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Solar System

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Encyclopedia of Astrobiology

Definition

The solar system may be defined as a system including all celestial objects which are subject to the gravitational field of the Sun. According to this definition, the solar system extends over a distance of about 2 light-years, or 0.65 pc, or about 120,000 AU. The most distant frontier that we know is the Oort cloud, a spherical shell that extends beyond about 40,000 AU from the Sun, and is a reservoir for nonperiodic comets. The solar system contains two main regions, the inner solar system between the Sun and the main asteroidal belt and the outer solar system beyond this limit. The inner solar system contains the terrestrial planets and their satellites and several families of asteroids. The outer solar system contains the giant planets and their systems, distant asteroids (Trojans, Centaurs), and trans-Neptunian objects. Most comets spend most of their times in the outer solar system but come in the inner solar system as they approach the Sun.

The solar wind is a flow of...

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR), Institut für Planetenforschung, Rutherfordstraße 2, 12489, Berlin, Germany

    Tilman Spohn

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  1. Tilman Spohn
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Correspondence to Tilman Spohn .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Centro de Biología Molecular, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain

    Ricardo Amils

  2. Labo. d'Astrophysique de Bordeaux (LAB), Observatoire Aquitain des Sciences de l'Univers (OASU), Floirac CX, France

    Muriel Gargaud

  3. Centro de Astrobiología (CAB), Inst. Nacional de Técnica Aeroespacial, Torrejón de Ardoz, Madrid, Spain

    José Cernicharo Quintanilla

  4. Geophysical Lab., Carnegie Institution of Washington, Washington, District of Columbia, USA

    Henderson James Cleaves

  5. Astronomy Department, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts, USA

    William M. Irvine

  6. Dépt. Sc. de la Terre et de l’Atmosphère, Université du Québec, Montréal, Montreal, Québec, Canada

    Daniele Pinti

  7. Centre National d'Etudes Spatiale (CNES) DPI/E2U, Paris CX, France

    Michel Viso

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© 2014 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Spohn, T. (2014). Solar System. In: Amils, R., et al. Encyclopedia of Astrobiology. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27833-4_5152-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27833-4_5152-2

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-27833-4

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Physics and AstronomyReference Module Physical and Materials ScienceReference Module Chemistry, Materials and Physics

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