Solar System Images

The solar system comprises the Earth's Sun and the retinue of celestial objects gravitationally bound to it. Traditionally, this is said to consist of the Sun, nine planets and their 158 currently known moons; however, a large number of other objects, including asteroids, meteoroids, planetoids, comets, and interplanetary dust, orbit the Sun as well. Astronomers are debating over the presence of a tenth planet.

Although the term "solar system" is frequently applied to other star systems and the planetary systems which may comprise them, it should strictly refer to Earth's system specifically: the word "solar" is derived from the Sun's Latin name, Sol, and thus the term sometimes appears as Solar System. When talking about another stellar system or planetary system, including the stars and bodies associated with them through gravity, it is usual to shorten it to drop the term "stellar" and form names such as "the Alpha Centauri system" or "the 51 Pegasi system".

According to their location, the objects in the solar system are divided into three zones: Zone I or the inner solar system, including terrestrial planets and the Main belt of asteroids; Zone II, including the giant planets, their satellites and the centaurs, and Zone III, or the outer solar system, comprising the area of the Trans-Neptunian objects including the Kuiper Belt, the Oort cloud, and the vast region in between.

The four inner or terrestrial planets are characterised by their dense, rocky makeup. They formed in the hotter regions close to the Sun, where lighter and more volatile materials evaporated, leaving only those with high melting points, such as silicates, which form the planets' solid crusts and semi-liquid mantles, and iron, which forms their cores. All have impact craters and many possess tectonic surface features, such as rift valleys and volcanoes. The term inner planet should not be confused with inferior planet, which designates those planets which lie inside the Earth's orbit (thus Mercury and Venus only).

	Solar System Mobile Wallpaper Solar System Mobile Wallpaper	Solar System Images The solar system comprises the Earth's Sun and the retinue of celestial objects gravitationally bound to it. Traditionally, this is said to consist of the Sun, nine planets and their 158 currently known moons; however, a large number of other objects, including asteroids, meteoroids, planetoids, comets, and interplanetary dust, orbit the Sun as well. Astronomers are debating over the presence of a tenth planet. Although the term "solar system" is frequently applied to other star systems and the planetary systems which may comprise them, it should strictly refer to Earth's system specifically: the word "solar" is derived from the Sun's Latin name, Sol, and thus the term sometimes appears as Solar System. When talking about another stellar system or planetary system, including the stars and bodies associated with them through gravity, it is usual to shorten it to drop the term "stellar" and form names such as "the Alpha Centauri system" or "the 51 Pegasi system". According to their location, the objects in the solar system are divided into three zones: Zone I or the inner solar system, including terrestrial planets and the Main belt of asteroids; Zone II, including the giant planets, their satellites and the centaurs, and Zone III, or the outer solar system, comprising the area of the Trans-Neptunian objects including the Kuiper Belt, the Oort cloud, and the vast region in between. The four inner or terrestrial planets are characterised by their dense, rocky makeup. They formed in the hotter regions close to the Sun, where lighter and more volatile materials evaporated, leaving only those with high melting points, such as silicates, which form the planets' solid crusts and semi-liquid mantles, and iron, which forms their cores. All have impact craters and many possess tectonic surface features, such as rift valleys and volcanoes. The term inner planet should not be confused with inferior planet, which designates those planets which lie inside the Earth's orbit (thus Mercury and Venus only).