The Solar System
The Solar System is a region of space that contains the Sun, eight major planets including Earth, plus numerous moons, asteroids, meteoroids and comets.
The Sun and major planets of the Solar System. The size scale is correct but distances are not to scale.
Facts About The Solar System:
- The Solar System is made up of the Sun and everything that orbits the Sun. The word solar means Sun, so remember it like this: If something orbits the Sun, it's part of the Solar System.
- It is believed that the Solar System formed from a cloud of dust and gas around 4.6 billion years ago.
- The Solar System can be divided into regions starting from the Sun and working outwards:
- The inner planets Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars.
- The Asteroid belt.
- The gas giants Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune.
- The Kuiper belt, including Pluto.
- The Scattered disc
- The Oort cloud
- It's not entirely clear where the edge of our Solar System is. A common definition is the heliopause, the point where solar wind from the Sun peters out. Note that this does not include the Oort cloud, which is thought to exist up to a thousand times farther out than the heliopause.
- Our Solar System is just one of up to 200 billion similar systems that make up the Milky Way Galaxy. When you see stars in the night sky, you're seeing the suns of other solar systems.
More information:
Facts about things in the Solar System:
Classification: Region