The solar system is big. Everything that happens in it affects Earth, including the energy and solar wind from the Sun and comets that stray away from their own orbits. Everything that makes Earth livable for humans has to do with distance from the Sun and the relative size of both. Earth is the third planet from the Sun, but is only a short distance to the edge of the solar system.
Features
Everything in the solar system revolves around and is influenced by the sun, including four inner planets, an asteroid belt, four outer planets, comets, asteroids and dwarf planets.
History
The solar system formed 4.6 billion years ago out of a cloud, which condensed into a disk, and materials conglomerated to form the sun, planets and other solar bodies.
Size
From the Sun stretching to the inner planets, asteroid belt, outer planets, Kuiper Belt and Oort Cloud of comets, the solar system is about 100,000 AU in diameter (1 AU is about 93 million miles).
Fun Fact
Pluto, discovered in 1930, was reclassified as a dwarf planet in 2006 after a larger asteroid, Eris, was found. Scientists also discovered that Pluto and Charon orbit each other with small objects orbiting both.
Misconceptions
Throughout much of history, people thought the solar system and universe rotated around the Earth. Nicolaus Copernicus mathematically proved the opposite in the 1500s.
Tags: solar system, asteroid belt, Everything that, inner planets, inner planets asteroid, outer planets