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The eight planets of the Solar System with size to scale (up to down, left to right): Saturn, Jupiter, Uranus, Neptune (outer planets), Earth, Venus, Mars, and Mercury (inner planets) A planet is a large, rounded astronomical body that is generally required to be in orbit around a star, stellar remnant, or brown dwarf, and is not one itself. [1]
The best available theory of planet formation is the nebular hypothesis, which posits that an interstellar cloud collapses out of a nebula to create a young protostar orbited by a protoplanetary disk. There are eight planets within the Solar System; planets outside of the solar system are also known as exoplanets.
[f] Six planets, seven dwarf planets, and other bodies have orbiting natural satellites, which are commonly called 'moons'. The Solar System is constantly flooded by the Sun's charged particles, the solar wind, forming the heliosphere. Around 75–90 astronomical units from the Sun, [g] the solar wind is halted, resulting in the heliopause.
Planets whose orbits lie within the orbit of Earth. [nb 1] Mercury and Venus: Inner planet: A planet in the Solar System that have orbits smaller than the asteroid belt. [nb 2] Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars: Outer planet: A planet in the Solar System beyond the asteroid belt, and hence refers to the gas giants. Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune ...
A terrestrial planet, tellurian planet, telluric planet, or rocky planet, is a planet that is composed primarily of silicate, rocks or metals. Within the Solar System , the terrestrial planets accepted by the IAU are the inner planets closest to the Sun : Mercury , Venus , Earth and Mars .
Planet Taphao Thong was discovered in 1996 and was one of the first exoplanets to be discovered. [48] The planet was the first long-period extrasolar planet discovered. The other planets were discovered later. [49] Nu 2 Lupi: Lupus: 15 h 21 m 49.57 s: −48° 19′ 01.1″ 5.65: 47: G2V: 0.906: 5664: 10.36: 3
A planet is any object in orbit around the Sun with a diameter greater than 2,000 km. (Eleven votes in favor) A planet is any object in orbit around the Sun whose shape is stable due to its own gravity. (Eight votes in favor) A planet is any object in orbit around the Sun that is dominant in its immediate neighbourhood. (Six votes in favor) [48 ...
The timeline of discovery of Solar System planets and their natural satellites charts the progress of the discovery of new bodies over history. Each object is listed in chronological order of its discovery (multiple dates occur when the moments of imaging, observation, and publication differ), identified through its various designations (including temporary and permanent schemes), and the ...