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The Solar System

Our solar system is an oasis of light, warmth, and life. It is home to one star, a handful of planets, more than a hundred moons, millions of rocky asteroids, billions of icy comets -- and all the known life in the universe. And it is a realm that we are still learning about as we begin to explore it in greater detail. More »

The Sun	Explorations Find out about scheduled missions to our solar system neighbors in the coming year or look back to past missions to the inner solar system, outer planets and comets and asteroids.			Compare Get the vital stats of all the planets and major moons in the solar system. Ask Merlin What is the Van Allen radiation belt? What is the biggest moon in the solar system? Why did Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 make such large impact marks on Jupiter? Texas Connection Probing Sunsets Laser to the Moon Tracking Titan's Temperature Tracking Danger Tracking a Collision Activities Observing the Moon (ages 5-9) Solar System Science (ages 10-13) Planet Tours (ages 10-13) Sunspots (ages 14-17)
Inner Planets The inner planets are mostly rock and metal.
Mercury	Venus	Earth & Moon	Mars
Outer Planets The outer planets are mostly gas and dust.
Jupiter	Saturn	Uranus	Neptune
Minor Bodies Although they lack the glamour of the major planets and moons, the " leftover" asteroids and comets contain clues to the birth of the solar system
Pluto & Charon	Comets	Asteroids	Meteorites
Buy a Copy Our solar system guide is the perfect companion to the StarDate astronomy radio series. Tour our neighborhood of planets or share the activities section with your children or students (grades K-12). Both guides feature the latest full color photographs of the Sun, Moon, planets, asteroids, and meteors and simple, jargon-free summaries and fact sheets. Just $6 Order now! Teachers: Request a free copy for your classroom. Bulk copies are available for $1.50 each in quantities of 30 or more. Shipping is included. Call 512-475-6828 for orders of 30 or more.
Solar System Keywords
Aphelion and Perihelion Discovery of Planets and Moons Extrasolar Planets Interstellar Gas and Dust Kepler's Laws Life on Other Planets Magnetism Orbits Origins of Life Origins of the Solar System Planetary Formation Planetary Nebulae Planetary Rings Solar System Precession Retrograde Motion Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) Solar Wind Water Ice

This document was last modified: September 13, 2008

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