched in 1975. On board the devices were television cameras, infrared spectrometers for recording water vapor in the atmosphere, and radiometers for obtaining temperature data. The Viking 1 landing unit made a soft landing on Chrys Planitia on July 20, 1976, and the Viking 2 landing unit on Utopia Planitia on September 3, 1976. Unique experiments were carried out at the landing sites in order to detect signs of life in the Martian soil. A special device captured a soil sample and placed it in one of the containers containing a supply of water or nutrients. Since any living organisms change their habitat, the instruments had to record this. Although some changes in the environment in a tightly closed container were observed, the presence of a strong oxidizing agent in the soil could lead to the same results. That is why scientists could not confidently attribute these changes to the activity of bacteria. Detailed photographs of the surface of Mars and its satellites were taken from orbital stations. Based on the data obtained, detailed maps of the planet’s surface, geological, thermal and other special maps were compiled.
The task of the Soviet stations “Phobos-1, -2”, launched after a 13-year break, was to study Mars and its satellite Phobos. As a result of an incorrect command from Earth, Phobos-1 lost orientation, and communication with it could not be restored. “Phobos-2” entered the orbit of the artificial satellite of Mars in January 1989. Data on temperature changes on the surface of Mars and new information about the properties of the rocks that make up Phobos were obtained using remote methods. 38 images with a resolution of up to 40 m were obtained, and the temperature of its surface was measured, which was 30 °C in the hottest spots. Unfortunately, it was not possible to implement the main program to study Phobos. Contact with the device was lost on March 27, 1989. This did not end the series of failures. The American Mars Observer spacecraft, launched in 1992, also failed to complete its mission. Contact with him was lost on August 21, 1993. It was not possible to place the Russian station “Mars-96” on the flight path to Mars.
One of NASA's most successful projects is the Mars Global Surveyor station, launched on November 7, 1996 to provide detailed mapping of the surface of Mars. The device also serves as a telecommunications satellite for the Spirit and Opportunity rovers, which were delivered in 2003 and continue to operate to this day. In July 1997, Mars Pathfinder delivered the first automatic rover, Sogerner, to the planet, weighing less than 11 kg, which successfully studied the chemical composition of the surface and meteorological conditions. The rover maintained contact with Earth through a landing module. NASA's automatic interplanetary station "Mars Reconnaissance Satellite" began its work in orbit in March 2006. Using a high-resolution camera on the surface of Mars, it was possible to distinguish features measuring 30 cm. "Mars Odyssey", "Mars Express" and "Mars Reconnaissance Satellite" “Research from orbit continues. The Phoenix apparatus operated in the polar region from May 25 to November 2, 2008. He drilled the surface for the first time and discovered ice. Phoenix delivered a digital library of science fiction to the planet. Programs are being developed to fly astronauts to Mars. Such an expedition will take more than two years, since in order to return they will have to wait for a convenient relative position of Earth and Mars.
On modern maps of Mars, along with the names assigned to landforms identified from space images, old geographical and mythological names proposed by Schiaparelli are also used. The largest elevated area, about 6,000 km in diameter and up to 9 km in height, was called Tharsis (as Iran was called on ancient maps), and a huge ring depression in the south with a diameter of more than 2,000 km was called Hellas (Greece). Areas of the surface densely covered with craters were called lands: Prometheus Land, Noah Land, and others. The valleys are given the names of the planet Mars from the languages of different peoples. Large craters are named after scientists, and small craters are named after populated areas of the Earth. Four giant extinct volcanoes rise above the surrounding area to a height of 26 m. The largest of them, Mount Olympus, located on the western edge of the Arsida Mountains, has a base with a diameter of 600 km and a caldera (crater) at the top with a diameter of 60 km. Three volcanoes - Mount Askrian, Mount Pavolina and Mount Arsia - are located on one straight line at the top of the Tharsis Mountains. The volcanoes themselves rise another 17 km above Tharsis. In addition to these four, more than 70 extinct volcanoes have been found on Mars, but they are much smaller in area and height.
South of the equator there is a giant valley up to 6 km deep and more than 4000 km long. It was called the Valles Marineris. Many smaller valleys, as well as grooves and cracks, have also been identified, indicating that in ancient times there was water on Mars and, therefore, the atmosphere was denser. Under the surface of Mars in some areas there should be a layer of permafrost several kilometers thick. In such areas, frozen streams, unusual for terrestrial planets, are visible on the surface near the craters, from which one can judge the presence of subsurface ice.
With the exception of the plains, the surface of Mars is heavily cratered. The craters tend to appear more destroyed than those on Mercury and the Moon. Traces of wind erosion can be seen everywhere.
Phobos and Deimos - natural satellites of Mars
The moons of Mars were discovered during the great opposition of 1877 by American astronomer A. Hall. They were called Phobos (translated from Greek Fear) and Deimos (Horror), since in ancient myths the god of war was always accompanied by his children - Fear and Horror. The satellites are very small in size and have irregular shapes. The semi-major axis of Phobos is 13.5 km, and the minor axis is 9.4 km; Deimos has 7.5 and 5.5 km, respectively. The Mariner 7 probe photographed Phobos against the backdrop of Mars in 1969, and Mariner 9 sent back numerous images of both moons, showing their rough, heavily cratered surfaces. The Viking and Phobos-2 probes made several close approaches to the satellites. The best photographs of Phobos show relief details up to 5 meters in size.
The orbits of the satellites are circular. Phobos orbits Mars at a distance of 6000 km from the surface with a period of 7 hours 39 minutes. Deimos is 20 thousand km away from the surface of the planet, and its orbital period is 30 hours 18 minutes. The periods of rotation of satellites around their axis coincide with the periods of their revolution around Mars. The major axes of satellite figures are always directed towards the center of the planet. Phobos rises in the west and sets in the east 3 times per Martian day. The average density of Phobos is less than 2 g/cm 3 , and the acceleration of free fall on its surface is 0.5 cm/s 2 . A person on Phobos would weigh only a few tens of grams and could, by throwing a stone with his hand, make it fly off into space forever (the take-off speed on the surface of Phobos is about 13 m/s). The largest crater on Phobos has a diameter of 8 km, comparable to the smallest diameter of the satellite itself. On Deimos, the largest depression has a diameter of 2 km. The surfaces of the satellites are dotted with small craters in much the same way as the Moon. Despite the general similarity, the abundance of finely crushed material covering the surfaces of the satellites, Phobos looks more “torn”, and Deimos has a smoother, dust-covered surface. Mysterious grooves have been discovered on Phobos, crossing almost the entire satellite. The furrows are 100-200 m wide and stretch for tens of kilometers. Their depth is from 20 to 90 meters. There are several about the origin of these grooves, but so far there is no sufficiently convincing explanation, as well as an explanation of the origin of the satellites themselves. Most likely, these are asteroids captured by Mars.
Jupiter
It’s not for nothing that Jupiter is called the “king of the planets.” It is the largest planet in the solar system, exceeding Earth by 11.2 times in diameter and 318 times in mass. Jupiter has a low average density (1.33 g/cm3) because it consists almost entirely of hydrogen and helium. It is located at an average distance of 779 million km from the Sun and spends about 12 years on one orbital revolution. Despite its gigantic size, this planet rotates very quickly - faster than Earth or Mars. The most surprising thing is that Jupiter does not have a solid surface in the generally accepted sense - it is a gas giant. Jupiter leads the group of giant planets. Named after the supreme god of ancient mythology (the ancient Greeks - Zeus, the Romans - Jupiter), it is five times farther from the Sun than the Earth. Due to its rapid rotation, Jupiter is greatly flattened: its equatorial radius (71,492 km) is 7% larger than its polar radius, which is easy to notice when observed through a telescope. The force of gravity at the planet's equator is 2.6 times greater than on Earth. Jupiter's equator is inclined only 3° to its orbit, so the planet does not experience a change of seasons. The inclination of the orbit to the ecliptic plane is even less - only 1°. Every 399 days, oppositions between the Earth and Jupiter are repeated.
Hydrogen and helium are the main components of this planet: by volume, the ratio of these gases is 89% hydrogen and 11% helium, and by mass 80% and 20%, respectively. The entire visible surface of Jupiter is dense clouds, forming a system of dark belts and light zones north and south of the equator to the parallels of 40° north and south latitude. The clouds form layers of brownish, red and bluish hues. The rotation periods of these cloud layers turned out to be not the same: the closer they are to the equator, the shorter their rotation period. So, near the equator they complete a revolution around the planet’s axis in 9 hours 50 minutes, and at middle latitudes - in 9 hours 55 minutes. Belts and zones are areas of downward and upward flows in the atmosphere. Atmospheric currents parallel to the equator are maintained by heat flows from the depths of the planet, as well as by the rapid rotation of Jupiter and energy from the Sun. The visible surface of the zones is located approximately 20 km above the belts. Strong turbulent gas movements are observed at the boundaries of belts and zones. Jupiter's hydrogen-helium atmosphere is enormous. The cloud cover is located at an altitude of about 1000 km above the "surface", where the gaseous state changes to liquid due to high pressure.
Even before the flights of spacecraft to Jupiter, it was established that the heat flow from the depths of Jupiter is twice the influx of solar heat received by the planet. This may be due to the slow sinking of heavier substances towards the center of the planet and the ascent of lighter ones. Meteorites falling on the planet can also be a source of energy. The color of the belts is explained by the presence of various chemical compounds. Closer to the poles of the planet, at high latitudes, clouds form a continuous field with brown and bluish spots up to 1000 km across. Jupiter's most famous feature is the Great Red Spot, an oval feature of varying sizes located in the southern tropical zone. Currently, it has dimensions of 15,000 × 30,000 km (i.e., two globes can easily fit in it), and a hundred years ago observers noted that the size of the Spot was twice as large. Sometimes it is not visible very clearly. The Great Red Spot is a long-lived vortex in the atmosphere of Jupiter, making a full revolution around its center in 6 Earth days. The first study of Jupiter at close range (130 thousand km) took place in December 1973 using the Pioneer 10 probe. Observations carried out by this apparatus in ultraviolet rays showed that the planet has extensive hydrogen and helium coronas. The cloud top appears to be composed of cirrus clouds of ammonia, while below is a mixture of hydrogen, methane and frozen ammonia crystals. An infrared radiometer showed that the temperature of the outer cloud cover was about -133 °C. A powerful magnetic field was discovered and the zone of the most intense radiation was recorded at a distance of 177 thousand km from the planet. The plume of Jupiter's magnetosphere is visible even beyond the orbit of Saturn.
The route of Pioneer 11, which flew at a distance of 43 thousand km from Jupiter in December 1974, was calculated differently. He passed between the radiation belts and the planet itself, avoiding a dangerous dose of radiation for electronic equipment. Analysis of color images of the cloud layer obtained with a photopolarimeter made it possible to identify the features and structure of the clouds. The height of the clouds turned out to be different in belts and zones. Even before the flights of Pioneer 10 and 11 from Earth, with the help of an astronomical observatory flying on an airplane, it was possible to determine the content of other gases in the atmosphere of Jupiter. As expected, the presence of phosphine was discovered - a gaseous compound of phosphorus with hydrogen (PH 3), which gives color to the cloud cover. When heated, it decomposes to release red phosphorus. The unique relative position in the orbits of the Earth and the giant planets, which occurred from 1976 to 1978, was used to successively study Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune using the Voyager 1 and 2 probes. Their routes were calculated in such a way that it was possible to use the gravity of the planets themselves to accelerate and rotate the flight path from one planet to another. As a result, the flight to Uranus took 9 years, not 16, as it would have been according to the traditional scheme, and the flight to Neptune took 12 years instead of 20. Such a relative arrangement of the planets will be repeated only after 179 years.
Based on data obtained by space probes and theoretical calculations, mathematical models of Jupiter's cloud cover were constructed and ideas about its internal structure were refined. In a somewhat simplified form, Jupiter can be represented as shells with density increasing towards the center of the planet. At the bottom of the atmosphere, 1500 km thick, the density of which increases rapidly with depth, there is a layer of gas-liquid hydrogen about 7000 km thick. At a level of 0.9 radius of the planet, where the pressure is 0.7 Mbar and the temperature is about 6500 K, hydrogen passes into the liquid molecular state, and after another 8000 km - into the liquid metallic state. Along with hydrogen and helium, the layers contain a small amount of heavy elements. The inner core, 25,000 km in diameter, is metallosilicate, including water, ammonia and methane. The temperature in the center is 23,000 K and the pressure is 50 Mbar. Saturn has a similar structure.
There are 63 known satellites orbiting Jupiter, which can be divided into two groups - inner and outer, or regular and irregular; the first group includes 8 satellites, the second - 55. The satellites of the inner group orbit in almost circular orbits, practically lying in the plane of the planet’s equator. The four closest satellites to the planet - Adrastea, Metis, Amalthea and Theba - have diameters from 40 to 270 km and are located within 2-3 radii of Jupiter from the center of the planet. They differ sharply from the four satellites that follow them, located at a distance of 6 to 26 radii of Jupiter and having significantly larger sizes, close to the size of the Moon. These large satellites - Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto were discovered at the beginning of the 17th century. almost simultaneously by Galileo Galilei and Simon Marius. They are usually called the Galilean satellites of Jupiter, although the first tables of the motion of these satellites were compiled by Marius.
The outer group consists of small - with a diameter of 1 to 170 km - satellites moving in elongated orbits strongly inclined towards Jupiter's equator. At the same time, five satellites closer to Jupiter move in their orbits in the direction of Jupiter’s rotation, and almost all of the more distant satellites move in the opposite direction. Detailed information about the nature of the surfaces of satellites was obtained by spacecraft. Let us dwell in more detail on the Galilean satellites. The diameter of the satellite Io closest to Jupiter is 3640 km, and its average density is 3.55 g/cm 3 . Io's interior is heated due to the tidal influence of Jupiter and disturbances introduced into Io's motion by its neighbors - Europa and Ganymede. Tidal forces deform Io's outer layers and heat them up. In this case, the accumulated energy breaks out to the surface in the form of volcanic eruptions. From the craters of volcanoes, sulfur dioxide and sulfur vapor are emitted at a speed of about 1 km/s to a height of hundreds of kilometers above the surface of the satellite. Although Io's surface temperature averages around -140 °C near the equator, there are hot spots ranging from 75 to 250 km in size where temperatures reach 100-300 °C. Io's surface is covered with eruption products and is orange in color. The average age of the parts on it is small - about 1 million years. Io's topography is mostly flat, but there are several mountains ranging in height from 1 to 10 km. Io’s atmosphere is very rarefied (it’s practically a vacuum), but a gas tail stretches behind the satellite: radiation of oxygen, sodium vapor and sulfur - products of volcanic eruptions - was detected along Io’s orbit.
The second of the Galilean satellites, Europa, is slightly smaller in size than the Moon, its diameter is 3130 km, and the average density of matter is about 3 g/cm3. The surface of the satellite is dotted with a network of light and dark lines: apparently, these are cracks in the ice crust resulting from tectonic processes. The width of these faults varies from several kilometers to hundreds of kilometers, and their length reaches thousands of kilometers. Estimates of crustal thickness range from a few kilometers to tens of kilometers. In the depths of Europa, the energy of tidal interaction is also released, which maintains the mantle in liquid form - a subglacial ocean, perhaps even a warm one. It is not surprising, therefore, that there is an assumption about the possibility of the existence of the simplest forms of life in this ocean. Based on the average density of the satellite, there should be silicate rocks under the ocean. Since there are very few craters on Europa, which has a fairly smooth surface, the age of the features of this orange-brown surface is estimated at hundreds of thousands and millions of years. High-resolution images obtained by Galileo show individual irregularly shaped fields with elongated parallel ridges and valleys reminiscent of highways. In a number of places, dark spots stand out, most likely these are deposits of substance carried out from under the ice layer.
According to the American scientist Richard Greenberg, conditions for life on Europa should be sought not in the deep subglacial ocean, but in numerous cracks. Due to the tidal effect, the cracks periodically narrow and widen to a width of 1 m. When the crack narrows, the ocean water goes down, and when it begins to expand, the water rises along it almost to the surface. The sun's rays penetrate through the ice plug that prevents water from reaching the surface, carrying the energy necessary for living organisms.
The largest satellite in the Jupiter system, Ganymede, has a diameter of 5268 km, but its average density is only twice that of water; this suggests that about 50% of the satellite's mass is ice. Many craters covering dark brown areas indicate the ancient age of this surface, about 3-4 billion years. Younger areas are covered with systems of parallel grooves formed by lighter material during the process of stretching of the ice crust. The depth of these furrows is several hundred meters, the width is tens of kilometers, and the length can reach several thousand kilometers. Some craters of Ganymede contain not only light ray systems (similar to the lunar ones), but sometimes dark ones as well.
The diameter of Callisto is 4800 km. Based on the average density of the satellite (1.83 g/cm3), it is assumed that water ice makes up about 60% of its mass. The thickness of the ice crust, like that of Ganymede, is estimated at tens of kilometers. The entire surface of this satellite is completely dotted with craters of various sizes. It does not have extensive plains or furrow systems. The craters on Callisto have a poorly defined shaft and shallow depth. A unique feature of the relief is a multi-ring structure with a diameter of 2600 km, consisting of ten concentric rings. The surface temperature at Callisto's equator reaches -120 °C at noon. The satellite has been discovered to have its own magnetic field.
On December 30, 2000, the Cassini probe passed near Jupiter on its way to Saturn. At the same time, a number of experiments were carried out in the vicinity of the “king of the planets”. One of them was aimed at detecting the very rarefied atmospheres of the Galilean satellites during their eclipse by Jupiter. Another experiment consisted of recording the radiation from Jupiter's radiation belts. Interestingly, in parallel with the work of Cassini, the same radiation was recorded using ground-based telescopes by schoolchildren and students in the USA. The results of their research were used along with Cassini data.
As a result of the study of the Galilean satellites, an interesting hypothesis was put forward that in the early stages of their evolution, the giant planets emitted huge flows of heat into space. Radiation from Jupiter could melt ice on the surface of three Galilean moons. On the fourth - Callisto - this should not have happened, since it is 2 million km away from Jupiter. That is why its surface is so different from the surfaces of satellites closer to the planet.
Saturn
Among the giant planets, Saturn stands out for its remarkable ring system. Like Jupiter, it is a huge, rapidly spinning ball of mostly liquid hydrogen and helium. Orbiting the Sun at a distance 10 times further than Earth, Saturn completes a complete orbit in a nearly circular orbit every 29.5 years. The angle of inclination of the orbit to the ecliptic plane is only 2°, while the equatorial plane of Saturn is inclined by 27° to the plane of its orbit, so the change of seasons is inherent in this planet.
The name of Saturn goes back to the Roman counterpart of the ancient titan Kronos, the son of Uranus and Gaia. This second-largest planet is 800 times larger than Earth in volume and 95 times larger in mass. It is easy to calculate that its average density (0.7 g/cm3) is less than the density of water - uniquely low for the planets of the Solar System. The equatorial radius of Saturn along the upper boundary of the cloud layer is 60,270 km, and the polar radius is several thousand kilometers less. The rotation period of Saturn is 10 hours 40 minutes. Saturn's atmosphere contains 94% hydrogen and 6% helium (by volume).
Neptune
Neptune was discovered in 1846 as a result of an accurate theoretical prediction. Having studied the movement of Uranus, the French astronomer Le Verrier determined that the seventh planet is influenced by the attraction of an equally massive unknown body, and calculated its position. Guided by this forecast, the German astronomers Halle and D'Arrest discovered Neptune. It later turned out that, starting with Galileo, astronomers noted the position of Neptune on maps, but mistook it for a star.
Neptune is the fourth of the giant planets, named after the god of the seas in ancient mythology. Neptune's equatorial radius (24,764 km) is almost 4 times the radius of the Earth, and Neptune's mass is 17 times greater than our planet. The average density of Neptune is 1.64 g/cm3. It orbits the Sun at a distance of 4.5 billion km (30 AU), completing a full cycle in almost 165 Earth years. The planet's orbital plane is inclined by 1.8° to the ecliptic plane. The inclination of the equator to the orbital plane is 29.6°. Due to its great distance from the Sun, the illumination on Neptune is 900 times less than on Earth.
Data transmitted by Voyager 2, which passed within 5,000 km of Neptune's cloud layer in 1989, revealed details of the planet's cloud cover. The stripes on Neptune are weakly expressed. A large dark spot the size of our planet, discovered in Neptune's southern hemisphere, is a giant anticyclone that completes a revolution every 16 Earth days. This is an area of high pressure and temperature. Unlike the Great Red Spot on Jupiter, which drifts at a speed of 3 m/s, the Great Dark Spot on Neptune moves west at a speed of 325 m/s. A dark spot of smaller size located at 74° south. sh., in a week it shifted 2000 km to the north. A light formation in the atmosphere, the so-called “scooter,” was also distinguished by its rather fast movement. In some places, the wind speed in Neptune's atmosphere reaches 400-700 m/s.
Like other giant planets, Neptune's atmosphere is mostly hydrogen. Helium accounts for about 15%, and methane accounts for 1%. The visible cloud layer corresponds to a pressure of 1.2 bar. It is assumed that at the bottom of the Neptunian atmosphere there is an ocean of water saturated with various ions. Significant amounts of methane appear to be contained deeper in the planet's icy mantle. Even at temperatures of thousands of degrees, at a pressure of 1 Mbar, a mixture of water, methane and ammonia can form solid ice. The hot, icy mantle probably accounts for 70% of the planet's mass. About 25% of Neptune's mass should, according to calculations, belong to the planet's core, consisting of oxides of silicon, magnesium, iron and its compounds, as well as rocks. A model of the internal structure of the planet shows that the pressure at its center is about 7 Mbar, and the temperature is about 7000 K. Unlike Uranus, the heat flow from the depths of Neptune is almost three times greater than the heat received from the Sun. This phenomenon is associated with the release of heat during the radioactive decay of substances with high atomic weight.
Neptune's magnetic field is half that of Uranus. The angle between the axis of the magnetic dipole and the axis of rotation of Neptune is 47°. The center of the dipole is shifted 6000 km to the southern hemisphere, so the magnetic induction at the south magnetic pole is 10 times higher than at the north.
The rings of Neptune are generally similar to the rings of Uranus, with the only difference being that the total area of matter in the rings of Neptune is 100 times less than in the rings of Uranus. Individual arcs of the rings surrounding Neptune were discovered during occultations of stars by the planet. Voyager 2 images around Neptune show open formations called arches. They are located on a continuous outermost ring of low density. The diameter of the outer ring is 69.2 thousand km, and the width of the arches is approximately 50 km. Other rings, located at distances from 61.9 thousand km to 62.9 thousand km, are closed. During observations from Earth, by the middle of the twentieth century, 2 satellites of Neptune were found - Triton and Nereid. Voyager 2 discovered 6 more satellites ranging in size from 50 to 400 km and clarified the diameters of Triton (2705 km) and Nereid (340 km). In 2002-03 During observations from Earth, 5 more distant satellites of Neptune were discovered.
Neptune's largest satellite, Triton, orbits the planet at a distance of 355 thousand km with a period of about 6 days in a circular orbit inclined at 23° to the equator of the planet. Moreover, it is the only one of Neptune’s inner satellites moving in orbit in the opposite direction. Triton's axial rotation period coincides with its orbital period. Triton's average density is 2.1 g/cm3. The surface temperature is very low (38 K). In satellite images, most of Triton's surface appears as a plain with many cracks, making it resemble a melon crust. The South Pole is surrounded by a light polar cap. Several depressions with a diameter of 150 - 250 km were discovered on the plain. It is likely that the icy crust of the satellite was reworked many times as a result of tectonic activity and meteorite falls. Triton appears to have a rocky core with a radius of about 1000 km. It is assumed that an ice crust about 180 km thick covers a water ocean about 150 km deep, saturated with ammonia, methane, salts and ions. Triton's thin atmosphere is mostly nitrogen, with small amounts of methane and hydrogen. The snow on Triton's surface is nitrogen frost. The polar cap is also formed by nitrogen frost. Amazing formations identified on the polar cap are dark spots extended to the northeast (about fifty of them were found). They turned out to be gas geysers, rising to a height of up to 8 km, and then turning into plumes stretching for about 150 km.
Unlike the other inner satellites, Nereid moves in a very elongated orbit, with its eccentricity (0.75) more similar to the orbit of comets.
Pluto
Pluto, after its discovery in 1930, was considered the smallest planet in the solar system. In 2006, by decision of the International Astronomical Union, it was deprived of the status of a classical planet and became the prototype of a new class of objects - dwarf planets. So far, the group of dwarf planets also includes the asteroid Ceres and several recently discovered objects in the Kuiper belt, beyond the orbit of Neptune; one of them is even larger than Pluto. There is no doubt that other similar objects will be found in the Kuiper Belt; so there may be quite a lot of dwarf planets in the solar system.
Pluto orbits the Sun every 245.7 years. At the time of its discovery, it was quite far from the Sun, occupying the place of the ninth planet in the solar system. But Pluto's orbit, as it turns out, has a significant eccentricity, so in each orbital cycle it is closer to the Sun than Neptune for 20 years. At the end of the twentieth century there was just such a period: on January 23, 1979, Pluto crossed the orbit of Neptune, so that it was closer to the Sun and formally turned into the eighth planet. It remained in this status until March 15, 1999. Having passed through the perihelion of its orbit (29.6 AU) in September 1989, Pluto is now moving away towards the aphelion (48.8 AU), which it will reach in 2112, and will complete the first full revolution around the Sun after its discovery only in 2176.
To understand astronomers' interest in Pluto, we need to remember the history of its discovery. At the beginning of the twentieth century, observing the movement of Uranus and Neptune, astronomers noticed some strangeness in their behavior and suggested that beyond the orbits of these planets there is another, undiscovered one, the gravitational influence of which affects the movement of the known giant planets. Astronomers have even calculated the supposed location of this planet - “Planet X” - although not very confidently. After a long search, in 1930, American astronomer Clyde Tombaugh discovered the ninth planet, named after the god of the underworld - Pluto. However, the discovery was apparently accidental: subsequent measurements showed that Pluto's mass is too small for its gravity to significantly affect the movement of Neptune and, especially, Uranus. Pluto's orbit turned out to be significantly more elongated than that of other planets, and noticeably inclined (17°) to the ecliptic, which is also not typical for planets. Some astronomers tend to consider Pluto a "wrong" planet, more like a steroid or a lost moon of Neptune. However, Pluto has its own satellites, and sometimes there is an atmosphere when the ice covering its surface evaporates in the perihelion region of the orbit. In general, Pluto has been studied very poorly, since not a single probe has reached it yet; Until recently, even such attempts had not been made. But in January 2006, the New Horizons spacecraft (NASA) launched towards Pluto, which should fly past the planet in July 2015.
By measuring the intensity of sunlight reflected by Pluto, astronomers have determined that the planet's apparent brightness varies periodically. This period (6.4 days) was taken to be the period of Pluto's axial rotation. In 1978, the American astronomer J. Christie drew attention to the irregular shape of the image of Pluto in photographs taken with the best angular resolution: a blurry speck of the image often blurred the protrusion on one side; its position also changed with a period of 6.4 days. Christie concluded that Pluto has a fairly large satellite, which was called Charon after the mythical boatman who transported the souls of the dead along the rivers in the underground kingdom of the dead (the ruler of this kingdom, as is known, was Pluto). Charon appears either from the north or from the south of Pluto, so it became clear that the satellite’s orbit, like the axis of rotation of the planet itself, is strongly inclined to the plane of its orbit. Measurements showed that the angle between Pluto's rotation axis and the plane of its orbit is about 32°, and the rotation is reverse. Charon's orbit lies in the equatorial plane of Pluto. In 2005, two more small satellites were discovered - Hydra and Nix, orbiting further than Charon, but in the same plane. Thus, Pluto and its satellites resemble Uranus, which rotates “lying on its side.”
Charon's rotation period of 6.4 days coincides with the period of its movement around Pluto. Like the Moon, Charon always faces the planet with one side. This is typical for all satellites moving close to the planet. Another thing is surprising - Pluto is also always facing Charon with the same side; in this sense they are equal. Pluto and Charon are a unique binary system, very compact and having an unprecedentedly high satellite-to-planet mass ratio (1:8). The ratio of the masses of the Moon and the Earth, for example, is 1:81, and other planets have similar ratios that are much smaller. Essentially, Pluto and Charon are a double dwarf planet.
The best images of the Pluto-Charon system were obtained by the Hubble Space Telescope. From them it was possible to determine the distance between the satellite and the planet, which turned out to be only about 19,400 km. Using eclipses of stars by Pluto, as well as mutual eclipses of the planet by its satellite, it was possible to clarify their sizes: the diameter of Pluto, according to recent estimates, is 2300 km, and the diameter of Charon is 1200 km. The average density of Pluto ranges from 1.8 to 2.1 g/cm 3 , and that of Charon ranges from 1.2 to 1.3 g/cm 3 . Apparently, the internal structure of Pluto, consisting of rocks and water ice, differs from the structure of Charon, which is more like the icy satellites of the giant planets. Charon's surface is 30% darker than Pluto's. The color of the planet and satellite are also different. Apparently, they formed independently of each other. Observations have shown that Pluto's brightness increases noticeably at perihelion of its orbit. This gave reason to assume the appearance of a temporary atmosphere at Pluto. During the occultation of the star by Pluto in 1988, the brightness of this star decreased gradually over several seconds, from which it was finally established that Pluto had an atmosphere. Its main component is most likely nitrogen, and other components may include methane, argon and neon. The thickness of the haze layer is estimated at 45 km, and the thickness of the atmosphere itself is 270 km. Methane content should vary depending on Pluto's position in orbit. Pluto passed perihelion in 1989. Calculations show that part of the deposits of frozen methane, nitrogen and carbon dioxide present on its surface in the form of ice and frost, when the planet approaches the Sun, passes into the atmosphere. Pluto's maximum surface temperature is 62 K. Charon's surface appears to be formed by water ice.
So, Pluto is the only planet (albeit a dwarf one) whose atmosphere appears and disappears, like that of a comet during its movement around the Sun. Using the Hubble Space Telescope in May 2005, two new satellites of the dwarf planet Pluto were discovered, named Nikta and Hydra. The orbits of these satellites are located beyond the orbit of Charon. Nyx is about 50,000 km from Pluto, and Hydra is about 65,000 km. The New Horizons mission, launched in January 2006, is designed to study the environs of Pluto and the Kuiper Belt.
The science
Astronomers have discovered new small planet at the edge of the solar system and they claim that another larger planet lurks even further away.
In another study, a team of scientists found an asteroid with its own ring system, similar to the rings of Saturn.
Dwarf planets
The new dwarf planet has so far been named 2012 VP113, and its solar orbit is far beyond the edge of the solar system known to us.
Its distant position indicates gravitational influence of another larger planet, which is perhaps 10 times larger than Earth and which has yet to be discovered.
Three photographs of the discovered dwarf planet 2012 VP113, taken 2 hours apart on November 5, 2012.
It was previously thought that there was only one small planet in this distant part of the solar system Sedna.
Sedna's orbit is 76 times the distance from Earth to the Sun, and its closest 2012 VP113's orbit is 80 times the distance from Earth to the Sun or is 12 billion kilometers.
Orbit of Sedna and dwarf planet 2012 VP113. Also, the orbits of the giant planets are indicated in purple. The Kuiper Belt is indicated by blue dots.
Researchers used DECam in the Chilean Andes for the 2012 discovery of VP113. Using the Magellan Telescope, they established its orbit and obtained information about its surface.
Oort cloud
Dwarf planet Sedna.
The diameter of the new planet is 450 km, compared to 1000 km for Sedna. It may be part of the Oort Cloud, a region that exists beyond the Kuiper Belt, a belt of icy asteroids that orbit even further than the planet Neptune.
Scientists intend to continue searching for distant objects in the Oort Cloud, as they can tell a lot about how the Solar system formed and evolved.
They also believe that the size of some of them may be bigger than Mars or Earth, but because they are so far away, they are difficult to detect using existing technology.
New asteroid in 2014
Another team of researchers found icy asteroid surrounded by a double ring system, similar to the rings of Saturn. Only three planets: Jupiter, Neptune and Uranus have rings.
The width of the rings around the 250-kilometer asteroid Chariklo is 7 and 3 kilometers respectively, and the distance between them is 8 km. They were discovered by telescopes from seven sites in South America, including the European Southern Observatory in Chile.
Scientists cannot explain the presence of rings on the asteroid. They may be composed of rocks and ice particles formed due to a past asteroid collision.
The asteroid may be in a similar evolutionary stage to early Earth, after a Mars-sized object collided with it and formed a ring of debris that coalesced into the Moon.
After the exploration of the Moon, the study moved on to the study of the planets of the solar system. On February 12, 1961, the Soviet automatic station Venera-1 was sent to the nearest planet - Venus. It reached the planet's orbit after three months.
In 1962, the International Space Conference was held in Paris, at which, among other things, the question was discussed: whether it would be possible to send a space station to Mars before 1980 or not. It was possible to launch a rocket to Mars much earlier - in the same 1962. The Soviet rocket was named Mars-1. In response to requests from Earth, 61 signals were received, transmitting all kinds of information about the planet to Earth. However, in March 1963, communication with the rocket was interrupted and was never restored.
In May 1971, two more Soviet rockets were launched: Mars-2 and Mars-3. They had to conduct a comprehensive study of the surface of the planet and the space surrounding it. A descent module was sent from Mars-3, which for the first time in history made a soft landing on the surface of the planet. He transmitted the information to Mars 3, and from there it was sent to Earth.
Then Soviet scientists sent automatic stations “Mars-4”, “Mars-5”, “Mars-6” and “Mars-7” to this planet. Thanks to these stations, the first photographs of the surface of Mars were taken.
When studying the photographs, it was discovered that the surface of Mars is uneven. It is divided into light areas, the so-called continents, and dark, gray-green “seas”. Land areas occupy about 75% of the entire surface of the planet. The elevation changes range from 14 to 16 km, but there are also volcanic mountains reaching a height of 27 km.
Like the surface of the Moon, it is covered with numerous craters, which have a wide variety of sizes and shapes. They are still not as deep as on the Moon, but significantly deeper. The largest of the craters reach a height of more than two dozen kilometers and have bases with a diameter of 500-600 km. Scientists believe that there was active volcanic activity on Mars, which ended several hundred million years ago, that is, relatively recently in comparison with the age of the planet.
Folds, faults and cracks were found between the craters. On average, they are several hundred kilometers long and tens of kilometers wide. The depth reaches several meters.
Thanks to spacecraft, it became known that the surface of the planet is a desert with no signs of life. There are often strong storms that raise clouds of sand. It happens that the wind speed reaches hundreds of meters per second.
The purpose of the Mars-6 lander was to study the space above the surface of the planet. He crossed the atmosphere and collected data on its structure, which were transmitted aboard an automatic laboratory, and from there to Earth.
The atmosphere on Mars is in a rarefied state. It consists of 95% carbon dioxide, 3% nitrogen, 1.5% argon, 0.15% oxygen and a very small amount of water vapor. Some landforms of Mars - long canyons resembling river beds and smooth surfaces, as if smoothed by glaciers - allow scientists to conclude that there was water on the planet. It is probably currently present on the surface of the planet in the form of permafrost, which is covered with sand and dust. Some scientists even suggest that water may remain in liquid form in the depths of the planet. However, it has not yet been found, despite the fact that the internal structure of Mars has also been more or less studied.
Simultaneously with the study of Mars, Soviet scientists sent automatic stations to Venus. Venera 1 was sent first, then Venera 2. However, these devices could report little about the surface of the planet. Venus continued to remain the most mysterious planet for scientists, since nothing could be said about its surface through the dense cloud cover. For the first time, the Venus-3 apparatus reached the surface of Venus, and the next one, Venera-4, made a smooth descent in the atmosphere for the first time.
Atmospheric studies were carried out by the Venera-7 research station. Thanks to the data obtained, it became known that very harsh conditions have formed on the planet: the temperature rises to 750 ° K, the pressure reaches 100 atmospheres. The atmosphere consists of 97% carbon dioxide, 3% nitrogen, very little water vapor and oxygen. In addition, SO2, H2S, CO, and HF were detected in the atmosphere. The highest concentration of water vapor - about 1% - is observed at an altitude of approximately 50 km. The clouds of Venus are 75% sulfuric acid. Due to the greenhouse effect, there is no sign of water on the surface of Venus.
Many scientists were disappointed after receiving this data, as they hoped that it was on Venus that flora and even fauna similar to those on Earth could exist. However, the hope of discovering life on the planet did not materialize.
In 1975, two Soviet automatic satellites, Venera-9 and Venera-10, were launched. The descent vehicles managed to make a soft landing on the surface of the planet. Three years later, two more devices were sent to the planet: Venera-11 and Venera-12, and in 1981-1982 - Venera-13 and Venera-14.
In 1983, the automatic interplanetary stations Venera-15 and Venera-16 were launched. Having reached orbit, they became satellites of the planet, continuing to conduct comprehensive studies of the atmosphere and surface of the planet. One of the research methods was radar mapping of the surface of the northern hemisphere of Venus.
In addition to atmospheric data, photographs of the planet's surface and soil samples were obtained on Earth. It turned out that on Venus, like on Mars, there are mountains, craters and faults, but they are relatively rare. About 90% of the surface is made up of plains covered with stones and slabs of various sizes. The remaining 10% consists of three volcanic areas: the Ishtar volcanic plateau, which covers an area equal to the terrestrial continent of Australia. The highest point is Mount Maxwell (its height is 12 km). As for the soil, its composition is not much different from the composition of terrestrial sedimentary rocks.
Thanks to sixteen stations, scientists were able to learn a lot about the atmosphere, surface and internal structure of Venus. However, the data obtained is not yet sufficient to draw definitive conclusions about the development of this planet. Therefore, exploration of Venus will most likely continue.
American scientists also took part in the study of the two closest planets to us: Venus and Mars. In 1962, the Mariner 2 station was sent to Venus, and in 1964-1965, Mariner 4 was sent to Mars.
The station, directed towards Venus, approached a distance of 35 km to its surface. The equipment detected no traces of a strong magnetic field or radiation belts. The mass of the planet was clarified (it turned out that it was 0.81 Earth masses). The Americans also looked for traces on Venus: at least protein forms of life, but they did not find it.
Mariner 4 took images of the surface and studied the atmosphere of Mars. At first, no traces of those canals were found in the photographs, which, according to astronomers of the 19th century, were signs of the existence of developed civilizations. The reason was that the photographs were low-contrast, and also influenced by possible interference during the operation of radio equipment.
After the photographs were taken on Earth, about two years passed before they could be cleared of defects and the surface of Mars appeared to astronomers as it really was. After this, numerous channels and strange relief details, the origin of which has not yet been clarified, became clearly visible in the photographs.
The most controversial thing today is the famous “face” discovered on the surface of Mars. Some believe that it was made by local residents or aliens in order to report the existence of some kind of extraterrestrial civilization. However, most researchers believe that this is just one of the bizarre landforms that looked like a giant face in the photograph due to the shadow falling on it.
As for life on Mars, even in the 70s of the 20th century, despite the data obtained, many did not give up hope of discovering not just life, but a highly developed civilization on the “red planet”. Numerous photographs of a desert planet without any traces of the activity of intelligent beings were not accepted as sufficient evidence.
One of the American astronomers said that Mariner 4 took photographs not only of the surface of Mars, but also of the Earth, and they were of the same scale. At the same time, only one photograph of the Earth showed traces of human activity: a clearing in the forest. Therefore, in order to prove the presence or absence of civilization on Mars, according to American scientists, photographs taken with at least tenfold magnification are needed.
In 1969, the Mariner 6 and Mariner 7 stations again went to Mars to continue studying this planet and take higher quality photographs. This time the ice caps became the subject of their closest attention. Even before this expedition, many scientists expressed doubts that it was ice, since the presence of such a large amount of frozen water does not explain the dryness and thinness of the atmosphere of Mars. It has been suggested that the polar Martian folders are actually composed of frozen carbon dioxide. However, in this case, a substance similar to dry ice should have formed: it is unstable and quickly turns into gas already at -78°. However, the temperature on Mars rises above this level, and the Martian folders do not change their shape.
After data was obtained on the thickness of the southern folder of Mars, another mystery was added that scientists could not solve.
At the same time, it was discovered that the atmosphere of Mars does not contain nitrogen, an element found in the Earth’s atmosphere. Interestingly, there is much more oxygen there than on Earth. This gave scientists the opportunity to conclude that Mars once grew, and perhaps still has plants that intensively produce oxygen. On Earth, in a special laboratory, a successful experiment was even carried out on growing terrestrial plants - rye, rice, corn and cucumbers in a nitrogen-free atmosphere.
Mars and Venus are the closest planets in the solar system to us. They have the most similar physical conditions to the Earth and are therefore the most interesting objects for study. However, they are not the only ones that have attracted the keen interest of astronomers for centuries.
Other planets have also been studied by astronomers. In 1974, the Mariner 10 space station was sent to Mercury. Having flown at a distance of 700 km from the surface of the planet, he took photographs from which one can judge the relief of this small planet closest to the Sun. Until then, astronomers had at their disposal photographs taken from Earth using powerful telescopes.
Thanks to photographs taken by the space station, it became known that the surface of Mercury is covered with craters and resembles the Moon. The craters alternate with hills and valleys, but the difference in heights is not as great as on the Moon.
The next object of study was Jupiter. In 1977, the American spacecraft Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 were sent to it. They took photographs of Jupiter and the Galilean moons.
To date, astronomers have discovered 16 moons of Jupiter. Four of them: Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto were discovered by Galileo. The rest were discovered later. Astronomers believe that the giant planet captures small asteroids and turns them into its satellites.
Most of the satellites, including the two closest to the planet, were discovered already in the 20th century with the beginning of the era of interplanetary flights. It was not possible to see them through a telescope. Information about these satellites was obtained using the space stations Pioneer (aimed at Jupiter in 1973), Voyager 1 and Voyager 2.
Jupiter is an unusual planet. Many of its mysteries have not yet been solved. True, thanks to the space stations flying to it, we managed to learn a lot of new things about Jupiter.
Today it is known that Jupiter is much larger than the other planets. If it were eighty times more massive, then nuclear fusion reactions would begin in its depths, which would turn it into a star. But this did not happen, and it remained a planet.
Jupiter's composition differs from other planets in the solar system. The predominant elements, as on the Sun, are hydrogen and helium, because of this the planet does not have a solid surface. However, she is surrounded by a semblance of atmosphere. In addition to hydrogen, it contains ammonia, methane, a small amount of water molecules and other elements.
Jupiter has a reddish tint. It is believed that it arose due to the presence of red phosphorus in the atmosphere and, possibly, organic molecules that could appear due to frequent electrical discharges.
Jupiter has multi-colored parallel light and dark bands of clouds and the so-called Great Red Spot. Clouds constantly change their shape and are colored in different colors: red, brown, orange, which indicates the presence of chemical compounds in the atmosphere. They are quite dense, but through them you can still see the surface of the planet, divided into sectors. Based on their movement, the rotation speed was determined: the equatorial sector rotates at a speed of 9 hours 50 minutes 30 seconds.
The Great Red Spot can be seen in this photograph taken by Voyager. Astronomers have been observing it for more than three hundred years, but the nature of this mysterious phenomenon is still not fully understood. It is believed that the spot is a huge atmospheric vortex. It has been observed to change in size, color and brightness over time. In addition, the Great Red Spot rotates counterclockwise.
It is impossible to send landers to the planet. Therefore, the study of the inhospitable planet had to be carried out from space. Along with Jupiter, Voyagers conducted observations of satellites. Callisto looks like the most ancient of all. Its surface is covered with craters that were formed by meteorite impacts.
The next planet to which the Pioneer and Voyagers spacecraft were sent was Saturn. The structure of this planet is in many ways reminiscent of Jupiter: it also has no solid surface and is covered with clouds. They are much denser than on Jupiter, so it is almost impossible to see the surface of the planet through them. The similarity goes so far as to say that Saturn also has a spot, but it is much smaller than on Jupiter and has a darker color. It is called the Great Brown Spot.
There are 17 satellites orbiting Saturn, most of which were discovered only by spacecraft. The largest of them, Titan, is larger than Mercury and has its own atmosphere. Almost all other satellites are made of ice, some have an admixture of rocks.
7 rings have been discovered around Saturn. They are given the names D, C, B, A, F, G, E (in order of distance from the surface of the planets). Three of them, A, B and C, can be seen from Earth through a telescope, and have been known about them for a long time. The rest were discovered in the 20th century. In 1979, the Pioneer 11 space station discovered the F ring, consisting of three separate rings. The following year, astronomers’ assumption that the planet may have two more rings was confirmed: Voyager 1 discovered the existence of rings D and E. In addition, the same station recorded the presence of a G ring.
In 1986, Voyager 2 flew past Neptune and transmitted about 9 thousand photographs of the planet's surface to earth. Thanks to this space station, new information about Neptune was obtained. In particular, the rotation of its magnetic field was recorded, thanks to which astronomers were able to prove the rotation of the planet itself.
It turned out that Neptune is denser than other giant planets. This is apparently explained by the presence of heavy elements in its depths. The atmosphere consists of helium and hydrogen. Scientists believe that most or even all of Neptune's surface is occupied by an ocean of water saturated with ions. The mantle is also believed to consist of ice and makes up 70% of the planet's total mass.
Voyager approached Neptune at a distance of 4,900 km from the cloud layer and discovered an incomprehensible dark formation, which was later named the Great Dark Spot. The station was also used for meteorological research and satellite studies. In addition to Triton and Nereid, known at that time, six more satellites were discovered, and one of them, Proteus, has quite large dimensions: 400 km in diameter, while the sizes of the others range from 50 to 190 km.
With the help of Voyager, another discovery was made: Neptune is surrounded by open rings, which astronomers called arches. However, more accurate information about these formations is not yet available.
Astronomers study not only planets, but also other bodies in the solar system. Special devices have been launched into space to conduct constant observations of one of the most interesting and mysterious objects - Halley's comet. It is the brightest of the periodic comets in the Solar System. As you know, it appears in the sky every 76 years.
For many centuries, people have had the opportunity to observe this celestial body, but even today not everything is known about it. Astronomers have observed it 29 times already. They hope that once again, for the thirtieth time, there will be an opportunity to get more information about her.
This begs the question, why is Halley's Comet attracting so much interest from astronomers? Why all these complex developments and preparations? The fact is that, according to scientists, the body of the comet could contain remnants of a gas-dust nebula - the substance from which all the bodies of the Solar System are believed to have been formed. Therefore, a more detailed study of the structure and composition of the comet, as cosmogonists believed, would make it possible to finally formulate a hypothesis of the origin of the Solar System, to obtain information about the initial stage of the formation of planets, and about the processes that took place during this process.
A special program was developed, according to which in 1984 two interplanetary stations with planetary and cometary probes on board were launched in the direction of Venus. After about six months, the stations reached the planet closest to us.
Then the probes were separated from the AUS. After passing through the atmosphere, they transmitted information to the spacecraft, which continued to move along the planned trajectory, approaching Halley's Comet.
Scientists, in particular biochemists, have found that the basis for all the huge diversity of life forms on Earth are just a few molecules that can be created in the laboratory. Atoms, molecules and even amino acids have already been discovered in the composition of stars, in interstellar dust clouds and stony meteorites. However, this matter cannot yet be called living, capable of metabolism and reproduction.
In 1976, the Americans once again sent two Viking automatic interplanetary stations to Mars for these purposes. The landers reached the surface of the planet and conducted soil studies to detect carbon-based microbes. The data obtained turned out to be so uncertain that biologists still cannot draw final conclusions.
However, searching for bacteria or unusual flora may only be of interest to scientists. Most people on Earth dream of contact with an extraterrestrial civilization, with brothers in mind. Many science fiction books have been written on this topic and a large number of films have been made. People are aware that the civilization they encounter may turn out not to be friendly, but hostile, and then irreparable damage may be caused to earthlings.
And yet earthlings continue to look for other civilizations in space.
What is the probability that there are other habitable planets in the Universe? It is known that the Sun, around which the Earth revolves, is just one of 100 billion stars in the Milky Way system. In addition to it, today about 1 billion galaxies can be observed from Earth. How many intelligent civilizations can exist in the Universe? Scientists K. Sagan, F. Drake and I. Shklovsky decided to do this calculation. They counted the number of stars in the Galaxy. They then excluded those that had no planets orbiting them. After studying the remaining planetary systems, scientists calculated the approximate number of planets that have suitable conditions for life. Then they estimated how many planets life could develop to the level of civilized intelligent organisms that could come into contact with earthlings.
Joseph Samuilovich Shklovsky (1916-1985) dealt with this issue for a long time. He believed that science would not be able to answer this question unambiguously, since it has only one example before it - earthly civilization. This is very little to draw accurate conclusions.
Despite the comparative proximity (by cosmic standards) of the planets, only two of them have been more or less well studied: Venus and Mars. As for the other planets, two of their mysteries have not yet been solved. Astronomers can only make assumptions about the existence of exactly the same planetary systems, but for a long time none of them were discovered.
Shklovsky believed that after the start of operation of an orbital optical telescope with a mirror diameter of 2.4 m, it would be possible to begin studying planetary systems. Indeed, at the end of the 20th century, American astronomers were able to discover planets orbiting Barnard, a star located at a relatively short distance from the Sun. However, nothing is known yet about whether they are suitable for life.
The best way to search for civilizations in space would be to fly to other stars. But many more decades, and perhaps even centuries, will pass before they become real. The technical capabilities that exist today do not allow this to be done. Even if it were possible to send a ship to the nearest star, Alpha Centauri, the journey would take thousands of years.
In 1987, the Pioneer 10 and Pioneer 11 spacecraft were launched into endless outer space. On their sides there are plates with a message to representatives of extraterrestrial intelligent civilizations.
Launching spacecraft to the stars continues to be prohibitively expensive, despite the fact that such a flight provides a wealth of new scientific data that is transmitted to Earth. Therefore, the most accessible means of detecting traces of extraterrestrial civilizations today are radio telescopes. With their help, astronomers not only hope to receive their messages, but also send signals into space themselves.
Humanity has just embarked on the path of searching for extraterrestrial civilizations. The equipment is becoming more and more sophisticated every year, and it is possible that the day is not far off when signals from another planet (if only they were sent) will be received and decrypted.
Detailed development of a program for searching the universe for intelligent beings began in the early 70s. It was then that the Cyclops project began. For these purposes, a giant telescope was used, consisting of a large number of radio telescopes. The entire system was computerized.
In the mid-80s, astronomers put forward a proposal to conduct a serious international search for extraterrestrial civilizations. Then the costs should be several billion dollars. Subsequently, more economical possibilities for searching for signals within 100 light appeared. years, only a radio telescope and a computer were required from the Earth. It is believed that the highest probability of signal detection exists in the frequency range from 1400 to 1730 MHz.
With the help of the giant telescopes that were used for the Cyclops project, it will be possible to search for signals within a radius of 1000 light. years. In the future, antennas for receiving signals will be installed not only on Earth, but also on the Moon.
Assumptions about the existence of an unknown huge celestial body located somewhere on the periphery of the solar system have arisen among astronomers for decades, but reliable evidence for such ideas has not been found. Scientists discovered the new giant during a careful study of the trajectories of small celestial bodies moving in the far reaches of the Universe. At the moment, no one has yet been able to see this object through a telescope.
So far, the existence of Planet X has been proven theoretically. Materials about astronomers' research were published on January 20, 2016 in the monthly Astronomical Journal. According to the reviewer of the scientific article, Alessandro Morbidelli, who specializes in the dynamics of the orbits of celestial bodies at the University of the Côte d'Azur in Nice (France), the analytical materials provided were convincing enough to publish a sensational message in the scientific press. So far, astronomers cannot indicate the exact location of the giant, so they have directed all their efforts to search for it.
On the way to discovery
Even 100 years ago, astronomer Percival Lovell, one of the discoverers of Pluto, suggested that “Planet X” existed on the periphery of the solar system. Many scientists were convinced that the objects farthest from the Sun were moving along inexplicable trajectories. Moreover, this movement occurs in one direction. This phenomenon can only be explained by the presence of a giant celestial body, namely a planet, which affects their crowding when rotating around the Sun.
In their work, the scientists who discovered the new giant used careful observations of the trans-Neptunian object 2012 VP113, carried out by Scott Sheppard and Chadwick Trujillo back in 2004. During these observations, the so-called perihelion argument of the most distant physical orbits of celestial bodies in the Kuiper Belt was discovered. The fundamental point in the study was that the orbits being studied are directed in the same direction and are almost identical. Thanks to this, astronomers were able to calculate the orbit of Planet X.
Preliminary data about the new planet
According to scientists, the new planet in the solar system in 2016 has the following parameters:
- Its mass exceeds the mass of the Earth by 10 times.
- The space object is 20 times farther from the Sun than Neptune.
- The planet moves in a very elongated elliptical orbit.
- A complete revolution of Planet X around the Sun takes 10–20 thousand years.
- The minimum distance from this object to the Sun is 200 astronomical units.
- This celestial body has satellites.
Scientists have suggested that Planet IX was formed during the first 3 million years of the existence of the Solar System, when it was completely covered by a gas cloud. The giant probably consists of the same components as Neptune and Uranus. Thus, this celestial object is 4.5 billion years old.
According to Konstantin Batygin, a native of Russia, Planet IKS is distinguished by its colossal mass. Today it is defined as a celestial body that dominates the peripheral part of the Solar System. Its gravitational field has a significant impact on the orbits of celestial objects located in the Kuiper Belt. Astronomers made such conclusions based on mathematical modeling.
At the moment, thanks to the calculations of scientists, the new planet 2016 has mass and general characteristics, but its physical and chemical properties are unknown. According to astronomers, its chemical composition differs little from such giants as Neptune and Uranus. More accurate data about Planet X can only be obtained by sending a research spacecraft like New Horizons to it. The path to this celestial object is long, so information about its physical and chemical properties will not be obtained soon.
Reasonable doubts
Many fellow astrologers, in particular Professor Hal Levinson (Southwestern Research Institute in Boulder (Colorado)), are looking forward to observing Planet X through a telescope, because they consider the statement of K. Batygin and M. Brown about their discovery to be false. At the same time, its authors rightly note that detecting this celestial body with currently existing telescopes will be problematic, since it is located at a great distance from the Sun. Such a distance from the Sun makes the planet dim, which prevents it from being seen. Even attempts to detect this object using the super-powerful Subaru telescope (Hawaii) were unsuccessful.
Pioneer astronomers have high hopes for the Synoptic Observing Telescope (Chile), which is due to become operational in 2020. Another difficulty in visually observing Planet X is that to detect the object it is necessary to survey a huge part of the sky, which will take at least 2 –3 years.
Name of the new planet
At the moment, there is only a theoretical model of the planet, but it itself has not been found using a telescope, so astronomers consider the question of a name premature. There is a chance that the discovery using the mathematical model will not be confirmed. At the same time, M. Brown and K. Batygin claim that if their theory is confirmed, they will entrust the choice of the name of the celestial object they discovered to the world community.
Video about the discovery of a new planet
