Our solar system

 We call it the solar system because it is made up of our star, the Sun, and everything bound to it by gravity.

The solar system has one star, eight planets, five officially named dwarf planets, hundreds of moons, thousands of comets, and more than a million asteroids.

Our solar system is located in the Milky Way, a barred spiral galaxy with two major arms, and two minor arms. Our Sun is in a small, partial arm of the Milky Way called the Orion Arm, or Orion Spur, between the Sagittarius and Perseus arms. Our solar system orbits the center of the galaxy at about 515,000 mph (828,000 kph). It takes about 230 million years to complete one orbit around the galactic center.

Planets following Sun in nearer to farther order

Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Uranus, Neptune

SUN :

The Sun center of our solar system is a huge glowing sphere of hot gas. Most of this gas is hydrogen (about 70%) and helium (about 28%). Carbon, nitrogen and oxygen make up 1.5% and the other 0.5% is made up of small amounts of many other elements such as neon, iron, silicon, magnesium and sulfur.

The Sun orbits the Galactic center at a distance of 24,000 to 28,000 light years.

Temperature of sun is 5600 celsius.

Distance between sun and earth 149,600,000km

Distance between sun and earth is called 1 au au : austronomical unit.

1 au = 149,600,000 km.

Time taken by sun light to reach earth is 8 minutes 19 seconds.

Mercury :

Mercury is the first planet from the Sun and also the smallest in the Solar System.

Distance from Sun: 58 million km

Orbital period: 88 days

Radius: 2,439.7 km

Length of day: 59d 0h 0m

Gravity: 3.7 m/s²

Venus : 

Venus is second planet from sun.

The orbits of venus and earth are closest between any two planets in solar system.

Venus and Earth have the lowest difference in gravitational potential of any pair of Solar System planets. This allows Venus to be the most accessible destination and a useful gravity assist waypoint for interplanetary flights from Earth.

Venus is hottest planet in our solar system.

Distance from sun : 108 million km

Orbital period : 225 days

Radius : 6051 km

Length of the day : 243 days

Gravity :8.87 m/s2

Earth :

Third planet from sun and only planet humans live.

Only planet in our solar system to have liquid surface water.

70% of earth is covered with oceans and remaining 30% is land.

Distance from sun : 149,600,000 km

Orbital period : 365 days

Radius : 6,371 km

Length of day : 24 hrs

Gravity : 9.8m/s2

Mars :

Mars  is fourth planet from sun.

It is called red planet because it is mostly covered with iron oxide.

It has two moons maned phobos and deimos.

Distance from sun : 228,000,000 km

Orbital period : 687 earth days

Radius : 3,389.5 km

Length of  day : 24 hrs 37 minutes

Gravity : 3.71 m/s2

Jupiter :

Jupiter is fifth planet from sun and biggest planet in our solar system.

It is a gas giant with a mass more than 2.5 times that of all the other planets in the Solar System combined, and slightly less than one-thousandth the mass of the Sun. 

Distance from sun : 754.94 million km

Orbital period : 11.86 earth years

Radius : 69,911 km

Lenth of day : 9 hrs 56 minutes

Gravity : 24.7 m/s2

Saturn : 

Saturn is sixth planet from sun and the second largest planet in our solar system.

Distance from sun : 1.4445 billion km

Orbital period : 29.4 earth years

Radius : 58, 232 km

Length of day : 10 hrs 34 minutes

Gravity :10.44 m/s2

Uranus : 

Uranus is seventh planet from sun and third largest planet in our solar system.

It is very cold and windy planet. It is about four times wider than earth.

Distance from sun :  2.871 billion km

Orbital period : 84 earth years

Radius : 25,362 km

Lenth of day : 17 hrs 14 min

Gravity : 8. 87m/s2

Neptune :

Neptune is eigth planet from sun and farthest planet from sun. Fourth largest and third most massive planet in our system.

Distance from sun : 4.495 billion km

Orbital period : 164.8 years

Radius : 24,622 km

Length of day : 16hrs 6 min

Gravity : 11.15 m/s2