The Solar System

The Solar System[a] consists of the Sun and those

celestial objects bound to it by gravity, all of which
formed from the collapse of a giant molecular cloud
approximately 4.6 billion years ago. Of the retinue of
objects that orbit the Sun, most of the mass is
contained within eight relatively solitary planets whose
orbits are almost circular and lie within a nearly-flat
disc called the ecliptic plane. The four smaller inner
planets, Mercury (36 Million Miles), Venus (67.2 Million
Miles), Earth (93 Million Miles) and Mars (141.6 Million Miles), also called the
terrestrial planets, are primarily composed of rock and metal. The four outer
planets, Jupiter (483..6 Million Miles), Saturn (886.7 Million Miles), Uranus (1,784
Million Miles) and Neptune (2,794.4 Million Miles), also called the gas giants, are
composed largely of hydrogen and helium and are far more massive than the
terrestrials.

The Solar System is also home to two regions populated by smaller objects. The
asteroid belt, which lies between Mars and Jupiter, is similar to the terrestrial
planets as it is composed mainly of rock and metal. Beyond Neptune's orbit lie
trans-Neptunian objects composed mostly of ices such as water, ammonia and
methane. Within these regions, five individual objects, Ceres, Pluto, Haumea,
Makemake and Eris, are recognized to be large enough to have been rounded by
their own gravity, and are thus termed dwarf planets. In addition to thousands of
small bodies in those two regions, various other small body populations, such as
comets, centaurs and interplanetary dust, freely travel between regions.

The solar wind, a flow of plasma from the Sun, creates a bubble in the interstellar
medium known as the heliosphere, which extends out to the edge of the scattered
disc. The hypothetical Oort cloud, which acts as the source for long-period comets,
may also exist at a distance roughly a thousand times further than the
heliosphere.

Six of the planets and three of the dwarf planets are orbited by natural satellites,
[b] usually termed "moons" after Earth's Moon. Each of the outer planets is
encircled by planetary rings of dust and other particles.

Terrestrial Planets
Planet Miles From Sun
Mercury 36 Million Miles

Venus 67.2 Million Miles

Earth 93 Million Miles

Mars 141.6 Million Miles

Gas Giants
Jupiter 483.6 Million Miles
Saturn 886.7 Million Miles

Uranus 1,784 Million Miles

Neptune 2,794.4 Million Miles