OtterKnow Kids EncyclopediaThe solar system is our neighborhood in space! In the center is the Sun, a giant ball of hot, glowing light. Everything else in our solar system travels around the Sun, held in place by its powerful gravity.
Our solar system has eight big planets, many smaller dwarf planets, and lots of moons. It also has asteroids, which are like big rocks, and comets, which are like dirty snowballs flying through space. The four rocky planets are closest to the Sun, and the four gas giants are farther away. Everything keeps moving around the Sun like a giant cosmic dance!
- The solar system formed about 4.6 billion years ago from a huge cloud of gas and dust.
- The Sun makes up over 99 percent of all the mass in the solar system.
- Our solar system is in a galaxy called the Milky Way, which has billions of other solar systems too!
