ASTRONOMY REVIEW
Solar System is made up of 8 planets, 5 dwarf planets and around 500 moons. The inner Solar System planets are smaller and they have less moons than the others. They are all rocky planets. The outer Solar System planets are much bigger, with rings and a lot of moons. Lets explore together!
THE INNER SOLAR SYSTEM
Sun
Sun is the only star in our Solar System and its the biggest object in our Solar System. While the photosphere (or surface) temperature is around 5,500ºC, the core temperature is much hotter. It reaches 15,000,000ºC of temperature. Its a yellow dwarf star. Sun emits solar flares, Earth collect them through the magnetic field and it creates aurora borealis. Sun protects the Solar System because of heliosphere, protecting us from cosmic rays. This star occuppies 99,8% of all matter in our Solar System.
Mercury
Mercury is the smallest planet in our Solar System - but its also the closest to Earth in average and being just 58 milllion kilometers from the Sun. Mercury hasnt got any moons. It has got a lot of craters on its surface, because it has got a thin atmosphere that cant protect this planet. While temperatures at day are 430ºC, they can reach temperatures of -130ºC at night. Its also the fastest planet in the Solar System, completing a orbit around the Sun during 88 days.
Venus
Venus is the hottest planet in our Solar System because it has got a dense and thick atmosphere that creates a greenhouse effect due to the high percentage (96,5%) of carbon dioxide (CO2) in atmosphere, with temperatures of 464ºC. It traps a lot of heat, instead of coming back to space. Venus is the closest planet to Earth at its closest point, but not in average. This planet is called Earths twin because it has got similar things, such as the same size. Venus is so bright that is the second brightest object in our night sky.
Earth
Earth is the only known planet with life in our Solar System. It contains mainly 78% of nytrogen (N) 21% and oxygen (O2). It has got one moon called Moon or Luna. Its also the biggest rocky planet in our Solar System. Its surface temperature is 15ºC in average. It has got 71% of water on its surface and just 29% of land. Its located in the habitable zone of its star (Sun), and that makes a benign atmosphere and liquid water, the main factors to make life in a planet.
Mars
Mars is the second smallest planet and the most explored planet in our Solar System without counting Earth. It has got two moons: Phobos (the biggest moon of these) that means fear and Deimos. Mars will have rings in 50 millions years, when Phobos reach the Roche limit, becoming a ring due to Mars gravity. Mars atmosphere is made up mainly of carbon dioxide.
THE OUTER SOLAR SYSTEM
Jupiter
Beyond the Asteroid Belt, where Ceres is located (the biggest object in this asteroid belt), we find the biggest planet in the Solar System. Its called Jupiter, and it has got 95 discovered moons. The biggest one is Ganymede, and its even bigger than Mercury! Jupiter protects us from asteroids thanks to its gravitational pull. This planet is amazing, because you can see the Gread Red Spot and equatorial bands (created by chemicals that reacts to the light of Sun). Scienticist think Gread Red Spot is shrinking slowly, but its still bigger than Earth. Lighter equatorial bands go up and darker equatorial bands go down.
Saturn
Saturn is the second largest planet in our Solar System. It has got beautiful rings created by ice particles and rocky debris and a misterous hexagon at the North Pole. Saturn has got 274 discovered moons, after discovering 128 new small moons in March 2025, and there are probably more moons to discover. Some spacecrafts, such as Cassini-Huygens, have visited Saturn to explore its rings, moons, and the planet. Saturn is made up mainly of hydrogen and helium. Titan, the biggest moon of Saturn, methane (CH4) exists in a liquid state on the surface, unlike on Earth because of temperatures, pressure and other factors.
Uranus
Uranus is the third biggest planet in our Solar System, it has got 28 moons. Also, it's the coldest planet in our Solar System, reaching temperatures of around -200°C. It has got rings, like other planets. Uranus is so far that you need a powerful telescope to see it. It rains diamonds in Uranus, like on Neptune.
Neptune
Neptune is the farthest planet in the Solar System. Its surface temperature is around -200ºC, like Uranus. It rains diamonds in Neptune! Its because it has got carbon at its atmosphere, and they crush, forming diamonds. It has got 17 discovered moons! Beyond Neptune, we found the Kuiper Belt, a dark and cold asteroid belt where Pluto is located.
Pluto
Pluto is a dwarf planet located in the outer reaches of our solar system. Once considered the ninth planet, it was reclassified by the International Astronomical Union in 2006 due to its small size and the fact that it shares its orbit with other objects in the Kuiper Belt. Pluto has a highly elliptical orbit, and it takes about 248 years to complete one revolution around the Sun. It has five known moons, with Charon being the largest.
After Oort Cloud (1-2 light years away) , we find closest star system to Earth, Alpha Centauri, which is located about 4.24 light-years away. It consists of three stars: Alpha Centauri A, Alpha Centauri B, and Proxima Centauri, with Proxima Centauri being the closest to us. Proxima Centauri is of particular interest as it has an exoplanet, Proxima b, located in the habitable zone where liquid water might exist.
Alpha Centauri is a star system consisting of three stars: Alpha Centauri A, Alpha Centauri B, and Proxima Centauri. This system is the closest to Earth, located about 4.37 light-years away. Proxima Centauri, the smallest of the three, is the nearest. Alpha Centauri A and B are a binary pair of stars similar to the Sun. The system is important in the search for exoplanets and extraterrestrial life, with Proxima Centauri hosting a potentially habitable planet, Proxima b.
Proxima Centauri
Proxima Centauri is a red dwarf star, part of the Alpha Centauri system, and the closest known star to Earth, at a distance of about 4.24 light-years. It is much cooler and smaller than the Sun, emitting less light, which makes it invisible to the naked eye. Proxima Centauri hosts an exoplanet, Proxima b, located in the star's habitable zone, where conditions might allow liquid water to exist. This discovery has made Proxima Centauri a focal point in the search for potentially habitable planets beyond our solar system.
Proxima Centauri b
Proxima Centauri b is an exoplanet located in the habitable zone of Proxima Centauri, the closest star to Earth, approximately 4.24 light-years away. Discovered in 2016, it has a mass 1.17 times that of Earth and orbits its star every 11.2 days. The planet is within the zone where liquid water could potentially exist, making it a prime target for future studies about habitability and extraterrestrial life. However, it faces challenges from stellar flares and radiation due to Proxima Centauri being a red dwarf star.
ANDROMEDA GALAXY
Andromeda Galaxy is the farthest object visible to the naked eye. It´s located 2.5 millions light years, meaning we are seeing this galaxy how it was 2.5 millions years ago. It has got a diameter of 220,000 light years, and that´s the twice diameter of Milky Way! Andromeda Galaxy will collide with our galaxy in 4 billion years, creating a new galaxy called Milkomeda. This galaxy appears in the night sky with the naked eye as a faint point of light, in the constellation of Andromeda. It´s also the closest galaxy to Milky Way, without counting dwarf galaxies.
SIRIUS
Sirius, also known as the Dog Star, is the brightest star in the night sky, with an apparent magnitude of -1.46, located in the Canis Major constellation and part of a binary star system consisting of Sirius A, a hot, blue-white main-sequence star, and Sirius B, a dense white dwarf. It lies 8.6 light-years from Earth, making it one of the closest stars to our solar system. Sirius A is about twice the mass of the Sun, 1.71 times its radius, with a surface temperature of 9,940 K, and shines 25 times brighter than the Sun, while Sirius B, first observed in 1862, is much smaller but highly dense.
PLEIADES
The Pleiades, also known as the Seven Sisters star cluster or Messier 45, is a stunning celestial object easily visible to the naked eye. Located in the constellation Taurus, this bright open cluster showcases a collection of young, hot stars that shine with a distinctive blue hue. Its relatively close proximity to Earth, approximately 444 light-years away, contributes to its prominent visibility in the night sky. The cluster is currently passing through an unrelated dust cloud, which is responsible for the beautiful blue nebulosity often seen around its stars.