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This is the boundary of the Solar System to interstellar space. The outermost region of the Solar System is the theorized Oort cloud, the source for long-period comets, extending to a radius of 2,000–200,000 AU. The closest star to the Solar System, Proxima Centauri, is 4.25 light-years (269,000 AU) away.
The inner Solar System's period of giant impacts probably played a role in Earth acquiring its current water content (~6 × 10 21 kg) from the early asteroid belt. Water is too volatile to have been present at Earth's formation and must have been subsequently delivered from outer, colder parts of the Solar System. [63]
A solar wind of plasma particles constantly streams outward from the Sun until, at the outermost limit of the Solar System, it reaches the heliopause. As the solar wind passes the Earth, it interacts with the Earth's magnetic field ( magnetosphere ) and deflects the solar wind, but traps some creating the Van Allen radiation belts that envelop ...
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to the Solar System: Solar System – gravitationally bound system comprising the Sun and the objects that orbit it, either directly or indirectly. Of those objects that orbit the Sun directly, the largest eight are the planets (including Earth), with the remainder being ...
The physical universe is defined as all of space and time [a] (collectively referred to as spacetime) and their contents. [10] Such contents comprise all of energy in its various forms, including electromagnetic radiation and matter, and therefore planets, moons, stars, galaxies, and the contents of intergalactic space.
Solar physics – Sun and its interaction with the remainder of the Solar System and interstellar space. Planetary Science – study of planets, moons, and planetary systems. Atmospheric science – study of atmospheres and weather. Exoplanetology – various planets outside of the Solar System
The solar wind consists of particles (ionized atoms from the solar corona) and fields like the magnetic field that are produced from the Sun and stream out into space. Because the Sun rotates once approximately every 25 days, the heliospheric magnetic field [ 11 ] transported by the solar wind gets wrapped into a spiral.
The Solar System belts were formed in the formation and evolution of the Solar System. [6] [7] The Grand tack hypothesis is a model of the unique placement of the giant planets and the Solar System belts. [3] [4] [8] Most giant planets found outside our Solar System, exoplanets, are inside the snow line, and are called Hot Jupiters.