Computer model of the solar system flash with date input.

landscaping 20.09.2019

landscaping

Since ancient times, people have observed in the sky such phenomena as the apparent rotation of the starry sky, the change in the phases of the moon, the rising and setting of heavenly bodies, the apparent movement of the Sun across the sky during the day, solar eclipses, change in the height of the Sun above the horizon during the year, lunar eclipses.

It was clear that all these phenomena are connected, first of all, with the movement celestial bodies, the nature of which people tried to describe with the help of simple visual observations, the correct understanding and explanation of which took shape over the centuries. After the recognition of the revolutionary heliocentric system of the world of Copernicus, after Kepler formulated the three laws of motion of celestial bodies and destroyed centuries-old naive ideas about the simple circular motion of the planets around the Earth, proved by calculations and observations that the orbits of the motion of celestial bodies can only be elliptical, it finally became clear that the apparent motion of the planets consists of:

1) movement of the observer on the surface of the Earth;

2) rotation of the Earth around the Sun;

3) proper motions of celestial bodies.

The complex apparent motion of the planets in the celestial sphere is due to the revolution of the planets solar system around the sun. The very word "planet" in translation from ancient Greek means "wandering" or "tramp".

The trajectory of a celestial body is called its orbit. The velocities of the planets in their orbits decrease with the distance of the planets from the Sun. The nature of the movement of the planet depends on which group it belongs to.

Therefore, in relation to the orbit and the conditions of visibility from the Earth, the planets are divided into domestic(Mercury, Venus) and external(Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto), or, respectively, in relation to the Earth's orbit, to the lower and upper ones.

The outer planets are always turned to the Earth by the side illuminated by the Sun. The inner planets change their phases like the moon. The greatest angular distance of a planet from the Sun is called elongation . The greatest elongation for Mercury is 28°, for Venus it is 48°. The planes of the orbits of all the planets of the solar system (except Pluto) lie near the plane of the ecliptic, deviating from it: Mercury by 7º, Venus by 3.5º; others have even less slope.

At eastern elongation, the inner planet is visible in the west, in the rays of the evening dawn, shortly after sunset. With western elongation, the inner planet is visible in the east, in the rays of dawn, shortly before sunrise. The outer planets can be at any angular distance from the Sun.

The phase angle of Mercury and Venus varies from 0° to 180°, so Mercury and Venus change phases in the same way as the Moon. Near inferior conjunction, both planets have the largest angular dimensions, but look like narrow crescents. At the phase angle ψ = 90°, half of the disk of the planets is illuminated, phase Φ = 0.5. In superior conjunction, the lower planets are fully illuminated, but are poorly visible from the Earth, as they are behind the Sun.

So, when observing from the Earth, the movement of the planets around the Sun is also superimposed on the movement of the Earth in its orbit, the planets move across the sky from east to west (direct movement), then from west to east (reverse movement). The moment of change of direction is called standing . If you put this path on the map, you get a loop . The size of the loop is the smaller, the greater the distance between the planet and the Earth. The planets describe loops, and not just move back and forth in a single line, solely due to the fact that the planes of their orbits do not coincide with the plane of the ecliptic. Such a complex loop-like character was first noticed and described using the example of the apparent motion of Venus (Figure 1).

Figure 1 - "Venus Loop".

It is a well-known fact that the movement of certain planets can be observed from the Earth only in a strictly certain time year, this is due to their position over time in the starry sky.

The characteristic mutual arrangements of the planets relative to the Sun and the Earth are called planetary configurations. The configurations of the inner and outer planets are different: for the lower planets these are conjunctions and elongations (the largest angular deviation of the planet's orbit from the orbit of the Sun), for the upper planets these are quadratures, conjunctions and oppositions.

Let's talk more specifically about each of the types of configurations: configurations in which the inner planet, the Earth and the Sun line up in one line are called conjunctions (Fig. 2).

Rice. 2. Planet configurations:
Earth in superior conjunction with Mercury
in inferior conjunction with Venus and in opposition to Mars

If A is the Earth, B is the inner planet, C is the Sun, the celestial phenomenon is called bottom connection. In the "ideal" inferior conjunction, Mercury or Venus transits across the disk of the Sun.

If A is the Earth, B is the Sun, C is Mercury or Venus, the phenomenon is called top connection. In the "ideal" case, the planet is covered by the Sun, which, of course, cannot be observed due to the incomparable difference in the brightness of the luminaries.

For the Earth-Moon-Sun system, a new moon occurs in the lower conjunction, and a full moon occurs in the upper conjunction.

The limiting angle between the Earth, the Sun and the inner planet is called greatest removal or elongation and is equal to: for Mercury - from 17њ30 "to 27њ45"; for Venus - up to 48º. The inner planets can only be observed near the Sun and only in the mornings or evenings, before sunrise or just after sunset. The visibility of Mercury does not exceed an hour, the visibility of Venus is 4 hours (Fig. 3).

Rice. 3. Elongation of planets

The configuration in which the Sun, Earth and outer planet line up is called (Fig. 2):

1) if A is the Sun, B is the Earth, C is an external planet - opposition;

2) if A is the Earth, B is the Sun, C is an external planet - by the conjunction of the planet with the Sun.

The configuration in which the Earth, Sun and planet (Moon) form in space right triangle, is called quadrature: eastern when the planet is located 90º east of the Sun and western when the planet is located 90º west of the Sun.

The motion of the inner planets on the celestial sphere is reduced to their periodic distance from the Sun along the ecliptic either to the east or to the west by the angular distance of elongation.

The motion of the outer planets on the celestial sphere is of a more complex loop-like nature. The speed of the visible movement of the planet is uneven, since its value is determined by the vector sum of the own velocities of the Earth and the outer planet. The shape and size of the planet's loop depends on the speed of the planet relative to the Earth and the inclination of the planet's orbit to the ecliptic.

Now we introduce the concept of specific physical quantities that characterize the motion of the planets and allow us to make some calculations: The sidereal (stellar) period of revolution of a planet is the time interval T, during which the planet makes one complete revolution around the Sun in relation to the stars.

The synodic period of a planet's revolution is the time interval S between two successive configurations of the same name.

For the lower (inner) planets:

For the upper (outer) planets:

Average duration solar days s for the planets of the Solar System depends on the sidereal period of their rotation around its axis t, the direction of rotation and the sidereal period of revolution around the Sun T.

For planets that have a direct direction of rotation around their axis (the same in which they move around the Sun):

For planets with reverse direction rotation (Venus, Uranus).

You got a general idea of the structure of the solar system in the course of natural history. Now you have to study the structure of the solar system in more depth, and we will begin with a description and analysis of the observed movement of the planets. With the naked eye you can see five planets - Mercury, Venus, Mars. Jupiter and Saturn, Planet by appearance it is not easy to distinguish from a star, especially since it is not always much brighter than it. The planets are among those luminaries that not only participate in the daily rotation of the celestial sphere, but also shift (sometimes imperceptibly) against the background of the zodiac constellations. The very word "planet" is associated with this feature of the planets, which the ancient Greeks called "wandering * luminaries." The better you know the starry sky, the sooner you will find on planets as "superfluous" luminaries in the constellations. In 8x binoculars (or rather a telescope!) You can see that Venus, Jupiter, Saturn have disks, unlike stars, which are visible in optical instruments as point objects.
If you follow the movement of a planet, such as Mars, monthly marking its position on a star chart, you may find main feature visible motion of the planet: the planet describes a loop against the background of the starry sky (Fig. 1).
The looping motion of the planets remained a mystery for a long time and, as you will soon learn, found a simple explanation in the teachings of Copernicus.

Rice. 1. Apparent movement of the planet. I described such a loop against the background starry sky Mars from November 1979 to July 1980 (Roman numerals mean the first day of the month).

2. Planet configurations

Planets whose orbits are located inside earth orbit are called n i f n i m and, and the planets whose orbits are located
in n e earth orbit, in e r x n and m and. The characteristic mutual positions of the planets relative to the Sun and the Earth are called
k o n f i g u r a t i o m and planets. The configurations of the lower and upper planets are different (Fig. 2 and Fig. 3). In the lower planets it connection(top and bottom) And e l o n g a ts i(eastern and western; is the greatest angular distance of the planet from the Sun). At the upper planets - k v a d r a t u r y(eastern and western: the word "square" means "a quarter of a circle"), connection And p r o t i c o s t i o n.
The apparent movement of the lower planets resembles the oscillatory movement around the Sun. The lower planets are best observed near elongation (the greatest elongation of Mercury is 28 °, and Venus is 48° ). From the Earth at this time, not the entire hemisphere of the planet illuminated by the Sun is visible, but only part of it (phase of the planet). At eastern elongation, the planet is visible in the west shortly after sunset, at western elongation - in the east shortly before sunrise.
The upper planets are best seen near oppositions, when the entire hemisphere of the planet illuminated by the Sun is facing the Earth.

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II FOUNDATIONS OF CELESTIAL MECHANICS.

LESSON № 10. LAWS OF MOVEMENT OF HEAVENLY BODIES.

4. Kepler's laws.

6. Conic sections.

7. Revision of Kepler's laws.

1. Development of ideas about the solar system.

The first scientific geocentric system of the world began to take shape in the works of Aristotle and other scientists ancient greece. It was completed in the works of the ancient Greek astronomer Ptolemy. According to this system, the Earth is located in the center of the world, hence the name geocentric. The universe is limited by a crystal sphere on which the stars are located. Between the Earth and the sphere move the planets, the Sun and the Moon. The ancients believed that a uniform circular motion is an ideal motion, and that the celestial bodies move in this way. But observations showed that the Sun and Moon move unevenly, and in order to eliminate this obvious contradiction, it was necessary to assume that they move in circles whose centers do not coincide either with the center of the Earth or with each other. An even more complex loop-like motion of the planets had to be represented as the sum of two circular uniform movements. Such a system made it possible, with sufficient accuracy for observations, to calculate mutual arrangement planets for the future. The loop-like motion of the planets remained a mystery for a long time and found its explanation only in the teachings of the great Polish astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus.

In 1543, his book On the Revolutions of the Celestial Spheres was published. It outlined a new heliocentric system of the world. According to this system, the sun is at the center of the world. The planets, including the Earth, revolve around the Sun in circular orbits, and the Moon around the Earth and at the same time around the Sun. The accuracy in determining the positions of the planets has not increased much, but it was the Copernican system that made it possible to simply explain the loop-like motion of the planets. The teachings of Copernicus dealt a crushing blow to the geocentric system of the world. It went far beyond the scope of astronomy and gave a powerful impetus to the development of all natural sciences.

2. Loop-like motion of the planets.

With the naked eye, we can observe five planets - Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. The planets are among those luminaries that not only participate in the daily rotation of the celestial sphere, but also move against the background of the zodiac constellations, as they revolve around the Sun. If you follow the annual movement of a planet, marking its position on a star chart every week, then the main feature of the visible movement of the planet may come to light: the planet describes a loop against the background of the starry sky, which is explained by the fact that we observe the movement of the planets not from a stationary Earth, but from the Earth revolving around the Sun.

3. Johannes Kepler and Isaac Newton.

The two greatest scientists, far ahead of their time, created a science called celestial mechanics, that is, they discovered the laws of motion of celestial bodies under the influence of gravitational forces, and even if their achievements were limited to this, they would still be included in the pantheon of the greats of this world. It so happened that they did not intersect in time. Only thirteen years after Kepler's death, Newton was born. Both of them were supporters of the heliocentric system of Copernicus. By studying the motion of Mars for many years, Kepler experimentally discovers three laws of planetary motion, more than fifty years before Newton's discovery of the law of universal gravitation. Still not understanding why the planets move this way and not otherwise. It was hard labor and brilliant foresight. But Newton tested his law of gravitation with Kepler's laws. All three of Kepler's laws are consequences of the law of gravity. Newton discovered it at the age of 23. At this time, 1664 - 1667, a plague raged in London. Trinity College, where Newton taught, was dissolved indefinitely so as not to aggravate the epidemic. Newton returns to his homeland and in two years makes a revolution in science, having made three major discoveries: differential and integral calculus, explanation of the nature of light and the law of universal gravitation. Isaac Newton was solemnly buried in Westminster Abbey. Above his grave stands a monument with a bust and an epitaph “Here lies Sir Isaac Newton, a nobleman who, with an almost divine mind, was the first to prove with a torch of mathematics in his hand the movement of the planets, the paths of comets and the tides of the oceans ... Let mortals rejoice that there is such an adornment of the human race.”

4. Kepler's laws.

The main task of celestial mechanics is the study of the motion of celestial bodies under the influence of universal gravitational forces. Namely, the calculation of the orbits of planets, comets, asteroids, artificial satellites of the Earth, spacecraft, stars in binary and multiple systems. All problems in the mathematical sense are very difficult and, with rare exceptions, are solved only by numerical methods using the largest computers. However, model problems in which bodies are considered as material points and you can neglect the influence of other bodies, you can decide in general view, i.e. get formulas for orbits of planets and satellites. The simplest is the problem of two bodies, when one is much larger than the other and the frame of reference is associated with this large body.

It is for this case that the three laws of planetary motion relative to the Sun were obtained empirically by Johannes Kepler. How did he do it? Kepler knew: the coordinates of Mars on the celestial sphere with an accuracy of 2 "according to the observations of his teacher Tycho Brahe; relative distances of planets from the Sun; synodic and sidereal periods of the planets. Further, he argued something like this.

AND

the position of Mars at the time of opposition is known (see fig.). In a triangle ABC letter BUT indicates the position of Mars, IN - Earth, FROM - Sun. After a period of time equal to the sidereal period of Mars (687 days), the planet will return to the point BUT , and the Earth during this time will move to the point IN' . Since the angular velocities of the Earth's motion during the year are known (they are equal to the angular velocities of the apparent motion of the Sun along the ecliptic), we can calculate the angle DIA' . Having determined the coordinates of Mars and the Sun at the moment the Earth passes through the point IN' , we can, knowing 2 angles in a triangle, use the sine theorem to calculate the ratio of the side SW' to AC . After one more revolution of Mars, the Earth will come to a position IN" and it will be possible to determine the relation SV" to the same cut AC etc. In this way, point by point, one can get an idea of the true shape of the Earth's orbit, establishing that it is an ellipse with the Sun at its focus. It can be determined that if the time of movement along the arc M 3 M 4 = the time of movement along the arc M 1 M 2, then Pl. SM 3 M 4 = Pl. SM 1 M 2 .

F 1 and F 2 are the foci of the ellipse, c is the focal length, a is the semi-major axis of the ellipse and the average distance from the planet to the Sun.

5. Newton's law of universal gravitation.

Isaac Newton was able to explain the movement of bodies in outer space using law of gravity . He came to his theory as a result of many years of research on the motion of the moon and planets. But a simplified derivation of the law of universal gravitation can also be drawn from Kepler's third law.

Let the planets move in circular orbits, their centripetal accelerations are equal: , where T is the period of revolution of the planet around the sun, R is the radius of the planet's orbit. From Kepler's III law or. Therefore, the acceleration of any planet, regardless of its mass, is inversely proportional to the square of the radius of its orbit: .

According to Newton's second law, the force F, which tells the planet this acceleration, is equal to: (1) i.e. is directly proportional to the mass of the planet and inversely proportional to the square of its distance from the Sun.

According to Newton's third law, the force F', acting on the planet from the side of the Sun, is equal to it in absolute value, opposite in direction and equal to: , where M is the mass of the sun. Insofar as F = F', =. Denote , where G\u003d 6.67 ∙ 10 -11 N ∙ m 2 / kg 2 - gravitational constant . Then and expression (1) can be written as the well-known formula of the law of universal gravitation: . The gravitational force between the Sun and the planet is proportional to the product of their masses and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them. This law is valid for any spherically symmetric bodies, and approximately it is valid for any bodies if the distance between them is large compared to their sizes. The acceleration that, according to Newton's second law, a body experiences m, at a distance r from the body M, equals:
in particular acceleration of gravity in the field of the Earth is
, where
- the mass of the earth, is the distance to its center. Near the surface of the Earth, the free fall acceleration is g\u003d 9.8 m / s 2. The oblateness of the Earth and its rotation lead to a difference in the force of gravity at the equator and near the poles: the acceleration of free fall at the point of observation can be approximately calculated by the formula g = 9,78 ∙ (1 + 0,0053 sin φ ), where φ is the latitude of this point.

The force of gravity inside the Earth behaves unusually. If the Earth is taken as a homogeneous ball, the force of gravity increases in proportion to the distance to the center of the ball r.

6. Conic sections.

Conic sections are formed at the intersection of a right circular cone with a plane. Conic sections include curves of the second order: ellipse , parabola Andhyperbola . All of them are the locus of points, the distances from which to given points (tricks) or up to a given straight line (directrix) is a constant value. For example, an ellipse is defined as a locus of points for which the sum of distances from two given points (foci F 1 and F 2) is a constant value and equal to the length of the major axis: F 1 M+F 2 M=2а=const. The degree of elongation of the ellipse is characterized by its eccentricity e. Eccentricity e \u003d c / a. When the foci coincide with the center, e \u003d 0, and the ellipse turns into circle . Major axis but is the average distance from the focus to the ellipse. The point of the ellipse closest to the focus is called the periapsis, and the furthest point is called the apocenter. The distance from the focus to the pericenter is ПF 1 = a (1 – e), to the apocenter – F 1 A = a (1 + e).

7. Revision of Kepler's laws.

So, Kepler discovered his laws empirically. Newton derived Kepler's laws from the law of universal gravitation. As a result, the first and third laws were changed. Kepler's first law was generalized and its modern formulation is as follows: The trajectories of the movement of celestial bodies in the central gravitational field are conic sections: an ellipse, a circle, a parabola or a hyperbola, in one of the foci of which is the center of mass of the system. The shape of the trajectory is determined by the value of the total energy of the moving body, which is the sum of the kinetic energy TO bodies of mass m moving at a speed v, and potential energy U a body located in a gravitational field at a distance r from a body with mass M. In this case, the law of conservation of the total energy of the body applies. E \u003d K +U = const; K =mv 2 /2, U=- GMm/ r.

The law of conservation of energy can be rewritten as: (2).

Constant h called constant energy . It is directly proportional to the total mechanical energy body E and depends only on the initial radius vector r 0 and initial speed v 0 . At h < 0 кинетической энергии тела недостаточно для преодоления гравитационной связи. Величина радиус-вектора тела ограничена сверху и имеет место обращение по замкнутой, эллиптической орбите. Такое движение можно уподобить движению маятника – тот же самый переход кинетической энергии в потенциальную во время подъема и обратный – при опускании. Подобное движение называется finite , i.e. closed. For h= 0 with an unlimited increase in the radius vector of the body, its speed decreases to zero - this is movement along a parabola. Such a movement infinitely , unbounded in space. At h> 0, the kinetic energy of the body is large enough, and at an infinite distance from the attracting center, the body will have a non-zero speed of removal from it - this is movement along a hyperbola. Thus, we can say that the body moves relative to the attracting center only along orbits that are conic sections. As follows from formula (2), the approach of a body to an attracting center must always be accompanied by an increase orbital speed body, and the removal - a decrease in accordance with the second law of Kepler. Kepler's second law has not been revised, but the third has been clarified, and it sounds like this: ratio of the cube of the semi-major axis. planetary orbit to the square of the period of revolution of the planet around the Sun is equal to the sum of the masses of the Sun and the planet, g de (3) M  And m the masses of the Sun and the planet, respectively; but And T is the semi-major axis and the period of revolution of the planet. Unlike the first two, Kepler's third law only applies to elliptical orbits.

IN In a generalized form, this law is usually formulated ( 4) so: The product of the sums of the masses of celestial bodies and their satellites with the squares of their sidereal periods of revolution are related as cubes of the semi-major axes of their orbits, where M 1 and M 2 - masses of celestial bodies, m 1 and m 2 - respectively, the masses of their satellites, but 1 and but 2 - major semiaxes of their orbits, T 1 and T 2 - sidereal circulation periods. It is necessary to understand that Kepler's law relates the characteristics of the motion of the components of any arbitrary and independent space systems. This formula can simultaneously include Mars with a satellite, and the Earth with the Moon, or the Sun with Jupiter.

If we apply this law to the planets of the solar system and neglect the masses of the planets M 1 them 2 in comparison with the mass of the Sun M ☼ (i.e. M 1 << M ☼ , M 2 << M☼), then we get the formulation of the third law given by Kepler himself.

8. Determination of the masses of celestial bodies.

H
Newton also showed that Kepler's law (3) is fulfilled in any system of gravitating bodies, be it a binary star or a planet-satellite system, and not just the Sun-planet. Kepler's third law makes it possible to directly determine the mass of a celestial body. For example, let's calculate the mass of the Earth. Using formula (4) of the third law for the Sun-Earth system, and equating it to the Earth-Moon system, after transformations we have:

The mass of the Sun is much larger than the mass of the Earth, which in turn is much larger than the mass of the Moon. Therefore, in the numerator, we can neglect the mass of the Earth, and in the denominator, the mass of the Moon. As a result, we get the expression:
. Substituting here the values of the major semi-axes of the Earth and the Moon and their periods of revolution, we obtain that M \u003d 3.3 10 -6 M☼ . Well, the absolute mass of the Sun is quite simple to calculate. Using directly formula (3), for the Sun-Earth pair, while discarding the mass of the Earth due to its smallness in comparison with the mass of the Sun, we obtain for M☼ =2 10 30 kg.

Kepler's third law allows you to calculate not only the mass of the Sun, but also the masses of other stars. True, this can only be done for binary systems; it is impossible to determine the mass of single stars in this way. By measuring the mutual position of binary stars for a long time, it is often possible to determine the period of their revolution. T and figure out the shape of their orbits. If the distance R to the binary star and the maximum α max and minimum α min angular dimensions of the orbit are known, then the semi-major axis of the orbit can be determined a= R (α max + α min )/2 , then using equation (3) we can calculate the total mass of the binary star. If, on the basis of observations, to determine the distance from the stars to the center of mass X 1 And X 2 , or rather the relation X 1 /X 2 , which is kept constant, then the second equation appears x 1 / x 2 = m 2 / m 1 , which makes it possible to determine the mass of each star separately.

D.Z. § 8.9, 10. Tasks 7.8 p.47.

Quick Survey Questions

1. What is the name of the point of the planet's orbit closest to the Sun?:

2. What is the name of the most distant point of the Moon's orbit?

3. How does the value of the comet's velocity change as it moves from perihelion to aphelion?

5. How does the synodic period of the outer planets depend on the distance to the Sun?

6. Why are they trying to build spaceports closer to the equator?

7. How does the gravitational field change inside the Earth?

8. Formulate Kepler's laws.

9. What is the average radius of the planet's orbit?

The earth, like all the planets in our solar system, revolves around the sun. And their moons revolve around the planets.

Since 2006, when it was transferred from the category of planets to dwarf planets, there are 8 planets in our system.

The location of the planets

All of them are located in almost circular orbits and rotate in the direction of rotation of the Sun itself, with the exception of Venus. Venus rotates in the opposite direction - from east to west, unlike the Earth, which rotates from west to east, like most other planets.

However, the moving model of the solar system does not show so many small details. Of other oddities, it is worth noting that Uranus rotates almost lying on its side (the mobile model of the solar system does not show this either), its axis of rotation is tilted by about 90 degrees. They attribute this to a cataclysm that occurred a long time ago and affected the inclination of its axis. It could be a collision with some large cosmic body, which was not lucky enough to fly past the gas giant.

What are the groups of planets

The planetary model of the solar system in dynamics shows us 8 planets, which are divided into 2 types: the planets of the Earth group (these include: Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars) and the gas giant planets (Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune).

This model demonstrates well the differences in the sizes of the planets. The planets of the same group combine similar characteristics, ranging from structure to relative size, a detailed model of the solar system in proportions clearly demonstrates this.

Belts of asteroids and icy comets

In addition to the planets, our system contains hundreds of satellites (Jupiter alone has 62), millions of asteroids and billions of comets. Also, between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter, there is an asteroid belt and the interactive model of the Solar System Flash clearly demonstrates it.

Kuiper Belt

The belt remains from the time of the formation of the planetary system, and after the orbit of Neptune, the Kuiper belt extends, in which dozens of icy bodies are still hidden, some of which are even larger than Pluto.

And at a distance of 1-2 light years there is the Oort cloud, a truly gigantic sphere encircling the Sun and representing the remains of building material that was thrown out after the formation of the planetary system. The Oort Cloud is so big that we can't show you its scale.

It regularly supplies us with long-period comets, which take about 100,000 years to reach the center of the system and please us with their command. However, not all comets from the cloud survive the meeting with the Sun and last year's comet ISON fiasco is a vivid confirmation of this. It is a pity that this model of the flash system does not display such small objects as comets.

It would be wrong to ignore such an important group of celestial bodies, which was singled out as a separate taxonomy relatively recently, after the International Astronomical Union (MAC) in 2006 held its famous session on which the planet Pluto.

History of discovery

And the prehistory began relatively recently, with the introduction of modern telescopes in the early 90s. In general, the beginning of the 90s was marked by a number of major technological breakthroughs.

Firstly, it was at this time that the Edwin Hubble Orbital Telescope was put into operation, which, with its 2.4-meter mirror, taken out of the earth's atmosphere, discovered a completely amazing world that was inaccessible to ground-based telescopes.

Secondly, the qualitative development of computer and various optical systems allowed astronomers not only to build new telescopes, but also to significantly expand the capabilities of the old ones. Due to the use of digital cameras, which completely replaced the film. It became possible to accumulate light and keep records of almost every photon that fell on the photodetector matrix with unattainable accuracy, and computer positioning and modern processing tools quickly transferred such an advanced science as astronomy to a new stage of development.

alarm bells

Thanks to these successes, it became possible to discover celestial bodies, quite large in size, outside the orbit of Neptune. Those were the first calls. The situation became very aggravated at the beginning of the 2000s just then, in 2003-2004, Sedna and Eris were discovered, which, according to preliminary calculations, had the same size as Pluto, and Eris completely exceeded it.

Astronomers are at a dead end: either admit that they discovered the 10th planet, or something is wrong with Pluto. And new discoveries were not long in coming. In 2005, it was discovered that, together with Quaoar, discovered back in June 2002, Ork and Varuna literally filled the trans-Neptunian space, which, beyond the orbit of Pluto, was previously considered almost empty.

International Astronomical Union

The International Astronomical Union, convened in 2006, decided that Pluto, Eris, Haumea and Ceres, which joined them, belong to. Objects that were in orbital resonance with Neptune in a ratio of 2:3 became known as plutinos, and all other Kuiper belt objects - cubivano. Since then, we have only 8 planets left.

The history of the formation of modern astronomical views

Schematic representation of the solar system and spacecraft leaving it

Today, the heliocentric model of the solar system is an indisputable truth. But this was not always the case, but until the Polish astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus proposed the idea (which was expressed by Aristarchus) that it is not the Sun that revolves around the Earth, but vice versa. It should be remembered that some still think that Galileo created the first model of the solar system. But this is a delusion, Galileo only spoke out in defense of Copernicus.

The model of the solar system according to Copernicus was not to everyone's taste, and many of his followers, such as the monk Giordano Bruno, were burned. But the model according to Ptolemy could not fully explain the observed celestial phenomena and the seeds of doubt, in the minds of people, were already planted. For example, the geocentric model was not able to fully explain the uneven movement of celestial bodies, such as the backward movements of the planets.

At different stages of history, there were many theories of the structure of our world. All of them were depicted in the form of drawings, diagrams, models. However, time and the achievements of scientific and technological progress put everything in its place. And the heliocentric mathematical model of the solar system is already an axiom.

The movement of the planets is now on the monitor screen

Plunging into astronomy as a science, it can be difficult for an unprepared person to imagine all aspects of the cosmic world order. For this, modeling is ideal. The online solar system model appeared thanks to the development of computer technology.

Our planetary system has not gone unnoticed either. Specialists in the field of graphics have developed a computer model of the solar system with the input of dates, which is available to everyone. It is an interactive application that displays the movement of the planets around the sun. In addition, it shows how the largest satellites revolve around the planets. We can also see between Mars and Jupiter and the zodiac constellations.

How to use the schema

The movement of the planets and their satellites correspond to their real daily and annual cycle. The model also takes into account the relative angular velocities and the initial conditions for the movement of space objects relative to each other. Therefore, at each moment of time, their relative position corresponds to the real one.

An interactive model of the solar system allows you to navigate in time using a calendar, which is depicted as an outer circle. The arrow on it points to the current date. The speed of the passage of time can be changed by moving the slider in the upper left corner. It is also possible to turn on the display of the phases of the moon, with the dynamics of the lunar phases displayed in the lower left corner.