Shay Levister, Certified Love Transformer – Medium

What is a local interplanetary medium?

Our local interplanetary medium is the material which fills the solar system and through which all the larger solar system bodies such as planets, asteroids and comets move. Def. the nature of the surrounding environment is called a medium. Daf. existing or occurring between planets is called interplanetary.

What is the difference between a medium and interplanetary space?

Def. the nature of the surrounding environment is called a medium. Daf. existing or occurring between planets is called interplanetary. Def. that part of outer space between the planets of a solar system and its star is called interplanetary space.

What are the highest energy particles in the interplanetary medium?

The highest energy particles in the interplanetary medium are called cosmic rays. Some are of solar origin; the most energetic, however, originate in some other unknown and very energetic processes outside our solar system. The interaction of the solar wind, the Earth's magnetic field and the Earth's upper atmosphere causes the auroras.

Which planets are in the Solar System?

Our solar system consists of an average star we call the Sun, the planets Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto. It includes: the satellites of the planets; numerous comets, asteroids, and meteoroids; and the interplanetary medium.

Where does the interstellar medium begin?

The interstellar medium begins where the interplanetary medium of the Solar System ends. The solar wind slows to subsonic velocities at the termination shock, 90—100 astronomical units from the Sun. In the region beyond the termination shock, called the heliosheath, interstellar matter interacts with the solar wind.

What is a small body in the Solar System?

Any natural solar system object other than the Sun, a planet, a dwarf planet, or a moon is called a small body; these include asteroids, meteoroids, and comets. Most of the more than one million asteroids, or minor planets, orbit between Mars and Jupiter in a nearly flat ring called the asteroid belt.