The Solar System

The slideshow is an introduction to the various bodies in the solar system.

The sun makes up 99.8% of the mass of the solar system. All the other bodies together make up the remaining 0.2%.

Apart from the sun, there are rocky planets (Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars), gas giants (Jupiter and Saturn) and ice giants (Uranus and Neptune).

There are also dwarf planets, including Pluto, a few other known ones and probably many others yet to be discovered.

Then there are satellites orbiting the planets and dwarf planets.

Most planets and dwarf planets have a layered structure with most or all of an iron core at the centre, followed by a rocky layer, a water or ice layer and a gas layer.

As well as the planets there are asteroids and dust, some being remains of the material from which the planets formed, others being collision debris.

And finally there are comets, small bodies consisting of ice with minor rocky and metal content. Most of these normally reside in the Oort Cloud, a spherical cloud which extends about a light year from the sun.

Image: flickr.com