The Sun and the solar system
The solar system is the Sun and everything that travels around it.
Look up at the Sun (never directly!) and you are looking at a star — a giant ball of hot, glowing gas. It is the centre of our solar system.
The solar system is made up of:
- The Sun — a star at the centre. It gives out light and heat.
- Planets — eight large worlds that travel around the Sun.
- Moons — smaller objects that travel around planets.
- Smaller bits and pieces, like asteroids and comets.
Everything in the solar system moves around the Sun in a path called an orbit. The Sun's huge gravity is what holds everything in orbit and stops the planets from drifting away into space.
The Sun is by far the biggest object in the solar system. It is so large that more than a million Earths could fit inside it. It is also our most important energy source — without the Sun's light and heat, there would be no life on Earth.
- The solar system is the Sun and everything that orbits it.
- The Sun is a star — a huge ball of hot, glowing gas.
- Planets, moons, asteroids and comets all orbit the Sun.
- The Sun's gravity holds everything in orbit.