In Depth | Earth – NASA Solar System Exploration
While Earth is only the fifth largest planet in the solar system, it is the only world in our solar system with liquid water on the surface. Just slightly larger than nearby Venus, Earth is the biggest of the four planets closest to the Sun, all of which are made of rock and metal.
In Depth | Our Solar System – NASA Solar System Exploration
Our solar system consists 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 such as Pluto; dozens of moons; and millions of asteroids, comets, and meteoroids.
In Depth | Earth's Moon – NASA Solar System Exploration
The brightest and largest object in our night sky, the Moon makes Earth a more livable planet by moderating our home planet's wobble on its axis, leading to a relatively stable climate. It also causes tides, creating a rhythm that has guided humans for thousands of years.
In Depth | Sun – NASA Solar System Exploration
The Sun is a 4.5 billion-year-old yellow dwarf star – a hot glowing ball of hydrogen and helium – at the center of our solar system. It’s about 93 million miles (150 million kilometers) from Earth and it’s our solar system’s only star. Without the Sun’s energy, life …
Planet Compare - NASA Solar System Exploration
2024年11月20日 · NASA’s real-time science encyclopedia of deep space exploration. Our scientists and far-ranging robots explore the wild frontiers of our solar system.
In Depth | Moons - NASA Solar System Exploration
There are hundreds of moons in our solar system – even asteroids have been found to have small companion moons. Of the terrestrial (rocky) planets of the inner solar system, neither Mercury nor Venus have any moons at all, Earth has one and Mars has its two small moons.
In Depth | Venus – NASA Solar System Exploration
The planet is nearly as big around as Earth – 7,521 miles (12,104 kilometers) across, versus 7,926 miles (12,756 kilometers) for Earth. From Earth, Venus is the brightest object in the night sky after our own Moon.
In Depth | Neptune – NASA Solar System Exploration
Dark, cold, and whipped by supersonic winds, ice giant Neptune is the eighth and most distant planet in our solar system. More than 30 times as far from the Sun as Earth, Neptune is the only planet in our solar system not visible to the naked eye.
In Depth | Jupiter – NASA Solar System Exploration
Jupiter is the fifth planet from our Sun and is, by far, the largest planet in the solar system – more than twice as massive as all the other planets combined. Jupiter's stripes and swirls are actually cold, windy clouds of ammonia and water, floating in an atmosphere of hydrogen and helium.
Saturn | Science – NASA Solar System Exploration
2024年11月20日 · Saturn is nearly 10 times farther from the sun than Earth and takes far longer to orbit the sun – about 29 Earth years. Saturn’s axis of rotation is tilted like Earth’s, and so it too has seasons, but the longer year produces seasons that last more than seven Earth years each.