The Solar System
Named for Sol, the Latin word for the sun, the Solar System is simply the name of our local planetary system, consisting of eight larger planets and numerous smaller bodies orbiting their nearest star, a yellow dwarf called Helios by the ancient Greeks, or simply "the Sun" by most today. Our Solar System is one of 1,241 planetary systems currently known to astronomers, although any star could theoretically posses such a system; and with 100 billion stars estimated to exist in our galaxy alone (and 10 trillion galaxies predicted to exist throughout the entire Universe), the number of planetary systems like ours must be too numerous to count.
StudyJams:
Our Solar System: Inner Planets Slideshow & Test Yourself StudyJams: Our Solar System: OuterPlanets Slideshow & Test Yourself |
ExploreLearning.com
Solar System "Gizmo" & 5 Assessment Questions ExploreLearning.com Solar System Explorer "Gizmo" & 5 Assessment Questions |
NASA's Solar System Exploration
solarsystem.nasa.gov NASA's Eyes: 3D Simulation Software http://eyes.nasa.gov/ |
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