ABOUT OUR solar system

Our solar system is a vast and fascinating region of space centered around the Sun, a star that provides the gravitational force holding everything together. The Sun makes up about 99.86% of the mass of the entire system. 

The solar system consists of

1. The Sun – The heart of the system, a massive ball of hot, glowing gases that provides heat and light to all the planets.

2. Planets – There are eight recognized planets (Click on any of the bold planet names to find out more about them):

   • Mercury: The smallest and closest to the Sun.

   • Venus: Similar in size to Earth but with a thick, toxic atmosphere.

   • Earth: Our home, the only planet known to support life.

   • Mars: Known as the Red Planet, with a thin atmosphere and evidence of ancient water.

   • Jupiter: The largest planet, a gas giant with a famous Great Red Spot (a giant storm).

   • Saturn: Known for its beautiful and extensive ring system.

   • Uranus: An ice giant with a tilted axis, leading to extreme seasons.

   • Neptune: The farthest planet, another ice giant with strong winds and storms.

3. Dwarf Planets – Smaller than regular planets, but still orbit the Sun, like Pluto, Eris, and Ceres.

4. Moons – Many of the planets have natural satellites. For example, Earth has the Moon, Jupiter has over 70 moons, and Saturn has its largest moon, Titan.

5. Asteroids and the Asteroid Belt – Rocky bodies, mostly between Mars and Jupiter.

6. Comets – Icy bodies that come from the outer edges of the solar system and develop tails as they approach the Sun.

Beyond Neptune, we find the Kuiper Belt, a region full of icy bodies unlike the Asteroid Belt. Farther still there is the hypothetical Oort Cloud, which is theorized to be a massive shell of icy objects. There is no visible proof of the existence of the Oort cloud, however scientist believe this is where some comets originate from.

The solar system is about 4.6 billion years old, and it continues to evolve as objects move and interact with each other.

Click on any of the names below to learn more about other planets in our solar system. 

Mercury  |  Venus  |  Earth  |  Mars  |  Jupiter  |  Saturn  |  Uranus  |  Neptune  |  Dwarf Planet Pluto