Solar system model with names

What is a solar system model?

Solar System models, especially mechanical models, called orreries, that illustrate the relative positions and motions of the planets and moons in the Solar System have been built for centuries. While they often showed relative sizes, these models were usually not built to scale.

Which models were used to calculate the positions of planets and stars?

In class, we discussed three main models of the solar system that were used to calculate the positions of the planets and stars: the ancient Greek geocentric model as proposed by Ptolemy, the full heliocentric model by Copernicus, and the hybrid of these proposed by Brahe.

What planets are in the Solar System?

As you zoom out, the solar system's outer planets – Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune – come into view. The date slider allows you to move forwards or backwards by a few months to see the motion of the planets along their orbits. The top panel shows where the planets appear in the night sky from the Earth.

How many planets are in our Solar System?

Our solar system consists of our star, the Sun, and everything bound to it by gravity – the planets Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune; dwarf planets such as Pluto; dozens of moons; and millions of asteroids, comets, and meteoroids. Beyond our own solar system, there are more planets than stars in the night sky.

Are planetary models built to scale?

While they often showed relative sizes, these models were usually not built to scale. The enormous ratio of interplanetary distances to planetary diameters makes constructing a scale model of the Solar System a challenging task.

What is a small body in the Solar System?

Any natural solar system object other than the Sun, a planet, a dwarf planet, or a moon is called a small body; these include asteroids, meteoroids, and comets. Most of the more than one million asteroids, or minor planets, orbit between Mars and Jupiter in a nearly flat ring called the asteroid belt.