| Nova_Celestia Provides overview and original illustrations of elements. |
| Orrery__Solar_System_Simulator A Java applet that simulates gravitating masses. Features a working model with motions and sizes of 70 planets and moons to scale. |
| Orrery__The_Solar_System_in_Action A concise tour containing numerous educational resources, and support for Spacetech's Orrery application. |
| A_Planet_Pursuit Pictures, facts and general information on the nine planets. |
| Planetary_Cartography_and_Graphics_by_Ralph_Aeschliman Planetary maps and graphics of Mars, the Moon and Venus. |
| Planetary_Fact_Sheet Table of essential measurements and facts regarding the nine planets with links to highly detailed summaries. |
| Planetary_Science_Institute Research and educational institute with projects to study planets, asteroids, and comets. |
| The_Planetary_Society__Our_Solar_System Concise information about all planets, comets and asteroids. |
| Rotation_of_Sun_and_Planets The rotation period of a large body circled by one or more satellites can be calculated theoretically. |
| SkyScopes Information about planetary astronomy and space exploration and habitat. Online chat, message boards, and related links. Sells replicas and toys. |
| Smiley\'s_Planet Explore the solar system's planets. Includes pictures, descriptions, statistical information and a special section on the latest voyage to Mars. |
| The_Solar_Space_Station Facts, descriptions and pictures, with sections about the Sun, the planets and meteors and asteroids. |
| The_Solar_System Detailed guide to the sun and planetary system, asteroids, comets, meteor hits on Earth and the other planets. |
| The_Solar_System History of and basic facts about major solar system bodies. |
| Solar_System_Dynamics Web-based resources accompanying the book Solar System Dynamics, by Carl D. Murray and Stanley F. Dermott. |
| Solar_System_Dynamics Provides detailed information related to known bodies in orbit around the Sun. Ephemerides, physical parameters, Earth close-approaches, observer tools. |
| Solar_System_Ephemeris Providing ephemeris of a variety of Sun orbiting bodies. |
| The_Solar_System_in_Pictures Quizzes and images about all the bodies of our planetary system. |
| Solar_System_Simulator Online software that generates views of the bodies of our planetary system at any date from any artificial or natural point of observation. |
| Solar_System_Simulator Shows the position of Venus, Earth and Mars at any date from 1900-2100. |
| Stardate_Online__Guide_to_the_Solar_System Contains an outline of the formation and evolution of planets, comets, asteroids, and of their features and exploration. |
| Uranus,_Neptune,_and_Pluto Encyclopedia article about the outermost planets. |
| USGS_Astrogeology_Research_Program Features planetary imagery, research, GIS, mapping, and image processing software. The site provides information about the group and about the Solar System. |
| Virtual_Solar_System Images, facts and quizzes about the nine planets. Also includes a scale model. |
| Welcome_to_the_Planets Select images from NASA's planetary exploration program. |
| Windows_to_the_Universe Aimed at portraying Earth and Space Sciences in a fun way. Includes information about space weather, global space physics and a real time movie of current solar activity. |
| Alina_Simona_Rusu Researcher whose publications include coping strategies in mice, chemical communication in mammals and cognitive ethology. |
| Animal_and_Plant_Sciences Research conducted at University of Sheffield, United Kingdom, that includes evolution and behavior studies. |
| Animal_Behavior Daniel Mills and Gill Sheppard describe an evolutionary approach to the analysis, assessment and treatment of behavior problems. |
| Animal_Behavior_and_Sociobiology Lecture on sociobiological behavior based on experimental animal observation from McMaster University, Canada. |
| Animal_Behavior_Lab Overview of current research at Macquarie University, Australia, with detailed material on each project. |
| Archives_of_Ethology Archives of an unactive internet discussion group on animal behavior that span over an eight year period. |
| Baboon_and_Impala_Together Website discusses the intermingled relationship the two species share. Offers scientific observations and images. |
| Bee_World Uses modern technology to demonstrate the life cycle of bees in real time through the use of a live Internet feed. |
| Behavioral_Ecology_Research_Group Research on the evolution of social systems and social learning at the University of Queensland, Australia. |
| Biopsy Annotated links and other resources on animal behavior, behavioral endocrinology and evolutionary and biological psychology. |
| Bird_Behavior An interdisciplinary journal that publishes research on descriptive and experimental analyses of species-typical avian behavior. |
| Center_for_the_Integrative_Study_of_Animal_Behavior Information from Indiana University's program on animal behavior. |
| Chimpanzee_Cultures A searchable database of chimpanzee cultural behaviors. |
| Dolphin_Institute Dedicated to conservation of and education about dolphins and whales. Research projects include dolphin echolocation. |
HomeExplore the BBC
Animals
Prehistoric Life
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TV & Radio Follow-up
DEFINITION
The Solar System is made up of the Sun, the planets, their moons, asteroids and comets
REASONS TO VISIT
Experience an amazing variety of worlds
Run the gauntlet of floating rocks and boulders in the asteroid belt
Encounter the icy comets that wander through the outer Solar System
Solar System Jigsaw
Can you
build the Solar System?
WHAT TO SEE
The Sun
The Sun is a star that lives at the centre of the Solar System. Its huge gravity holds the planets in place.
The planets
The planets all revolve around the Sun. There are eight in total - Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune.
Moons
Moons rotate around their parent planet. Earth has one moon, but some planets have over 50. Only Mercury and Venus do not have any moons.
Asteroids
Asteroids are rocky bits of debris up to 1,000km (620 miles) across. Most live in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. They are the remnants from early planets that collided and were torn apart.
Comets
Comets are dirty snowballs of ice and dust that revolve around the Sun in long orbits. When they approach the Sun they heat up, leaving a trail of gas behind them, which looks like a tail.
Recent comets to fly-by the Sun include Halley, Hale-Bopp and Ikeya-Zhang.
LOCAL HISTORY
Our Solar System began forming about 4.6 billion years ago from a swirling gas cloud. Over time, the gas cooled and clumped together to form large bodies called 'protoplanets'. The 'left over' material became comets, roaming silently through the Solar System.
Learn more about how the Solar System was built
Eventually after 100 million years, the enormous ball of gas at the centre of the cloud overheated and exploded in a huge nuclear reaction. The Sun was born.
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