At all times, the question of how our Galaxy is arranged has been one of the most pressing. We all know that our solar system consists of eight planets that move in orbit around the sun. But in this article you can also find out how the sun itself moves. First, let's take a look at the principle of planetary motion.
Why do planets move around the sun?
To say that planets revolve around the Sun is just another way of saying that they are in orbit around the Sun. Moving around the Sun in orbit, the planet looks like the Moon or NASA’s satellite orbiting the Earth. Let’s think about why the planet revolves around the Sun, and not the Sun around the planet. A light object revolves around a heavier one, so any planet is a celestial body moving around the Sun, since this star is by far the heaviest object in our solar system. The sun is 1,000 times heavier than the largest planet Jupiter, more than 300,000 times heavier than the Earth. By the same principle, the moon and satellites move around the earth.
Isaac Newton
But now we still have a question why something revolves around something else. The reasons are complex, but the first sensible explanation was given by one of the greatest scientists who have ever existed. It was Isaac Newton who lived in England about 300 years ago. Newton gained fame during his lifetime; many admired his answers to the most complex and fascinating scientific questions of the time.
Newton realized that the reason planets revolve around the Sun is related to why objects fall to Earth when we drop them. The gravity of the Sun attracts the planets in the same way as the gravity of the Earth discards everything that is not held by any other force, and keeps us on earth. Heavy objects attract more than light, so being the heaviest in our solar system, the Sun has the most powerful gravitational attraction.
The principle of constant planetary motion
Now the following question arises: if the Sun attracts planets, why should they not just fall and burn up? In addition to falling toward the sun, planets also move sideways. This is the same as if you had weight at the end of the string. If you turn it, you constantly pull it to your hand. So the gravity of the Sun attracts the planet, but the movement to the side keeps the ball spinning around. Without this lateral movement, it would fall to the center; and without a thrust to the center, he would fly in a straight line, which, of course, is exactly what will happen if you release the string.
How does the sun move?
Our Galaxy revolves around its center, which is called the Milky Way. According to scientists, the speed of the sun in orbit is about 828,000 km / h. But even at such a high speed, one passage around the Milky Way will be 228 million years!
The Milky Way is a spiral galaxy. Scientists believe that it consists of 4 sleeves. The sun (and, of course, the rest of our solar system) is located near the arm of Orion, between Perseus and Sagittarius. The sun moves in orbit at a distance of about 30,000 km from the Milky Way.
It is interesting to note that recent studies by astronomers suggest that the Milky Way is actually a spiral galaxy with a jumper, and not just a spiral galaxy.
How does the sun and our galaxy move around the milky way?
- The sun rotates the earth every 24 hours. The Sun itself rotates, but not at the same speed over its entire surface. The movements of the sunspots show that the Sun rotates once every 27 days at its equator, but only once every 31 days at its poles.
- As already mentioned, all the stars in the galaxy revolve around the galactic center, but not with the same period. Stars in the center have a shorter period than those that are farther away. The sun is in the outer part of the galaxy. Based on the readings of distance and speed, the period of passage of the solar system around the Milky Way is called the cosmic year. For 5 billion years of its life, the Sun has rotated around the galaxy more than 20 times.
- The sun moves up and down during its galactic rotation like a carousel.
- The Milky Way and Andromeda are in the Local Group. The entire Local Group is moving towards the Virgo cluster. This conclusion was proposed by Lopez Luis.
In ancient times, all representations of the essence of the Galaxy were based on philosophy, the search and representation of how the parts are connected together. Using this approach, it was Aristotle who suggested that all the planets revolve around perfect circles, and that the stars are enclosed in a perfect sphere that encompasses planet Earth. Formal ideas about the principle of attraction of particles, starting with atoms, made it possible for man to understand that the knowledge of the boundaries or infinity of the Galaxy is one of the most pressing issues of mankind. This gave a huge impetus to the study of the structure of outer space.