An illustration of the Sun and planets

Solar System Exploration


Join us as we explore our planetary neighborhood: The Sun, planets, moons, and millions of asteroids and comets.

10 THINGS about our solar system

This is an updated montage of planetary images taken by spacecraft managed by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, CA. Included are from top to bottom images of Mercury, Venus, Earth and Moon, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune.

1. Many Worlds

Our solar system has eight planets, and five dwarf planets.

Gray-colored asteroid Bennu is shaped like a spinning top.

2. Small Worlds, Too

More than 1.3 million asteroids, and about 3,900 comets are in our solar system.

3. Lots of Moons

Our solar system has more than 200 moons.

A swirling Milky Way Galaxy, with our Sun seen on the outskirts.

4. Meet Me in the Milky Way

Our solar system is in one of the Milky Way galaxy’s four spiral arms.

Sun and planets in solar system

5. A Long Way Around

Our solar system takes about 230 million years to orbit the galactic center.

Spitzer Milky Way 1600px

6. Spiraling Through Space

The Milky Way is a spiral galaxy.

The blue limb of Earth as viewed from the space station.

7. Room to Breathe

Our solar system has many worlds with many types of atmospheres.

8. Ring Worlds

The four giant planets – and at least one asteroid – have rings.

Man in the moon with American flag

9. Getting Out There

More than 300 robotic spacecraft have left Earth's orbit, and 24 U.S. astronauts have traveled to the Moon.

Earth blue marble photo

10. Life as We Know It

So far, Earth is the only place we've found life in our solar system.

Solar System Overview

The solar system has one star, eight planets, five dwarf planets, at least 290 moons, more than 1.3 million asteroids, and about 3,900 comets. It is located in an outer spiral arm of the Milky Way galaxy called the Orion Arm, or Orion Spur. Our solar system orbits the center of the galaxy at about 515,000 mph (828,000 kph). It takes about 230 million years to complete one orbit around the galactic center.

We call it the solar system because it is made up of our star, the Sun, and everything bound to it by gravity – the planets Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune; dwarf planets Pluto, Ceres, Makemake, Haumea, and Eris – along with hundreds of moons; and millions of asteroids, comets, and meteoroids.

The Latest: Building Europa Clipper

How did the team working on NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft test whether the spacecraft will work properly in outer space?

Solar System Facts

Orange sun with colorful planets trailing out to one side.

Planet Sizes and Locations

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A colorful. symbolic thermometer showing planets in our solar system ordered from hottest a the top to coldest at the bottom. The top of the graphic is red, then it fades to orange, yellow, green, then blue. It has illustrations of the planets.

Temperatures Across Our Solar System

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A black and white drawing of Johannes Kepler showing him with dark hair, a mustache and beard, and wearing a high collar shirt with lace around the edges.

Orbits and Kepler's Laws

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A white, grey, and black pixelated image, with three bright blobs spaced out across the center, and circled in white.

All About Asteroid Apophis

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When is the Next Full Moon?

Our detailed daily guide to the night sky includes full Moon lore, meteor showers, asteroid flybys, and more.

Learn More
A park ranger stands on a snowy vista pointing to a full moon in the background.
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NASA's Eyes

Experience Earth, our solar system, nearby asteroids, the universe, and the spacecraft exploring them with immersive real-time 3D web-based apps. Start exploring your solar system now!

Explore Eyes
Eyes on the Solar System banner displaying Juno spacecraft in the bottom right, Mars 2020 EDL on the left, Mars in the bottom left and Jupiter in the top right. We can see The Earth in the distance.
Eyes on the Solar System: A real-time visualization of our solar system using planetary science data.
NASA/JPL-Caltech

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A montage shows the planets to scale from Mercury on the left to Neptune on the right.

Eclipses

Image of a solar eclipse

Kuiper Belt

Illustration of spacecraft near a giant space rock far from the Sun.

Oort Cloud

This image shows comet C/2018 Y1 Iwamoto as imaged in multiple exposures of infrared light by NASA's Near-Earth Object Wide-field Survey Explorer (NEOWISE) space telescope.