S olar S ystem
The Solar System consists of the Sun and those celestial
objects bound to it by gravity, all of which formed from the
collapse of a giant molecular cloud approximately 4.
6
billion years ago.
Of the retinue of objects that orbit the
Sun,...
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S olar S ystem
The Solar System consists of the Sun and those celestial
objects bound to it by gravity, all of which formed from the
collapse of a giant molecular cloud approximately 4.
6
billion years ago.
Of the retinue of objects that orbit the
Sun, most of the mass is contained within eight relatively
solitary planets whose orbits are almost circular and
contained within a nearly-flat disc called the ecliptic plane.
The four smaller inner planets; Mercury, Venus, Earth and
Mars, also called the terrestrial planets, are primarily
composed of rock and metal.
The four outer planets,
Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune, also called the gas
giants, are composed largely of hydrogen and helium and
are far more massive than the terrestrials.
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