I’m confused, are you saying there’s only one solar system because we’ve only really named our planetary system the “solar system” ?
Not to be rude but that seems pedantic because there’s more than one definition and according to Merriam Webster
solar system noun: the sun together with the group of celestial bodies that are held by its attraction and revolve around it also : a similar system centered on another star
Our solar system is just one specific planetary system—a star with planets orbiting around it. Our planetary system is the only one officially called “solar system,” but astronomers have discovered more than 3,200 other stars with planets orbiting them in our galaxy.
Genuinely curious to learn as I do not know a lot about this stuff and feel like I am missing something?
I’m confused, are you saying there’s only one solar system because we’ve only really named our planetary system the “solar system” ?
Not to be rude but that seems pedantic because there’s more than one definition and according to Merriam Webster
Meanwhile, elsewhere on the same site, over here https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/other-solar-systems/en/ says:
Genuinely curious to learn as I do not know a lot about this stuff and feel like I am missing something?
This is a case of a term that was until recently specific but is now becoming a more general term.
While planets orbiting other stars has been talked about for centuries, it is only in the past few decades that we have been able to confirm their existence.
So, up until then Solar system was a term that described our solar system as it was the only one known to exist.
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