| Solar System | |
 Map of the Solar System | |
| Age: | Estimated to be 4.568 Billion years |
|---|---|
| Location: | Local Interstellar Cloud, Local Bubble,
Orion–Cygnus Arm, Milky Way Galaxy, |
| System mass | 1.0014 Solar masses |
| Nearest stars | Proxima Centauri (4.22 ly)
Alpha Centauri system (4.37 ly) |
The Solar System that the Earth is in contains the Sun, 8 planets and 5 known dwarf planets [1], and also an asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. There is a huge asteroid belt beyond Pluto called the Kuiper belt. The Solar System is part of the Milky Way Galaxy and orbits that galaxy in roughly 250 Million years.
Formation
The Solar System formed when a cloud of interstellar gas and dust condensed to form the sun, the planets and the other objects in the Solar System. The gas and dust included Supernova remnants, we know that because the oxygen, nitrogen, carbon, also all other heavy elements in the Earth and elsewhere formed during one or more supernova explosions.
- A Super Nova Star Explosion 5 Billion years ago Cool video about how the Solar System formed
- Birth of the Solar System A second video with more information.
- Solar system formation Video
- Solar System Formation Text about how the Solar System formed
- Planet Formation A longer text about the formation of the Solar System.
Planets
The planets are
The 4 below are called Gas giants
Pluto lost its planet status in fall 2006.
Dwarf planets
The Dwarf Planets include
Stars
The Solar System revolves around a medium-sized Star called the Sun, or Sol. Yes, EARTH around SUN. When Galileo said that the Pope didn't believe him. Astronomers have found planets orbiting other stars or suns in other Planetary systems. They are called Exoplanets. In 2010 over 500 exoplanets were known. [2] and more are continually discovered. Some may have life though scientists don’t know yet. Nobody knows how many planets there are in the Universe.
References
- Our Solar System Is "Special" This author thinks our Solar System is special, others disagree and believe there could be millions of Earth like Exoplanets and thousands of civilizations in our Milky Way Galaxy alone. [3]
