Our Solar System
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How can we obtain and communicate information to model and compare the characteristics and movements of objects in the Solar System?
IntroductionThe original reason humans studied the stars and planets was because they witnessed frightening changes in the sky. Studying the Solar System is a part of humanities endless quest to understand the world we inhabit. Aside from the practical reasons for studying it, we still have an innate curiosity that pushes us to know more about the world around us.
One of the biggest questions in our existence is “Are we alone?” Science is looking for evidence of life in the places close enough to us to be examined (i.e., our solar system). Science is also comparing our solar system to those of other stars in our vicinity to see how close they might come to providing a habitat for life. Understanding the planets and small bodies that inhabit our solar system help scientists answer questions about its formation, how it reached its current diverse state, how life evolved on Earth and possibly elsewhere in the solar system, and what characteristics of the solar system lead to the origins of life. |