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A planetary core consists of the innermost layers of a planet. [1] Cores may be entirely solid or entirely liquid, or a mixture of solid and liquid layers as is the case in the Earth. [2] In the Solar System, core sizes range from about 20% (the Moon) to 85% of a planet's radius ( Mercury ). Gas giants also have cores, though the composition of ...
Below are lists of the largest stars currently known, ordered by radius and separated into categories by galaxy. The unit of measurement used is the radius of the Sun (approximately 695,700 km; 432,300 mi ). [1] The Sun, the orbit of Earth, Jupiter, and Neptune, compared to four stars. ( Pistol Star, Rho Cassiopeiae, Betelgeuse, and VY Canis ...
It was the smallest known star from 1948 to 1981. TRAPPIST-1: 82,925: Hosts a planetary system with at least seven rocky planets. LHS 2090: 83,500 Teegarden's Star: 83,500 Has two potentially habitable planets. VB 8: 84,450 SPECULOOS-3: 85,570 Second-smallest star known to host a transiting exoplanet after TRAPPIST-1
Gas giant. A gas giant is a giant planet composed mainly of hydrogen and helium. [1] Jupiter and Saturn are the gas giants of the Solar System. The term "gas giant" was originally synonymous with "giant planet". However, in the 1990s, it became known that Uranus and Neptune are really a distinct class of giant planets, being composed mainly of ...
Red supergiants ( RSGs) are stars with a supergiant luminosity class ( Yerkes class I) and a stellar classification K or M. [1] They are the largest stars in the universe in terms of volume, although they are not the most massive or luminous. Betelgeuse and Antares A are the brightest and best known red supergiants (RSGs), indeed the only first ...
A few notable large stars with masses less than 60 M☉ are shown in the table below for the purpose of comparison, ending with the Sun, which is very close, but would otherwise be too small to be included in the list. At present, all the listed stars are naked-eye visible and relatively nearby. Star name. Location.
Currently most of the objects of mass between 10 9 kg to 10 12 kg (less than 1000 teragrams (Tg)) listed here are near-Earth asteroids (NEAs). The Aten asteroid 1994 WR12 has less mass than the Great Pyramid of Giza, 5.9 × 10 9 kg. For more about very small objects in the Solar System, see meteoroid, micrometeoroid, cosmic dust, and ...
Most of the planets in the Solar System have secondary systems of their own, being orbited by natural satellites called moons. All of the largest natural satellites are in synchronous rotation, with one face permanently turned toward their parent. The four giant planets have planetary rings, thin discs of tiny particles that orbit them in unison.