Our solar system consists of Sun, 8 planets (Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus & Neptune), their satellites, asteroids, and comets.
In this post, we'll discuss some of the interesting facts about our solar system. Many of these are often asked in the Gk section of various competitive exams including Kerala PSC, KAS, IBPS PO/Clerk, UPSC, SSB, RRB, etc.
- Total No. of Planets – 8.
- Total No. of Known Satellites – 180.
- Largest member of the Solar System – Sun.
- Closest Galaxy to the Milky Way – The Andromeda Galaxy (M31).
- Largest Planet – Jupiter.
- Smallest Planet – Mercury.
- Nearest Planet to the Sun – Mercury.
- Farthest Planet to the Sun – Neptune.
- Hottest Planet in the Solar System – Venus.
- Coldest Planet in the Solar System – Neptune.
- Planet with the Shortest Revolution – Mercury.
- Planet with the Fastest Revolution – Mercury.
- Planet with Lowest Escape Velocity – Jupiter.
- Planet with the Highest Density – Earth.
- Planet with the Lowest Density – Saturn.
- The Planet Closest in Size to the Earth – Venus.
- The planet that reflects sunlight the most – Venus.
- Largest Asteroid in the Solar System – Ceres (Diameter: 945km).
- Planets with no Moons/Satellites – Mercury & Venus.
- Planet with the Largest No. of Moons – Saturn (82).
- The only large moon in the solar system to orbit in the opposite direction to its planet’s rotation (retrograde orbit) – Triton.
- Largest Satellite/Moon in the Solar System – Ganymede (Jupiter).
- Smallest Satellite/Moon in the Solar System – Deimos (Mars).
- The only satellite with an earth-like atmosphere – Titan (Saturn).
- The Windiest Planet – Neptune.
- Green Planet – Uranus.
- Brightest Star in the Earth's Sky – Sirius (Dogstar, Constellation: Canis Major).
- Biggest Storm – Great Red Spot (Jupiter).
- Planet that has the Longest Day – Venus (5,832 hours).
- Planet that has the Shortest Day – Jupiter (9 hr 55 min 29.69 sec).
- Planet with the Shortest Year – Mercury (88 days).
- Planet with the Longest Year – Neptune (60,190 days).
- Largest known Volcano in the Solar System – Olympus Mons (Mars).
- Planet with Most No. of Volcanoes – Venus (more than 1600).
- Fastest Spinning Planet in the Solar System – Jupiter.
- Planet that has the Fastest Revolution time – Mercury.
- The Largest Object in the Kuiper Belt – Pluto.
- Planets found in the Kuiper Belt – Haumea, Makemake & Pluto.
- Dwarf Planets – Haumea, Ceres, Eris, Makemake & Pluto.
- Largest Dwarf planet in the Solar System – Eris (discovered in January 2005).
- Planet that has approximately the same landmass as Earth – Mars.
- The time required for light to travel between Moon and Earth is – 1.3 seconds.
- The time taken by the sunlight to reach the Earth – 8 minutes 18 seconds.
- Planets with rings – Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus & Neptune.
- Planet with Largest Axial Tilt in the Solar System – Uranus (98°).
- The only planet which takes more time to complete rotation than a revolution – Venus.
- The minor planets revolving between the orbits of Jupiter & Mars are called – Asteroids.
- Naming of Planets & their moons are under – International Astronomical Union (IAU).
- – established in 1919.
- The planet whose satellites are named after Greek mythological characters – Saturn.
- The planet whose satellites are named after the characters of Shakespeare and Alexander Pope – Uranus.
With our technology growing by leaps and bounds, new planets and satellites are being discovered every year, so we'll be updating this list as new information comes in.
📝SideNotes:
- Kuiper Belt – a disk-shaped region found in the outer solar system, past the orbit of Neptune.
Thanks for reading!!!