Planet Compare - NASA Solar System Exploration
Oct 21, 2025 · NASA’s real-time science encyclopedia of deep space exploration. Our scientists and far-ranging robots explore the wild frontiers of our solar system.
In Depth | Our Solar System – NASA Solar System Exploration
The planetary system we call home is located in an outer spiral arm of the Milky Way galaxy. Our solar system consists of our star, the Sun, and everything bound to it by gravity – the planets Mercury, …
In Depth | Moons – NASA Solar System Exploration
Moons – also called natural satellites – come in many shapes, sizes and types. They are generally solid bodies, and few have atmospheres. Most planetary moons probably formed out the discs of gas and …
In Depth | Sun – NASA Solar System Exploration
The Sun orbits the center of the Milky Way, bringing with it the planets, asteroids, comets, and other objects in our solar system. Our solar system is moving with an average velocity of 450,000 miles …
RPS 3D Viewer - NASA Solar System Exploration
Oct 21, 2025 · NASA’s real-time science encyclopedia of deep space exploration. Our scientists and far-ranging robots explore the wild frontiers of our solar system.
In Depth | Earth's Moon – NASA Solar System Exploration
That means 30 Earth-sized planets could fit in between Earth and the Moon. The Moon is slowly moving away from Earth, getting about an inch farther away each year. Orbit and Rotation The Moon is …
Asteroids, Comets & Meteors - NASA Solar System Exploration
Asteroids and comets – and the meteors that sometimes come from them – are leftovers from the formation of our solar system 4.6 billion years ago.
In Depth | Europa – NASA Solar System Exploration
In fact, the Galilean moons are sometimes called a “mini solar system” since they formed from the leftovers of Jupiter similar to how Earth and other planets formed from gas and dust left over from the …
In contrast, short-period comets take less than 200 years to orbit the Sun and they travel along the plane in which most of the planets orbit. They are thought to come from the Kuiper Belt or from the so …
In Depth | Ganymede – NASA Solar System Exploration
The discovery eventually led to the understanding that planets in our solar system orbit the Sun, instead of our solar system revolving around Earth. (Jupiter now has 53 named moons and 26 provisional …