Portal:Solar System

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The Solar System Portal

The Sun and planets of the Solar System (distances not to scale)

The Solar System is the gravitationally bound system of the Sun and the objects that orbit it. It was formed 4.6 billion years ago when a dense region of a molecular cloud collapsed, forming the Sun and a protoplanetary disc. The Sun is an ordinary main sequence star that maintains a balanced equilibrium by the fusion of hydrogen into helium at its core, releasing this energy from its outer photosphere.

The largest objects that orbit the Sun are the eight planets. In order from the Sun, they are four terrestrial planets (Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars); two gas giants (Jupiter and Saturn); and two ice giants (Uranus and Neptune). All terrestrial planets have solid surfaces. Inversely, all giant planets do not have a definite surface, as they are mainly composed of gases and liquids. Over 99.86% of the Solar System's mass is in the Sun and nearly 90% of the remaining mass is in Jupiter and Saturn.

There is a strong consensus among astronomers that the Solar System has at least eight dwarf planets: Ceres, Pluto, Haumea, Quaoar, Makemake, Gonggong, Eris, and Sedna. There are a vast number of small Solar System bodies, such as asteroids, comets, centaurs, meteoroids, and interplanetary dust clouds. Some of these bodies are in the asteroid belt (between Mars's and Jupiter's orbit) and the Kuiper belt (just outside Neptune's orbit). Six planets, six dwarf planets, and other bodies have orbiting natural satellites, which are commonly called 'moons'.

The Solar System is constantly flooded by the Sun's charged particles, the solar wind, forming the heliosphere. Around 75–90 astronomical units, the solar wind is halted, resulting in the heliopause. This is the boundary of the Solar System to interstellar space. The outermost region of the Solar System is the theorized Oort cloud, the source for long-period comets, extending 2,000–200,000 astronomical units (0.032–3.2 light-years). The closest star to the Solar System, Proxima Centauri, is 4.25 light-years away. Both stars belong to the Milky Way galaxy. (Full article...)

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Io (moon).
Io (moon).
Io (pronounced /ˈaɪoʊ/ eye'-oe, or as Greek Ῑώ) is the innermost of the four Galilean moons of Jupiter and, with a diameter of 3,642 kilometers, the fourth largest moon in the Solar System. It was discovered in 1610 by Galileo Galilei, along with the other Galilean satellites. This discovery furthered the adoption of the Copernican model of the Solar System and the development of Kepler's laws of motion. Unlike most satellites in the outer Solar System (which have a thick coating of ice), Io is primarily composed of silicate rock surrounding a molten iron or iron sulfide core. Io has one of the most geologically active surfaces in the solar system, with over 400 active volcanoes. This extreme geologic activity is the result of tidal heating from friction generated within Io's interior by Jupiter's varying pull. Several volcanoes produce plumes of sulfur and sulfur dioxide that climb as high as 500 km (310 mi). Io's surface is also dotted with more than 100 mountains that have been uplifted by extensive compression at the base of the moon's silicate crust. Some of these peaks are taller than Earth's Mount Everest. Most of Io's surface is characterized by extensive plains coated with sulfur and sulfur dioxide frost. (Full article...)

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Panther Mountain from Highmount

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The SunMercuryVenusThe MoonEarthMarsPhobos and DeimosCeresThe main asteroid beltJupiterMoons of JupiterSaturnMoons of SaturnUranusMoons of UranusNeptuneMoons of NeptunePlutoMoons of PlutoHaumeaMoons of HaumeaMakemakeThe Kuiper BeltErisDysnomiaThe Scattered DiscThe Hills CloudThe Oort Cloud

Solar System: Planets (Definition · Planetary habitability · Terrestrial planets · Gas giants · Rings· Dwarf planets (Plutoid· Colonization · Discovery timelineˑ Exploration · Moons · Planetariums

Sun: Sunspot · Solar wind · Solar flare · Solar eclipse
Mercury: Geology · Exploration (Mariner 10 · MESSENGER · BepiColombo· Transit
Venus: Geology · Atmosphere · Exploration (Venera · Mariner program 2/5/10 · Pioneer · Vega 1/2ˑ Magellan · Venus Express· Transit
Earth: History · Geology · Geography · Atmosphere · Rotation
Moon: Geology · Selenography · Atmosphere · Exploration (Luna · Apollo 8/11· Orbit · Lunar eclipse
Mars: Moons (Phobos · Deimos) · Geology · Geography · Atmosphere · Exploration (Mariner · Mars · Viking 1/2 · Pathfinder · MER)
Ceres: Exploration (Dawn)
Jupiter: Moons (Amalthea, Io · Europa · Ganymede · Callisto) · Rings · Atmosphere · Magnetosphere · Exploration (Pioneer 10/11 · Voyager 1/2 · Ulysses · Cassini · Galileo · New Horizons)
Saturn: Moons (Mimas · Enceladus · Tethys · Dione · Rhea · Titan · Iapetus) · Rings · Exploration (Pioneer 11 · Voyager 1/2 · CassiniHuygens)
Uranus: Moons (Miranda · Ariel · Umbriel · Titania · Oberon) · Rings · Exploration (Voyager 2)
Neptune: Moons (Triton) · Rings · Exploration (Voyager 2)
Planets beyond Neptune
Pluto: Moons (Charon, Nix, Hydra, Kerberos, Styx) · Exploration (New Horizons)
Haumea: Moons (Hi'iaka, Namaka)
Makemake
Eris: Dysnomia
Small bodies: Meteoroids · Asteroids (Asteroid belt· Centaurs · TNOs (Kuiper belt · Scattered disc · Oort cloud· Comets (Hale–Bopp · Halley's · Hyakutake · Shoemaker–Levy 9)
Formation and evolution of the Solar System: History of Solar System formation and evolution hypotheses · Nebular hypothesis
See also: Featured content · Featured topic · Good articles · List of objects

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The planet Saturn, see here eclipsing the sun
The planet Saturn, see here eclipsing the sun

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