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Solar System space probes operational as of November 2024. This is a list of active space probes which have escaped Earth orbit.It includes lunar space probes, but does not include space probes orbiting at the Sun–Earth Lagrangian points (for these, see List of objects at Lagrangian points).
Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun and the second largest in the Solar System, after Jupiter. It is a gas giant , with an average radius of about nine times that of Earth . [ 27 ] [ 28 ] It has an eighth the average density of Earth, but is over 95 times more massive.
The Solar System remains in a relatively stable, slowly evolving state by following isolated, gravitationally bound orbits around the Sun. [28] Although the Solar System has been fairly stable for billions of years, it is technically chaotic, and may eventually be disrupted. There is a small chance that another star will pass through the Solar ...
The full set of rings, imaged as Saturn eclipsed the Sun from the vantage of the Cassini orbiter, 1.2 million km (¾ million miles) distant, on 19 July 2013 (brightness is exaggerated). Earth appears as a dot at 4 o'clock, between the G and E rings. The rings of Saturn are the most extensive and complex ring system of any planet in the Solar ...
Saturn's orbit plane is inclined 2.485 degrees relative to Earth's, and Jupiter's is inclined 1.303 degrees. The ascending nodes of both planets are similar (100.6 degrees for Jupiter and 113.7 degrees for Saturn), meaning if Saturn is above or below Earth's orbital plane Jupiter usually is too. Because these nodes align so well it would be ...
The poles of astronomical bodies are determined based on their axis of rotation in relation to the celestial poles of the celestial sphere. Astronomical bodies include stars, planets, dwarf planets and small Solar System bodies such as comets and minor planets (e.g., asteroids), as well as natural satellites and minor-planet moons.
The southern hemisphere of the Solar System's heliosphere is being pushed in. [74] On April 22, 2010, Voyager 2 encountered scientific data format problems. [ 75 ] On May 17, 2010, JPL engineers revealed that a flipped bit in an on-board computer had caused the problem, and scheduled a bit reset for May 19. [ 76 ]
The Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) in a halo orbit around L1 Mission: Investigation of the outer layer of the Sun, making observations of solar wind and associated phenomena in the vicinity of L1, probing the interior structure of the Sun. Launched: 2 December 1995; Arrival: Operational orbit in May 1996; Institution: ESA