What is the difference between galaxies and solar systems

Another difference is that the distances between a solar system and another star system is much less than the distance between one galaxy and another galaxy. This is because a galaxy has many stars that are clustered together, the distance between two stars systems from such a cluster will be much less than the distance between the two clusters each having a different centre.

Many solar systems can be part of a galaxy but a galaxy cannot be part of a solar system. The length of the solar system is many magnitudes smaller than the length of a galaxy.

A solar system contains one star around which planets orbit, where as a galaxy can contain from a million to over a trillion stars. Solar system consists of a Sun at its centre, where as a galaxy usually has a black hole at its centre. A galaxy can contain dark matter where as the solar system does not.

In a solar system planets orbit the sun on the other hand, within a galaxy star systems orbit around the centre of the galaxy. A galaxy can be of different shapes, where as the solar system has a particular shape. The distance between a solar system and another such system is much less than the distance between two galaxies. Difference between Galaxy and Solar System. Difference Between Similar Terms and Objects. MLA 8 Ewan, Dart. The word planetary system would more accurately describe a system of planets orbiting around a central star.

We are the only planetary that should be called a Solar System because only our star is the Sun Sol. Additionally, there are planetary systems that are part of a larger star system like Alpha Centauri. In this case, Alpha Centauri is a binary star system two stars that orbit each other.

Each of these main stars can have their own planets, even though they orbit each other. Overall I think this is a very helpful article but Solar Systems and Galaxies are best differentiated when you can also include star systems as an in-between example. Name required. The Milky Way galaxy is known to harbor at least one such object. Galaxies are considered to have been categorized according to their apparent shape.

A common example is an elliptical galaxy, which has an ellipse-shaped light profile. Spiral galaxies are disk-shaped with dusty, curving arms. Those with irregular or unusual shapes are known as irregular galaxies and typically originate from the disruption by the gravitational pull of the neighboring galaxies. Such interactions between the nearby galaxies may ultimately result in a merger, and sometimes induce significantly increased incidents of star formation leading to starburst galaxies.

Smaller galaxies are referred to as irregular galaxies. Also read: Difference between nebula and solar nebula. There is a huge difference in the distance between the two galaxies. This is because a galaxy has many stars that are clustered together and the distance between the two clusters, each having a different center, is less.

According to Wikipedia, the Solar System consists of the Sun and its eight planets. There are also a number of smaller planets, satellites and other objects orbiting around the sun.

The Solar System was formed 4. The majority of the cloud mass of the system is in the Sun and the rest is in Jupiter. The four inner planets, Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars, are called terrestrial planets. They are primarily composed of rock and metal. The four outer planets are called the gas giants, as they are substantially more massive than the terrestrial planets.

The two large planets, Jupiter and Saturn, are composed mainly of hydrogen and helium. Also read: Difference between a galaxy and universe. The Solar System also contains a number of regions populated by smaller objects.

Within these populations, there are several dozen other thousand objects that may be large enough to have been rounded by their own gravity. Such objects are referred to as dwarf planets. A few identified dwarf planets include the asteroid Ceres and the trans-Neptunian objects like Pluto, Eris, Haumea, and Makemake.

There are various other small-body populations which include comets, centaurs and interplanetary dust that travel freely between regions. This page was last updated June 28, About the Author Kristine Spekkens Kristine studies the dynamics of galaxies and what they can teach us about dark matter in the universe.

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