The Solar System is the gravitationally bound system of the Sun and the objects that orbit it. It formed approximately 4.6 billion years ago from the gravitational collapse of a giant interstellar molecular cloud. The vast majority of the system's mass is in the Sun, with most of the remaining mass contained in Jupiter. The four inner planets are terrestrial planets, while the four outer planets are gas giants.

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Age

4.6 billion years

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Speed through galaxy

515,000 mph

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Distance to nearest star

4.24 light-years

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The Sun

The heart of our solar system, powering life itself

At the center of our Solar System is the Sun, a G-type main-sequence star that contains 99.86% of the system's known mass. The Sun's enormous gravitational pull keeps all planets, asteroids, comets, and other objects in orbit around it. It's a massive nuclear fusion reactor, converting hydrogen into helium and releasing vast amounts of energy. Every second, the Sun converts 600 million tons of hydrogen into helium, releasing energy equivalent to billions of nuclear bombs.

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Surface temperature

5,500°C

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Core temperature

15 million°C

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Light travel time to Earth

8 minutes 20 seconds

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Mass

330,000 Earths

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The Eight Planets

Eight worlds, each a universe of wonder waiting to be explored

Our Solar System contains eight planets: four terrestrial planets (Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars) and four gas giants (Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune).

Mercury: Closest to the Sun, with extreme temperature variations
Venus: Hottest planet with a thick, toxic atmosphere
Earth: The only known planet with life
Mars: The Red Planet, future target for human exploration
Jupiter: Largest planet, with a Great Red Spot storm
Saturn: Famous for its spectacular ring system
Uranus: Rotates on its side
Neptune: Fastest winds in the Solar System

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Closest planet to Sun

Mercury (36M miles)

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Farthest planet

Neptune (2.8B miles)

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Largest planet

Jupiter

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Smallest planet

Mercury

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Dwarf Planets and Small Bodies

The cosmic frontier where small worlds hold big secrets

Beyond Neptune lies the Kuiper Belt, home to dwarf planets like Pluto, Eris, and Haumea. The Solar System also contains millions of asteroids, primarily located in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, and countless comets that originate from the Oort Cloud, a distant spherical shell of icy objects surrounding the Solar System at distances up to 100,000 astronomical units.

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Asteroids in main belt

~1.9 million

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Oort Cloud distance

Up to 100,000 AU

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Dwarf planets

5+ confirmed

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