Solar System

The Solar System is the gravitationally bound system of the Sun and the objects that orbit it, either directly or indirectly. Of the objects that orbit the Sun directly, the largest are the eight planets, with the remainder being smaller objects, the dwarf planets and small Solar System bodies. Of the objects that orbit the Sun indirectly—the natural satellites—two are larger than the smallest planet, Mercury. The Solar System formed 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 the majority of the remaining mass contained in Jupiter. The four smaller inner system planets, Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars, are terrestrial planets, being primarily composed of rock and metal. The four outer system planets are giant planets, being substantially more massive than the terrestrials.

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'Fossil' object dubbed 'Ammonite' discovered on the outskirts of the solar system

Newly-Discovered Interstellar Comet is Billions of Years Older Than the Solar System

Strange 'Fossil' World Detected at Fringes of Solar System

Telescope spies rare interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS zooming through our solar system (photos)

Birth of a solar system caught ‘on camera’ for first time

Astronomers discover a cosmic 'fossil' at the edge of our solar system. Is this bad news for 'Planet 9'?

Using JWST and ALMA, an international research team, including astronomers from the University of Michigan, detected silicon monoxide condensing into solids around baby star HOPS-315—the earliest direct evidence of planetesimal formation ever observed outside our solar system.

Birth of a Solar System Witnessed in Spectacular Scientific First

Two meteorites found in the Sahara could be from the solar system’s least studied rocky planet, scientists say | CNN

A Solar System Is Born: Planet-Forming “Pebbles” Detected Around Two Distant Young Stars

A 7-Billion-Year-Old Ice Ball Just Entered Our Solar System

A newly discovered interstellar object might predate the solar system

See interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS zoom through solar system in new telescope imagery (video)

Trump’s NASA budget could cede solar system to China, scientists warn

The birth of a solar system revealed by planet 'pebbles'

The birth of a solar system revealed by planet 'pebbles' - EurekAlert!

Third Interstellar Object, Comet 3I/ATLAS, Is Traveling Through Solar System

NASA confirms that mysterious object shooting through the solar system is an “interstellar visitor”

Meteorite causes rethink of how and when our solar system formed

A third visitor from another star is hurtling through the solar system