Astronomical Tourism in Chile - Elqui Valley and San Pedro de Atacama

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The Solar System

The Solar System is part of the Milky Way galaxy in the universe. It consists of the sun and eight other planets orbiting around it in the interplanetary space between them. It is now also known that there are more than a dozen planetary systems orbiting other stars, and hundreds of stars in which it they have detected the presence of at least one planet. It is said that the planets of the solar system were small pieces. 

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General Features
The planets, most satellites and asteroids orbit the Sun in the same direction following elliptical orbits in a counterclockwise direction when viewed from above the north pole of the Sun. The plane where all these bodies are rotating is called ecliptic. Some objects orbiting with a particularly high degree of inclination, like Pluto with a 18-degree tilt, as well as an important part of the objects in the Kuiper belt. According to their characteristics, the bodies that make up the Solar System are classified as following:


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The Structure of the Solar System

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The orbits of the larger planets are put in order according to their distances from the Sun, so the distance of each planet is roughly twice that of the previous planet. This relationship is expressed mathematically in the Titius-Bode law, a formula which sums up the positions of the larger semiaxis of the planets in Astronomical Units. In its simplest form it is:

Where k = 0, 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, 128.Image



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Main objects of the Solar System
The Sun

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The sun is the star of the planetary system in which the Earth is found, therefore, it is the closest to the Earth and, thus, the shiniest star apparent to the Earth. Its presence or absence in the sky determines day and night. The energy radiated by the sun is used by photosynthetic beings which constitutes the base of the food chain, making it the main source of energy for life. It also provides the energy that keeps the climate processes going. The Sun is found in the so-called main sequence with a spectral type G2, which was formed some 5 billion years ago and will remain in the main sequence approximately 5 billion years more. The Sun, and the Earth and all the celestial bodies orbiting around it, form the Solar System.
  • Despite being a medium-sized star, it is the only one you can see with the naked eye. It has an angular diameter of 32'35" arc perihelion and 3131" aphelion, which gives an average diameter of 32'03". Because of some strange coincidence, the combination of sizes and distances from the Sun and Moon are such that they are, approximately, the same apparent size in the sky. This allows a wide range of different solar eclipses (total , annular or partial).


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