The solar system is the gravitationally bound system of the sun and the objects that orbit it. Of the bodies that orbit the sun directly, the largest are the four gas and ice giants and the four terrestrial planets, followed by an unknown number of dwarf planets and innumerable small solar system bodies. Of the bodies that orbit the Sun indirectly—the natural satellites—two are larger than Mercury and one is nearly as large.
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Hubble captured the collisions, which created massive black impact sites visible from space. It represented the first time scientists could prepare for and observe an interplanetary collision in real time, allowing them to gather valuable information about Jupiter’s atmosphere.
NASA's Dawn mission revealed Ceres' surface composition, which contains salts, water ice, and organic material. Ceres' ocean likely froze over entirely in the past, when the presence of water may have allowed life to exist.
After NASA’s Voyager 1 captured Earth as a single pixel as it left the solar system in 1990, Carl Sagan used the image to reflect on humanity’s fragility and the responsibility to protect "the only world we’ve ever known."
Planned for a 2027 launch, NASA Gateway is a lunar-orbiting space station meant to support Artemis lunar missions and future Mars travel. This resource includes an interactive 3D model of the proposed station’s modules and layout.
Mercury deviates within 7 degrees of the ecliptic that marks the path of the sun, with the other planets varying from 3 degrees to approximately flat. Even an alignment within 1 degree between all eight planets is estimated to occur only once every 13.4 trillion years.
This 3D solar system visualization displays the positions of known asteroids, comets, and spacecraft involved in asteroid studies. Major asteroids include additional details, including orbital trajectories and discovery dates.
Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune are named after the messenger of the gods, the goddess of love, the god of war, the king of gods, the god of agriculture, the god of the sky, and the god of the sea, respectively. "Earth" comes from Old English and Germanic words meaning "ground."
Its age is best estimated by studying meteorites from the early formation period of the planetary system, including Erg Chech 002 (4.565 billion years old) and NWA 11119 (4.5648 billion years old). Solar analysis and stellar evolution models estimate the sun's age to be approximately 4.57 billion years.
The eight standard planets in our solar system vary in size, rotation speed, axial tilt, and more. Enormous spaces separate them, making direct comparison in real life nearly impossible. Close observation of the planets has allowed astronomers to learn their exact size so illustrators can accurately depict them near each other. This very short video shows the different planets in our solar system next to each other, revealing the relative tininess of Mars and the massiveness of Jupiter.
Scientists believe that over hundreds of millions of years, energetic particles from the sun colliding with atmospheric particles, flinging them away from Mars' weak gravitational field like colliding billiard balls. As atmospheric pressure decline, water also evaporated away from the surface.
From roughly 60 miles above the Earth's surface to farther than light has traveled during the entire age of the universe, space has captured human imagination for millennia. Explore the final frontier with the best resources curated from across the internet.