System Requirements
Our solar system has many parts. The biggest part is the Sun. Then there are the planets, there sixty-eight moons and other satellites, the minor planets (comets and asteroids), and the space between all the objects.
The Sun [The Motherboard]
The Sun is the brightest object in the sky and is the only object in the sky that is known for being seen during the day (the moon will occasionally be seen in early morning or late afternoon/night). Its name possibly derives from the Roman name for it "Sol". It is not known for certain.
Inner Planets [Hardware]
The inner solar system contains the majority of the rocky planets. There are four inner planets; they are as follows:
The first planet of the inner solar system is Mercury. Mercury is named after the Roman messenger of the gods. It was given that name because it moved across the sky at a faster speed than any of the other planets.
The second of the inner planets is Venus. Venus was the Roman god of love and beauty. It was given the name of "Venus" because it was the brightest object in the sky, outside of the Moon and Sun.
Next is a very familiar planet indeed [at least I hope], the Earth. Earth is the only planet that's not officially named after a Roman god. The Earth's name instead from Old English and Germanic.
And last but not least (Mercury is the smallest) of the inner planets is Mars. It is named after the Roman god of war. It was given that name because its red color in the sky resembled blood, and blood is a very common sight in war.
The Outer Planets [Software]
The first planet of the outer solar system planets is Jupiter. Named after the king of the Roman gods, it is by far the biggest of all the planets. It was given its name because it is the biggest object in the sky from Earth, other than the Sun and the Moon.
The next planet in the outer solar system is planet famed for its rings, Saturn. Saturn is named after the father of Roman king of the gods. It was given the name because it, like Jupiter, was great in size, but overtaken by him as the greatest.
Next in line is Uranus. It was named after the Greek deity of the heavens, which was the earliest of the supreme gods. It was discovered by William Herschel.
The next planet is Neptune. It is the last of the gas giants and the eighth planet overall. It is named after the Roman god of the sea. It was given that name because of its blue-green color due to methane gas in its upper atmosphere.
The last and least in size and mass of the planets is the mini-planet Pluto. It was named after the Roman god of the underworld. It was given the name because it is not close to the Sun and therefore exists in darkness [but unlike the underworld, it gets really, really cold there]
Minor Planets (Asteroids and Comets) [Microchips]
The asteroids and comets are made up of debris that was left over after our solar system was created. The asteroids are made of rocky and/or metal based material. Comets are usually made up of ice (frozen water and some gases), dust, a few other solids, and plasma (a common material found in stars).
Asteroids and comets are a small part of the solar system [like microchips], but play an important role to us in understanding more about how the solar system was created [they aren't quite as important as microchips though].
My Grand Finale [A Terrible Virus]
As you can see, our solar system is made up of a variety of components, much like a computer. Next, we will explore its origin as well as each of the elements in more detail.
