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Difference between Galaxy and Solar System

Difference between Galaxy and Solar System

Galaxy vs. Solar System

What is difference between Galaxy and Solar System? The solar system and galaxies are completely different things that sometimes give rise to confusion and misunderstanding among some students. In advance it is good to clarify that galaxy and solar system are not the same. They have totally different characteristics that once taken into consideration make it easy to differentiate between one issue and another. Below this post is all about the difference between Galaxy and Solar System.

Difference between Galaxy and Solar System

If you have doubts about the difference between the solar system and the galaxy or you are simply looking for a little more information to complement what you already know, then continue reading, because below we explain everything you need to know in around this interesting topic.

Solar system

The solar system is a specific type of system, characterized by having the sun (a star) as its center. In this way, it consists of the set of things orbiting a sun or one of the planets orbiting a star. For example, the moon is part of the solar system.

The solar system in which the planet Earth we inhabit is formed thousands and millions of years ago. The planets that compose it are Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. Planets which are composed mostly by rocks, metals and gases, etc such as helium and hydrogen.

Also, the solar system contains a large number of regions that are populated by small objects. Some of these objects are called dwarf planets (such as Pluto) and are large enough to maintain their rounded shape thanks to gravity.

Galaxy

On the other hand, the word galaxy derives from the Greek “galaxies”, which means “dairy” and is used as reference to the Milky Way.

A galaxy is much larger than a solar system. They contain an immense number of planets and solar systems. In the midst of all the objects that a galaxy can contain is cosmic dust, interstellar gases and cosmic rays.

Usually, in the center of the galaxies there is a massive black hole and they are usually categorized depending on the shape they exhibit. For example, there are elliptical galaxies, spirals, curves, disk-shaped and several more. Those that have irregular shapes are grouped under the category of irregular galaxies.

Finally, the solar system to which we belong (one among many) is located in the Milky Way, a galaxy containing more than 200 thousand million stars. A solar system may be part of a galaxy, but a galaxy will never be found within its solar system.

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