blanketglossary

Solar System

Definition

The Solar System is the gravitationally bound system of the Sun and the masses that orbit it, most prominently its eight planets, of which Earth is one. The system formed about 4.6 billion years ago when a dense region of a molecular cloud collapsed, creating the Sun and a protoplanetary disc from which the orbiting bodies assembled.

Related concepts

10199 Chariklo 10 Hygiea 120347 Salacia 15760 Albion 174567 Varda 2012 VP113 2013 ND15 2019 UO14 2060 Chiron 208996 Achlys 28978 Ixion 2 Pallas 307261 Máni 4 Vesta 532037 Chiminigagua 541132 Leleākūhonua 55565 Aya 594913 ꞌAylóꞌchaxnim 90377 Sedna A-type main-sequence star Absolute magnitude Accretion (astrophysics)Accretion disk Active asteroid Adrastea (moon)Advances in Space Research Akaa Solar System Scale Model Alan Stern Albert Einstein Alfvén surface Alpha Centauri Alpha Centauri Ab Alpha process Alyssa A. Goodman Am star Amalthea (moon)Amateur astronomy American Journal of Physics Ancient Greece Ancient Greek astronomy Angular momentum Ann Druyan Antikythera mechanism Ap and Bp stars Aphelion Apollo program Apparent magnitude Archaeoastronomy Ariel (moon)Aristarchus of Samos Armillary sphere Artemis program Artist's impression Asterism (astronomy)Asteroid Asteroid Belt Asteroid belt Asteroid family Asteroid group Asteroid mining Asteroseismology Astrarium Astrobiology Astrochemistry Astrograph Astroinformatics Astrology and astronomy Astrometry Astronomer Astronomers Monument Astronomical clock Astronomical filter Astronomical nomenclature Astronomical object Astronomical symbols Astronomical unit Astronomy Astronomy & Astrophysics Astronomy & Geophysics Astronomy Picture of the Day Astronomy in Serbia Astronomy in the medieval Islamic world Astroparticle physics Astrophysical Journal Supplement Astrophysics Astrotourism Asymptotic giant branch Atmosphere Atmospheric circulation Atmospheric entry Atmospheric stripping Aurora Aurora (astronomy)Australian Aboriginal astronomy Avicii Arena Axial tilt B(e) star B-type main-sequence star BBC Online BBC Sky at Night Babylonian astronomy Bantam Books Barium star Barnard's Star Barnard's Star b Barred spiral galaxy Barycenter Basalt Be star Binary pulsar Binary star Binary system (astronomy)Binoculars Bipolar outflow Black dwarf Black hole Black star (semiclassical gravity)Blitzar Blue dwarf (red-dwarf stage)Blue giant Blue loop Blue straggler Blue supergiant Bok globule Boson star Bow shock Bright giant Bright spots on Ceres Brown-dwarf desert Brown dwarf CEMP star CH star CNO cycle CN star CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics Callisto (moon)Calypso (moon)Cambridge University Press Capitalization Capture of Triton Carbon Carbon-burning process Carbon dioxide Carbon star Carl Sagan Carl Zimmer Cassini (spacecraft)Celestial Mechanics and Dynamical Astronomy Centaur (minor planet)Centaur (small Solar System body)Center of the universe Ceres (dwarf planet)Chad Trujillo Chaotic system Charon (moon)Chemically peculiar star Chinese astronomy Chinese star names Chiron (hypothetical moon)Christiaan Huygens Chromosphere Chrysalis (hypothetical moon)Circumplanetary disk Circumpolar star Circumstellar disc Circumstellar dust Circumstellar envelope Circumstellar habitable zone Claimed moons of Earth Classical Kuiper belt object Climate Climate of Uranus Climate region Co-orbital configuration Coatlicue (star)Coincidence Collision Collisional family Color index Color–color diagram Coma (cometary)Comet Comet Hale–Bopp Comet West Common envelope Compact star Conservation of angular momentum Constellation Contact binary Contemporary Physics Convection zone Copernican heliocentrism Cornell University Corona Australis Molecular Cloud Coronal mass ejection Cosmic Eye Cosmic View Cosmic Voyage (1996 film)Cosmic Zoom Cosmic dust Cosmic ray Cosmic ray astronomy Cosmic rays Cosmogony Counter-Earth Craig Glenday Crust (geology)Cryovolcano Cultural astronomy Cyan Damocloid Dark-energy star Dark star (dark matter)David L. Goodstein Debris disk Deep space exploration Definition of planet Deimos (moon)Delta-v budget Detached object Deuterium fusion Dione (moon)Discovery and exploration of the Solar System Disrupted planet Doppler spectroscopy Double planet Dredge-up Dwarf planet Dysnomia (moon)ETNO Early-type star Earth Earth's diameter Earth's magnetic field Earth, Moon, and Planets Earth mass Earth trojan Earthshine Eclipsing binary Ecliptic Ecliptic plane Ecliptic pole Eddington luminosity Edmond Halley Effective temperature Effects of Planet Nine on trans-Neptunian objects Egyptian astronomy Eise Eisinga Planetarium Ejecta Electromagnetic radiation Electroweak star Elena V. Pitjeva Ellipse Ellipsoid Emanuel Bowen Emily Lakdawalla Enceladus Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition Energy Equator Eris (dwarf planet)Eugene Merle Shoemaker Europa (moon)Evolutionary history of life Exoplanet Exoplanetary Circumstellar Environments and Disk Explorer Exotic star Exozodiacal dust Exploration of Jupiter Exploration of Mars Exploration of Mercury Exploration of Neptune Exploration of Pluto Exploration of Saturn Exploration of Uranus Exploration of the Moon Extinction (astronomy)Extinction events Extragalactic astronomy Extraterrestrial materials Extraterrestrial sample curation Extreme helium star Extreme trans-Neptunian object Extremely Large Telescope Extremely large telescope F-type main-sequence star Far-infrared astronomy Fifth Giant Five-planet Nice model Flea Fluid dynamics Focus (geometry)Formation and evolution of the Solar System Friedrich Bessel Frost line (astrophysics)Fusor (astronomy)G-Cloud G-type main-sequence star Galactic Center Galactic astronomy Galactic bulge Galactic halo Galactic plane Galactic pole Galactic tide Galactic year Galaxy Galilean moons Galileo Galilei Gamma-ray astronomy Ganymede (moon)Gas giant General relativity Geocentrism Geomagnetic storm Georgij A. Krasinsky Geyser Giada Arney Giant-impact hypothesis Giant planet Giant star Gliese 65 Globular cluster Glossary of astronomy Goddard Space Flight Center Gonggong (dwarf planet)Gould Belt Gradient Gran Telescopio Canarias Grand tack hypothesis Gravastar Gravitational Gravitational-wave astronomy Gravitational collapse Gravitational potential Gravitationally bound Gravity Gravity Discovery Centre Gravity assist Gravity darkening Great Red Spot Greenhouse gas Guest star (astronomy)HED meteorite Habitable zone Hale Telescope Halley's Comet Harold F. Levison Haumea Hayashi track Hebrew astronomy Helene (moon)Heliocentric Heliopause (astronomy)Helioseismology Heliosheath Heliosphere Heliospheric current sheet Helium Helium-weak star Helium flash Helium planet Helium star Henyey track Herbig Ae/Be star Herbig–Haro object Hercules (constellation)Hertzsprung gap Hertzsprung–Russell diagram High-energy astronomy Hilda asteroid Hill sphere Hills Cloud Hills cloud Historical brightest stars Historical models of the Solar System History of Solar System formation and evolution hypotheses History of X-ray astronomy History of astronomy History of the telescope Hiʻiaka (moon)Horizontal branch Hot deserts Hubble Space Telescope Human spaceflight Human spaceflight programs Hyades (star cluster)Hydra (moon)Hydrate Hydrogen Hydrogen sulfide Hydrostatic equilibrium Hyperbolic trajectory Hypergiant Hyperion (hypothetical planet)Hyperion (moon)Hypernova Hypothetical moon of Mercury Hypothetical star IAU designated constellations Iapetus (moon)Icarus (journal)Ice giant Ice giants Ice sheet Impact crater Inclusion (mineral)Indian astronomy Infrared astronomy Inner Solar System Inner planet Instability strip Intergalactic star Internal heat International Astronomical Union Interplanetary dust cloud Interplanetary medium Interplanetary spaceflight Interstellar Boundary Explorer Interstellar cloud Interstellar medium Interstellar space Inuit astronomy Invariable plane Io (moon)Ion Ionizing radiation Iron Iron(III) oxide Iron star Isaac Newton J2000 JPL JPL Horizons On-Line Ephemeris System James W. Head Jeremiah Horrocks Jet Propulsion Laboratory Johannes Kepler John Locke Journal of Geophysical Research Jupiter Jupiter trojan K-type main-sequence star Kelvin Kelvin–Helmholtz mechanism Kepler's laws of planetary motion Kepler (spacecraft)Kerberos (moon)Kirkhill Astronomical Pillar Kirkwood gap Kraft break Kreutz sungrazer Kuiper Belt Kuiper belt Kuiper cliff Kystagerparken Lagrange point Lagrangian point Lalande 21185 Lambda Boötis star Laniakea Supercluster Large Binocular Telescope Larry W. Esposito Late-type star Late Heavy Bombardment Late Middle Ages Laura K. Schaefer Lead star Lid tectonics Life Light-year Light pressure Liquid water List of Arabic star names List of Earth-crossing asteroids List of French astronomers List of Jupiter-crossing minor planets List of Jupiter trojans (Greek camp)List of Jupiter trojans (Trojan camp)List of Mars-crossing minor planets List of Mercury-crossing minor planets List of Neptune-crossing minor planets List of Russian astronomers and astrophysicists List of Saturn-crossing minor planets List of Solar System extremes List of Solar System objects List of Solar System objects by greatest aphelion List of Solar System objects by size List of Solar System probes List of Uranus-crossing minor planets List of Venus-crossing minor planets List of active Solar System probes List of astronomers List of astronomical catalogues List of brightest stars List of brown dwarfs List of coolest stars List of crewed spacecraft List of exceptional asteroids List of gravitationally rounded objects of the Solar System List of hottest stars List of hypothetical Solar System objects List of interstellar and circumstellar molecules List of largest stars List of minor-planet groups List of minor planets List of missions to comets List of most distant stars List of most luminous stars List of most massive stars List of multiplanetary systems List of natural satellites List of nearby stellar associations and moving groups List of nearest bright stars List of nearest exoplanets List of nearest stars List of novae in the Milky Way galaxy List of optical telescopes List of planetary nebulae List of possible dwarf planets List of proper names of stars List of red dwarfs List of smallest known stars List of star extremes List of stars with resolved images List of supernova candidates List of supernova remnants List of supernovae List of topics in space List of white dwarfs List of women astronomers Lists of comets Lists of geological features of the Solar System Lists of stars Lists of telescopes Lithium burning Local Bubble Local Cloud Local Group Local Hole Local Interstellar Cloud Local Sheet Local Volume Local standard of rest Location of Earth Logarithmic scale Long-period comet Luhman 16 Luleå Luminosity Luminous blue variable Luminous red nova Lunar mare Lunar resources Lunar soil Magnetar Magnetosphere Magnetosphere of Jupiter Magnetosphere of Saturn Magnitude (astronomy)Main sequence Makemake Mantle (geology)Marc W. Buie Mars Mars-crossing asteroids Mars trojan Martian polar ice caps Matthew Sands Maya astronomy Meanings of minor-planet names Meenakshi Wadhwa Megan Donahue Mercury (planet)Mercury–manganese star Metallicity Metamorphic rock Meteor Meteor shower Meteorite Meteoroid Metis (moon)Michael E. Brown Micrometre Micronova Microturbulence Mike Brown (astronomer)Milky Way Million year Mimas Mineral Minor-planet moon Minor planet Miranda (moon)Molecular cloud Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society Letters Monument to the Sun Moon Moonlet Moons of Haumea Moons of Jupiter Moons of Mars Moons of Neptune Moons of Pluto Moons of Saturn Moons of Uranus Multi-messenger astronomy Mysterium Cosmographicum NASA Namaka (moon)Natural satellite Nature (journal)Nature Astronomy Near-Earth object Nebular hypothesis Neith (hypothetical moon)Nemesis (hypothetical star)Neon Neon-burning process Neptune Neptune trojan Nereid (moon)Neutrino astronomy Neutron star Neutron star merger Newton's law of universal gravitation Newton's laws of motion Nibiru cataclysm Nice 2 model Nice model Nickel Nicolaus Copernicus Nine Views Nitrogen Nix (moon)Nova Nova remnant Nuclear fusion Nuclear reaction rate Numerical model of the Solar System O-type main-sequence star OB star OH/IR star Oberon (moon)Observable universe Observational astronomy Observations and explorations of Venus Online Etymology Dictionary Oort cloud Oort limit OpenStax Open cluster Ophiuchus Supercluster Optical telescope Orange dwarf Orbit Orbit of the Sun Orbital eccentricity Orbital inclination Orbital resonance Orcus (dwarf planet)Order of magnitude Orion Arm Orion–Cygnus Arm Orrery Outer Solar System Outer planet Outer space Outline of astronomy Outline of space exploration Outline of the Solar System Oval BA Oxford English Dictionary Oxford University Press Oxygen Oxygen-burning process P-process PG 1159 star Pajamäki Solar System Scale Model Pallas family Parker Solar Probe Parsec Partial vacuum Peculiar motion Perihelia Perihelion Perihelion precession of Mercury Persian astronomy Perturbation (astronomy)Phaeton (hypothetical planet)Phase (waves)Philip T. Metzger Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica Phobos (moon)Phoebe (moon)Photographic magnitude Photometric-standard star Photometric system Photometry (astronomy)Photosphere Physical cosmology Physics Reports Pierre Gassendi Pisces–Cetus Supercluster Complex Planck star Planet Planet-hosting stars Planet Lofoten Planet Nine Planet V Planetarium Planetary-mass object Planetary core Planetary differentiation Planetary geology Planetary habitability in the Solar System Planetary migration Planetary mnemonic Planetary nebula Planetary objects proposed in religion, astrology, ufology and pseudoscience Planetary ring Planetary system Planetesimal Planets beyond Neptune Planets of the solar system Plasma (physics)Plate tectonics Platonic solid Plutino Pluto Pole star Polydeuces (moon)Popular Astronomy (US magazine)Population I stars Post-AGB star Potentially hazardous object Powers of Ten (film series)Pre-main-sequence star Preon star Presolar nebula Princeton University Press Proper motion Proplyd Proteus (moon)Proton–proton chain Protoplanet Protoplanetary disc Protoplanetary disk Protoplanetary nebula Protostar Proxima Centauri Proxima Centauri b Proxima Centauri c Proxima Centauri d Public domain Pulsar Q star Quantum cosmology Quaoar Quark star Quasi-star R-process Radar astronomy Radcliffe Wave Radial velocity Radiant energy Radiation zone Radio-quiet neutron star Radio astronomy Ray system Red-giant branch Red clump Red dwarf Red giant Red supergiant Refractory (planetary science)Renaissance Research Notes of the AAS Resonant trans-Neptunian object Retrograde and prograde motion Rhea (moon)Rheasilvia Rho Ophiuchi cloud complex Richard Feynman Rift valley Ring system Rings of Chariklo Rings of Jupiter Rings of Neptune Rings of Rhea Rings of Saturn Rings of Uranus Robert B. Leighton Roche limit Rogue planet Ross 154 Rotational momentum Rubble pile Rudolphine Tables Rupes S-process S-type star S/2015 (136472) 1 Sagan Planet Walk Sagittarius A*Sample-return mission Satellite galaxies of the Milky Way Saturn Saturn's hexagon Scattered Disc Scattered disc Scattered disc object Scholz's Star Science (journal)Scott S. Sheppard Sean Solomon Sedna (dwarf planet)Sednoid Semi-major and semi-minor axes Semi-major axis Seneca the Younger Serbian folk astronomy Shapley Supercluster Shell star Shepherd moon Shiva hypothesis Short-period comet Sidewalk astronomy Silicate Silicates Silicon-burning process Simon Marius Sirius Small Solar System bodies Small Solar System body Soft gamma repeater Solar-like oscillations Solar System (disambiguation)Solar System in fiction Solar System model Solar System object Solar analog Solar apex Solar core Solar eclipse Solar flare Solar magnetic field Solar parallax Solar radio emission Solar wind Somerset Space Walk Southern African Large Telescope SpaceNews Space colonization Space exploration Space probe Space station Space telescope Space weather Sphere of influence (astrodynamics)Spherical astronomy Spiral arm Stability of the Solar System Stanford University Star Star cluster Star formation Star system Starlight Starspot Stellar-wind bubble Stellar atmosphere Stellar black hole Stellar classification Stellar collision Stellar core Stellar corona Stellar designations and names Stellar dynamics Stellar engulfment Stellar evolution Stellar kinematics Stellar magnetic field Stellar mass Stellar mass loss Stellar nucleosynthesis Stellar parallax Stellar population Stellar remnant Stellar rotation Stellar structure Stellar wind Steven Frautschi Stickney (crater)Stockholm Arlanda Airport Strange star Strömgren sphere Styx (moon)Sub-brown dwarf Subdwarf Subdwarf B star Subdwarf O star Subgiant Sublimation (chemistry)Sublimation (phase transition)Submillimetre astronomy Subsatellite Substellar object Subsurface ocean Sun Sun's corona Sunlight Super-AGB star Super-Earth Super star cluster Superbubble Supergiant Superluminous supernova Supermassive black hole Supernova Supernova nucleosynthesis Sweden Solar System Symbiotic binary Symbiotic nova Synchronous rotation Synestia Syzygy (astronomy)TRAPPIST-1 T Tauri star Taurus molecular cloud Technetium star Tectonics Telescope Telesto (moon)Tellurion Terrestrial planet Tethys (moon)The Astronomical Journal The Astrophysical Journal The Astrophysical Journal Letters The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series The Feynman Lectures on Physics The Mechanical Universe The New York Times Thebe (moon)Theia (hypothetical planet)Themis (hypothetical moon)Thermosphere Thin disk Thorne–Żytkow object Thrust fault Thérèse Encrenaz Tibetan astronomy Tidal disruption event Tidal force Tidal locking Timeline of Solar System exploration Timeline of astronomy Timeline of discovery of Solar System planets and their moons Timeline of stellar astronomy Titan (moon)Titania (moon)Titius–Bode law To the Moon and Beyond Tom M. Apostol Trans-Neptunian object Transit of Mercury Transit of Venus Trigonometry Triple-alpha process Triton (moon)Trojan (celestial body)Tyche (hypothetical planet)Tycho Brahe Ultra-cool dwarf Ultraviolet astronomy Umbriel Universe Uranus Uranus trojans Ursa Major moving group Vacuum Vanth (moon)Variable star Vega Vegetation Veneneia (crater)Venus Venus-crossing asteroid Very Large Telescope Vesta family Virgo Supercluster Visible-light astronomy Visible light Volatile (astrogeology)Voyager program Vulcan (hypothetical planet)Vulcanoid W. M. Keck Observatory WISE 0855−0714 Water distribution on Earth Weather Weywot Weywot (moon)White dwarf White hole Wiley-Blackwell Wolf 359 Wolf–Rayet nebula Wolf–Rayet star X-ray astronomy X-ray binary X-ray burster X-ray pulsar X-ray telescope Xiangliu (moon)Yellow giant Yellow hypergiant Yellow supergiant Young stellar object Zodiac Zodiacal light

23 concepts already in your glossary