The Sun is at the center of the Solar system, with other celestial objects orbiting around it. The force of gravity holds the Solar system together and governs the movement of the objects within the Solar system.
Our Solar System
Our Solar System is a collection of eight planets and their moons in orbit around the Sun, together with smaller bodies in the form of asteroids, meteoroids, and comets. The planets of the solar system are (in order of distance from the sun) Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune.
What is a Planet?
A planet revolves around the Sun, has enough mass and gravity to be round in shape, and has cleared the space around its orbit.
- Planets in our Solar System have either a terrestrial (rocky) surface or a gaseous surface.
- Gaseous planets are much larger than the terrestrial planets.
- Planets may have rings and other unique surface characteristics.
Planet Quick Links
Inner TERRESTRIAL Planets
*Not to scale
Outer GAS GIANT Planets
*Not to scale
Explore Our Solar System
Relative Distances of the Planets in the Solar System
Astronomical Unit (au)
One astronomical unit (au) represents the average distance between the Earth and our Sun which is approximately 93 million miles or 8 light-minutes. This is a unit of distance sometimes used to measure objects in our Solar System.
|
Relative Size of Objects in the Solar System
What if the Moon Were Only One Pixel?
What IF we tried to model the Solar System
inside a football field?
Planetary Data Table
Video Guide:
|
|
Topic Tips
- Our Solar System is a collection of eight planets and their moons in orbit around the sun, together with smaller bodies in the form of asteroids, meteoroids, and comets. The planets of the solar system are (in order of distance from the Sun) Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune.