Define Solar System?

The Solar System is made up of the Sun and all of the smaller objects that move around it. Apart from the Sun, the largest members of the Solar System are the eight major planets.

Nearest to the Sun are four fairly small, rocky planets - Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars.

Beyond Mars is the asteroid belt – a region populated by millions of rocky objects. These are left-overs from the formation of the planets, 4.5 billion years ago.

On the far side of the asteroid belt are the four gas giants - Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune.

These planets are much bigger than Earth but very lightweight for their size. They are mostly made of hydrogen and helium.

Until recently, the furthest known planet was an icy world called Pluto. However, Pluto is dwarfed by Earth’s Moon and many astronomers think it is too small to be called a true planet.