Solar System Facts

System Profile

Age4.568 billion years
Satellites525, known
Mass1.0014 Solar masses
Volume2.59876×1011 mi3
Orbit Speed136.7 mi/s
Comets4,017, known as of 2018

Below are some of the facts about the Solar System:

  • The age of the solar system is approximately 4.6 billion years.
  • The solar system is constituted of the Sun, and planets and dwarf planets around it, moons around some of those planets, and other astronomical objects like comets, asteroids, meteors etc.
  • The solar system was formed when a giant cloud made of molecules collapsed, thereby making the sun from the central mass collapse, and other planets and objects formed by the layers of flat disc type dust around the sun. T hese planets and objects later formed with passing time, as the cosmic dusts took shape.
  • The sun has accumulated 99.86% of the total mass of the solar system. The rest 0.14% is distributed across the other planets, moons, and other objects in the solar system.
  • The first four planets of the solar system are Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars, and they are classified as the terrestrial planets as they have a firm touchable surface. These planets are all formed of rocks and metals.
  • The outer planets of the solar system are all gaseous balls of bigger sizes, and thus they are called gas giants. They are Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune.
  • Pluto is the only dwarf planet of the solar system which was earlier considered a planet, but now it has been classified as a dwarf planet.
  • Jupiter and Saturn are the two biggest planets of the solar system. They are composed mainly of Hydrogen and Helium gases.
  • Uranus and Neptune are also called ice giants for their water ice centric composition. They are made mainly of water, methane, and ammonia, and water due to low temperatures is found in ice form here.
  • There are total 5 dwarf planets in the solar system. They are Ceres, Pluto, Haumea, Makemake, and Eris.
  • There are a total 3083 number of comets in the solar system.
  • The numbers of Asteroids in the solar system are 552,894.
  • The diameter of the solar system is 18.75 trillion kilometers.
  • The Kuiper belt is a belt or disc of asteroids which lies beyond the orbit of Pluto. A similar asteroid belt lies between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter.
  • Another belt of comets is called the Oort Cloud, and it lies beyond the orbit of Pluto too.
  • The oldest planet in the solar system is Jupiter. The formation of Jupiter was however real fast compared to others.
  • The hottest planet in the solar system is Venus, which is even hotter than the first planet Mercury. The average Temperature of Venus is 468 degrees celsius.

More Solar System Facts

  • Earth Facts - Facts and information about our planet Earth.
  • Jupiter Facts - Facts and information about Planet Jupiter.
  • Mars Facts - Facts and information about Planet Mars.
  • Mercury Facts - Facts and information about Planet Mercury.
  • Moon Facts - Facts and information about the Earth's Moon.
  • Neptune Facts - Facts and information about Neptune.
  • Pluto Facts - Facts and information about the dwarf Planet Pluto.
  • Saturn Facts - Facts and information about Planet Saturn.
  • Sun Facts - Facts and information about our the Sun.
  • Uranus Facts - Facts and information about Plane Uranus.
  • Venus Facts - Facts and information about Planet Venus.