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[Click on the planets above for a tour of our Solar System]

 

The Solar System

 

solarsys.gif (10620 bytes)The solar system consists of the Sun, the nine planets, sixty-three (63) satellites of the planets, a large number of small bodies (the comets and asteroids), and the interplanetary medium. The orbits of the planets are all more or less in the same plane (called the ecliptic and defined by the plane of the Earth's orbit). The ecliptic is inclined only 7 degrees from the plane of the Sun's equator. 

The whole solar system, together with the local stars visible on a clear night, orbits the center of our home galaxy, a spiral disk of 200 billion stars we call the Milky Way. Our solar system is situated within the outer regions of this galaxy, well within the disk but about 28,000 light years from the Galactic Center. Therefore, the Milky Way shows up as a luminous band spanning all around the sky.

The Nine Planets - A Multi-Media Tour of the Solar System
Solar System Live - Welcome to Solar System Live, the interactive Orrery of the Web
Views of the Solar System -a vivid multimedia adventure
Solar System Simulator- SpyGlass on the Cosmos
Welcome to the Planets - a collection of many of the best images from NASA
Meet the Neighbors - Weird and wonderful facts about our galaxy