(cosmically) home for the holidays (photos) - solar street lighting system

An example of our solar system, its sun and eight planets, as well as dwarf planets, Comet, etc. (
Image: NASA/CXC/MWeiss)
Whether you are ready for the holiday or are really able to embrace the holiday (
Or both)
This is the time of year to consider the family.
While this usually means family, friends and food, no matter how excited we are in the next six weeks or so, we can sometimes use a small perspective.
Nevertheless, we think it is a good time to write a list of the places we like to visit most in the home of the universe-the solar system.
We like to think of the solar system as our block in outer space.
The Earth is our home, other planets, their satellites, asteroids and so on.
There are other houses, alleys and parks nearby.
Earlier this month, the assessment of the solar system became more relevant when scientists announced that there could be as many as 4 billion Earth --
Like the planets in the galaxy(
If the solar system is our neighborhood, then the Milky Way is the metropolitan area where we live. )
These planets are not only about the same size as the Earth, but may be "habitable "---
That is to say, do not catch liquid water too hot or too cold.
This is what scientists want to find, because before discovering some form of alien life, we assume that water is the driving force of life.
On this planet
Looking for business seems to be old-fashioned, and our solar system is the only planetary system we know before 1990.
Just like Holly Hunt's vacation at home is still fun and no matter how many times we 've seen it, our solar system is still full of surprises and worth exploring.
So, take a moment out of the busy holidays to visit your solar system. (
In any case, please take a moment if you need an excuse to leave any party you may find yourself. )
There is no place like home during the holidays.
The top ten destinations of our cosmic neighbor Moon (Image: T. A. Rector, I. P.
Antonio, Noo, Halo, NSF)
So far, our moon is the only celestial body that can send astronauts (
Not human-
International Space Station).
This picture of our natural satellite on earth is dramatic and may also be different from what many people may see.
In most photos, the light of the moon flooded the stars around.
However, this one was made by combining two separate images of the moon and another image with only the stars. The Sun(Image: NASA)
Without the light and heat of the sun, our eighth home on Earth would be a cold, barren wasteland.
However, our godsend is not always peaceful and peaceful.
In fact, the storms experienced by the sun may lead to a stream of energetic particles bombing the Earth.
These solar storms can produce spectacular aurora, but they can also destroy satellite and mobile services. Mercury(Image: NASA)
Mercury is probably our most extreme neighbor.
It is not only the closest planet to the sun, but also the smallest and most dense planet.
It has more superlatives: it has the oldest surface and the largest daily changes in surface temperature.
Mercury is only 3,000 miles in diameter (
4,800)
A little farther than the distance between New York and Los Angeles. Venus(Image: NASA)
You know the house across the street looks a lot like yours, but not so much?
This may be the case with Venus for Earth.
Venus is roughly the same size, mass, density and composition as Earth.
The difference is that the atmosphere on Venus has created a crazy greenhouse effect, and now the Earth's surface is overheated and the temperature exceeds 400oC (750oF).
Radar data collected over the years has been used to make this color
A coded portrait of our planetary neighborComet ISON(
Picture: TRAPPIST/E. Jehin/ESO)
The comet is a neighbor who usually lives in the suburbs but occasionally takes a chance to visit.
When they did, the comet brought it.
Throw a portion of the original solar system at the gates of our universe to enable scientists to study them better.
This recent comet image was taken at the La sinro Observatory in ESO on November. 15, 2013.
Comet Eisen will approach the sun soon. Mars(Image: NASA)
All the houses in our universe block are built at the same time.
This means that like the Earth and the rest of the solar system, Mars (
The fourth planet from the Sun)is about 4.
6 billion years old.
Curiosity, NASA's recent rover on the red planet, has sent a beautiful snapshot of our next planet. door neighbor.
The car shows the sharp mountain Rover is heading.
The color mark in this image has been enhanced to show that the Mars scene is in lighting conditions similar to what we have on Earth.
This helps scientists who actively analyze the terrain from a distance. Jupiter(Image: T. Rector [U.
ANCHORAGE, Alaska, C.
Trujillo and Gemini Cowherd, NOAO/Reiki/NSF)
Jupiter is our neighbor's mansion in the universe.
With more than 50 known satellites and huge magnetic fields, Jupiter is by far the largest planet in the solar system.
The infrared image of Jupiter is colored.
Display cloud height from high altitude (white)through mid-range (blue)
Low altitude (red).
The big red dot and its little friend Little Red Dot are at the top of the atmosphere, which is why they mainly appear in white in this picture. Saturn(Image: NASA)
There is nothing better than family happiness during the holidays, although one or two family members will always be missed.
In this picture, Saturn overtook the sun on July 2013.
The small dots in the image are Mars and Venus (upper left)
Our own Earth and Moonlower right)
There are also some Saturn satellites.
Hopefully, Jupiter and other gas giants will not feel too sad because they are excluded. Enceladus(Image: NASA)
Some of the smaller solar systems-
You can find famous but still fascinating local attractions on Jupiter and Saturn's satellites.
Although it is difficult to choose only one of these satellites (
It's kind of like picking out favorite holiday gifts)
This picture shows Tuwei II.
Titan is a beautiful Saturn satellite that is only as wide as Britain.
In this picture, you can see a series of cracks across the Antarctic.
These cracks could be a huge broken ice system. Uranus (Image: NASA)Our third-
Uranus, the largest planet in the solar system, is still an elusive neighbor.
That's because we only launched one spacecraft, NASA's Voyager 2, to visit our seventh planet.
From this mission, we learned about the two new rings of about 10 new moons and Uranus, with a total of 27 known satellites and 13 rings.
This photo shows just the new moon image of the planet, taken by Voyager 2, which flew near Uranus on January 1986 and eventually surpassed Uranus.
As with many tours, whether it's at your home or further away, there's always a favorite destination left out.
You can see more from our cosmic backyard in our book your cosmic ticket: a guide to exploring the universe (
Smithsonian 2013).