Our Solar System - Part 1

The universe. The cosmos. Our solar system. The planets. How well do you know these things, and can you talk about them comfortably in English? Here is some information which can empower you to do so.

Do you know our planetary neighborhood - in English? | foto: NASA, ESA, The Hubble Heritage Team

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At the high level, our solar system, often called the Terran system depending on whom you ask, consists of a sun and several planets which revolve around it.

Some of these planets have moons in orbit around them, which are of varying shapes and sizes.

In addition, there are asteroids which exist in our solar system by the thousands. They are located in what is called the asteroid belt, which stretches between the planets of Mars and Saturn.

Many scientists believe that these asteroids are really the remains of one or more planets which failed to form into a single planetary mass.

Galaxies
Our planet exists in a galaxy which is called the Milky Way. According to scientists, the Milky Way is an "average" sized spiral galaxy which has anywhere from 150 to 200 BILLION stars or other suns in it. Our sun is located on the EDGE of the far side of this galaxy.

The Sun or Good Old Sol
The star that our Earth orbits around is called a sun. Our sun, like every star, has its own name. It is called Sol.

Sol is a G2 type star in spectral class. It is "average sized" and of "average" age, according to cosmologists, which means that it is almost five billion years old.

According to scientists, there are 46 other stars similar to our own sun which could have planets supporting life on them which are within 1,000 light-years of Earth. They are part of our cosmic neighborhood.

          Joke of the Day: Dumb Laws

1. In the state of North Carolina, you cannot use an elephant to plow your cotton field.

2. In the state of North Carolina, it is against the law to sing off key. So how do karaoke bars manage stay open legally then?

3. In the state of North Carolina, if you are caught with something illegal, you must pay tax based on its value.

4. In the state of New York it is illegal to throw a ball at someone’s head "just for fun."

Does this mean that it is LEGAL to do it out of anger?

5. In the state of North Carolina it is against the law to carry an ice cream in your pockets on Sundays. All other days are legal!

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Najdete ji také v bezplatném deníku Metropolitní expres.

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