The Solar System
Our Solar System contains of eight planets: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune. They are all centred around the Sun, a star which provides a gravitational force on the planets keeping them in orbit. The solar system also contains numerous dwarf planets (including Pluto), comets, asteroids and meteoroids. The solar system was formed 4.6 billion years ago from a giant interstellar molecular cloud.

The 4 biggest questions about alien life, answered by an astrobiologist

Scientists are becoming increasingly optimistic that extraterrestrial life is out there. Could we finally be on the brink of finding it?
more

Will planet Nibiru crash into Earth? A scientist explains

Nibiru (also known as Planet Nine or Planet X) is prophesied to collide with our planet and destroy all of humanity, but is its existence pseudoscience or is there any proof?
more

8 really, really big books about space

Celebrate the absolute vastness of the cosmos with some of the best books about space, which demand a galaxy-sized bookshelf to store them on.
more

Why doesn’t Earth have rings?

Although Earth doesn't have a ring system today, it may have had one in the past.
more

Earth has a new companion asteroid that will share our orbit for 4,000 years

It’s much bigger than the only other known Trojan asteroid, and is leading the way as we orbit the Sun.
more

Does our Solar System have a wall?

Marking the boundary of our Solar System and interstellar space, this ‘wall’ provides important protection for the Earth.
more

20 of the most amazing moons in the Solar System

There are 174 known moons out there, spinning around the celestial bodies of our Solar System, so we’ve decided to pick out our favourites.
more

Solar eclipse 2021: How and when to see in the UK

How do solar eclipses happen? Why don't they have happen every month? With the help of astronomy lecturer Dr Darren Baskill, here's your guide to the biggest solar event of 2021.
more

Psyche: The metal mini-world that could change everything we know about the Solar System

There’s a giant metal asteroid floating out beyond Mars that might be the core of a planet that was smashed to smithereens aeons ago. NASA’s sending a probe to find out, but a positive answer could cause even bigger problems.
more

5 best places to look

A fleet of missions is spreading across the Solar System to investigate our neighbours for signs of life. Here’s what they are looking for.
more

No, an asteroid probably won’t smash into Earth the day before the US elections, and here’s why

What are the chances that we'll be struck by a space rock?
more

The UK missions getting us to the Moon

From spider robots to antennas on the Cornish coast, these UK-based projects are laying the groundwork for a permanent station on the Moon. Wallace and Gromit would be proud.
more

Planet Nine could be a grapefruit-sized black hole, say astrophysicists

We can prove it by looking for the black hole's 'accretion flares', the astrophysicists say.
more

An increasingly rare opportunity to spot a comet with the naked eye

Neowise has an orbit of almost 6,800 years, meaning that the last generation of people to see it would have lived during the 5th millennium BC.
more

What’s the tallest mountain in the Solar System?

Asked by: Jimmy Phillips, Bristol
more

How do we know how it formed?

From Earth's prime position as the third planet out from the Sun, we’re finally understanding the origins of our Solar System
more

Move over, Mars: why we should look further afield for future human colonies

Why should Mars get all the attention? There are so many more exciting places in our Solar System we could live.
more

Mysterious Martian landforms made by mud, not lava

Mars's freezing temperatures led to unusual shapes that would never form on Earth.
more

How Hubble gave us a new perspective on the planets

The Hubble Space Telescope has changed the way we see our cosmic neighbours, as it works with other probes to bring our Solar System into focus.
more

Exploring the interstellar void

How the twin probes will tackle a mission they were never built for.
more

Unlocking the secrets of the early Solar System

Comets may hold the secret to life on Earth. That’s why scientists are designing a mission that will pay a visit to one of these enigmatic, icy travellers to take a closer look.
more