The Solar System

The solar system is made up of the Sun, the planets and dwarf planets and their known moons, asteroids, comets, dust and gas. The planets, asteroids, and comets travel around the Sun, the center of our solar system.

Most of the bodies in the solar system travel around the Sun along nearly circular paths. All the planets travel about the Sun in the same direction (the opposite of a clock when viewed from above).

Solar system formation began billions of years ago, when gases and dust began to come together to form the Sun, planets, and other bodies of the solar system.

Last modified July 15, 2010 by Randy Russell.

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