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The Solar System, and the other stars/dwarfs listed here, are currently moving within (or near) the Local Interstellar Cloud, roughly 30 light-years (9.2 pc) across. The Local Interstellar Cloud is, in turn, contained inside the Local Bubble, a cavity in the interstellar medium about 300 light-years (92.0 pc) across.
Diagram of the early Solar System's protoplanetary disk, out of which Earth and other Solar System bodies formed. The Solar System formed at least 4.568 billion years ago from the gravitational collapse of a region within a large molecular cloud. [b] This initial cloud was likely several light-years across and probably birthed several stars. [14]
The brightest stars form a shape somewhat similar to that of Ursa Major and Ursa Minor. The total mass contained in the cluster is estimated to be approximately 800 solar masses and is dominated by fainter and redder stars [clarification needed]. An estimate of the frequency of binary stars in the Pleiades is approximately 57%.
The habitable zone of Gliese 581 compared with the Solar System's habitable zone. The 2007 discovery of Gliese 581c, the first super-Earth in the circumstellar habitable zone, created significant interest in the system by the scientific community, although the planet was later found to have extreme surface conditions that may resemble Venus.
Northern Hemisphere. Northern Hemisphere shaded blue. The hemispheres appear unequal here because Antarctica is not shown. Northern Hemisphere from above the North Pole. The Northern Hemisphere is the half of Earth that is north of the Equator. For other planets in the Solar System, north is defined as being in the same celestial hemisphere ...
The Solar System is one of many planetary systems in the galaxy. [1] [2] The planetary system that contains Earth is named the "Solar" System. The word "solar" is derived from the Latin word for Sun, Sol (genitive Solis). Anything related to the Sun is called "solar": for example, stellar wind from the Sun is called solar wind.
The Solar System Portal. The Sun and planets of the Solar System (distances not to scale) The Solar System is the gravitationally bound system of the Sun and the objects that orbit it. It was formed about 4.6 billion years ago when a dense region of a molecular cloud collapsed, forming the Sun and a protoplanetary disc.
The average diameter of the orbit of the Earth relative to the Sun. Encompasses the Sun, Mercury and Venus. [18] Inner Solar System ~6.54 AU 9.78×10 8: 8.99: Encompasses the Sun, the inner planets (Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars) and the asteroid belt. Cited distance is the 2:1 resonance with Jupiter, which marks the outer limit of the asteroid belt.