The Solar System is a large place with many interesting facts. It houses the planets, including our own, as well as the moons and our Sun. Humans have studied the stars for thousands of years, and today we have the collective combination of all their discoveries. Here are some details about the solar system.

• Sunlight Takes Around 8 Minutes To Reach Earth

  .The Earth is located 93 million miles (150 million kms) away from the Sun, a distance known to astronomers as an astronomical units or AU. Traveling at the speed of light (186,282 miles per second), sunlight is able to cross this vast distance in around 8 minutes 20 seconds.

• One Year Different On Each Planet

  The closer the planet is to the Sun, the quicker is its annual orbit around our star. Whereas the Earth takes one year to revolve around the Sun, for instance, Mercury would complete its orbit in 88 days, while distant Neptune would complete its annual trek in 165 years.

• Solar System is 4.6 Billion Years Old

  The solar system is 4.6 billion years old and 99.86% of its mass is contained in our Sun, a rotating yellow dwarf star whose powerful gravity causes numerous objects to revolve  around it in nearly circular orbits including the planets, moons, comets, asteroids, meteoroids, dust and gas.

• The Sun is hugely massive.

  Just how massive? 99.86% of the Solar System’s mass is in our local star, which goes to show you where the real heavyweight is. The Sun is made up of hydrogen and helium, which shows you that these gases are far more abundant in our neighborhood (and the Universe generally) than the rocks and metals we are more familiar with here on Earth.

• The order of the planets.
  
  The order of the planets in the Solar System are – Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Satu, Uranus, and Neptune.
• The biggest planet is Jupiter and the smallest is Mercury
  
  
• Satu’s ring particles are made almost entirely of water ice particles.
  
  
• Mercury is shrinking
  
  Like Earth, Mercury experiences tectonic activity. Pictures taken of the planet have indicated that the surface is changing. The planet has a solid inner core that’s surrounded by a liquid metal outer core, which is in the process of cooling. Every rocky planet is still cooling from when they initially emerged. And as the liquid parts of Mercury’s core become solid, there’s contraction, leading to land shifting and a smaller planet overall.