THE SOLAR SYSTEM

Our Solar System was formed 4.5 billion years ago from a huge cloud of gas and dust. The Solar System is made up of The Sun, 8 planets, 5 minor planets, at least 169 moons, and millions of asteroids and comets. The Solar System is part of our galaxy, the Milky Way. Inside the Milky Way, there are hundreds of billions of other Solar Systems just like our own, each one with their own set of planets.

The Planets all orbit The Sun in an anti-clockwise direction, with the inner planets orbiting faster than the outer planets. Mercury has the fastest orbit. A year on Mercury lasts only 87 days, while a year on Neptune is equal to 164 Earth years.