Solar System

Cards · 52

The Sun

Yellow dwarf star (G-type) at the center of the Solar System (0 AU); contains 99.8% of the system's mass and powers planetary climates via nuclear fusion.

Mercury

Terrestrial planet ~0.39 AU from the Sun; smallest planet, cratered surface with extreme temperature variations, lacking a substantial atmosphere.

Venus

Terrestrial planet ~0.72 AU from the Sun; hottest planet due to a dense carbon dioxide greenhouse atmosphere, rotating retrograde.

Earth

Terrestrial planet at 1.0 AU from the Sun; only known body to harbor life, with abundant liquid water and an oxygen-rich atmosphere.

The Moon

Natural satellite of Earth ~1.0 AU from the Sun (384,400 km from Earth); gravitationally locked, covered in regolith, causes ocean tides.

Mars

Terrestrial planet ~1.52 AU from the Sun; known as the Red Planet due to iron oxide, home to Olympus Mons, and possesses a thin CO2 atmosphere.

Phobos

Irregular moon of Mars ~1.52 AU from the Sun; heavily cratered, slowly spiraling inward toward Mars.

Deimos

Outer natural satellite of Mars ~1.52 AU from the Sun; small, smooth, asteroid-like body with a very low density.

Asteroid Belt

Circumstellar disc ~2.2 to 3.2 AU from the Sun; separates terrestrial and giant planets, containing millions of rocky remnants.

Ceres

Dwarf planet in the Asteroid Belt ~2.77 AU from the Sun; largest object in the belt, possessing a rocky core and ice-rich mantle.

Vesta

Asteroid in the Asteroid Belt ~2.36 AU from the Sun; second-most massive asteroid, having a differentiated interior and giant impact craters.

Pallas

Asteroid in the Asteroid Belt ~2.77 AU from the Sun; one of the largest asteroids with a highly inclined orbit.

Jupiter

Gas giant planet ~5.20 AU from the Sun; largest planet in the Solar System, characterized by hydrogen-helium composition and the Great Red Spot.

Io

Galilean moon of Jupiter ~5.20 AU from the Sun; most volcanically active body in the Solar System due to tidal heating.

Europa

Galilean moon of Jupiter ~5.20 AU from the Sun; smooth water-ice crust covering a vast subsurface liquid ocean.

Ganymede

Galilean moon of Jupiter ~5.20 AU from the Sun; largest moon in the Solar System, possessing its own magnetic field.

Callisto

Galilean moon of Jupiter ~5.20 AU from the Sun; heavily cratered ancient ice-rock surface with potential subsurface ocean.

Saturn

Gas giant planet ~9.58 AU from the Sun; second-largest planet, famous for its extensive, bright ring system of ice and rock.

Titan

Moon of Saturn ~9.58 AU from the Sun; second-largest moon in the Solar System, with a dense nitrogen atmosphere and liquid methane lakes.

Enceladus

Moon of Saturn ~9.58 AU from the Sun; icy world with active cryovolcanic plumes ejecting water vapor from a subsurface ocean.

Mimas

Moon of Saturn ~9.58 AU from the Sun; heavily cratered icy moon featuring the massive Herschel crater.

Iapetus

Moon of Saturn ~9.58 AU from the Sun; distinctly two-toned coloration and a prominent equatorial ridge.

Rhea

Moon of Saturn ~9.58 AU from the Sun; second-largest moon of Saturn, composed mostly of water ice with a rocky core.

Uranus

Ice giant planet ~19.2 AU from the Sun; cyan appearance due to methane, rotating on its side with an axial tilt of 98 degrees.

Titania

Moon of Uranus ~19.2 AU from the Sun; largest Uranian satellite, covered in fault valleys and impact craters.

Oberon

Moon of Uranus ~19.2 AU from the Sun; outermost major Uranian moon, heavily cratered and covered in dark material.

Miranda

Moon of Uranus ~19.2 AU from the Sun; smallest major Uranian moon, displaying extreme fractured tectonic terrain.

Neptune

Ice giant planet ~30.1 AU from the Sun; outermost major planet, deep blue coloration with the fastest supersonic winds in the Solar System.

Triton

Moon of Neptune ~30.1 AU from the Sun; retrograde orbit, icy geysers, likely a captured Kuiper belt object.

Proteus

Moon of Neptune ~30.1 AU from the Sun; largest irregularly shaped moon of Neptune, heavily cratered.

Kuiper Belt

Circumstellar disc ~30 to 50 AU from the Sun; region beyond Neptune containing millions of icy bodies and dwarf planets.

Pluto

Dwarf planet in the Kuiper Belt ~39.5 AU from the Sun; binary system with Charon, featuring nitrogen glaciers and a thin atmosphere.

Charon

Largest moon of Pluto ~39.5 AU from the Sun; mutually tidally locked with Pluto, half Pluto's diameter with deep canyon systems.

Haumea

Dwarf planet in the Kuiper Belt ~43.1 AU from the Sun; elongated ellipsoid shape caused by extremely rapid rotation, with rings and two moons.

Makemake

Dwarf planet in the Kuiper Belt ~45.4 AU from the Sun; bright frozen methane surface and one known small moon.

Eris

Dwarf planet in the scattered disc ~67.8 AU from the Sun; nearly identical in size to Pluto but more massive, discovered with moon Dysnomia.

Sedna

Sednoid / distant trans-Neptunian object ~506 AU average (76-937 AU range); highly eccentric orbit, extremely red surface.

Oort Cloud

Theoretical spherical cloud ~2,000 to 100,000 AU from the Sun; reservoir of billions of icy planetesimals and origin of long-period comets.

Halley's Comet

Periodic comet ~0.59 to 35.1 AU from the Sun; returns every 75-76 years, producing bright coma and tail as ice sublimates.

Hale-Bopp

Long-period comet ~0.91 to 370 AU from the Sun; one of the brightest comets of the 20th century with an exceptionally large nucleus.

Comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko

Jupiter-family comet ~1.24 to 5.68 AU from the Sun; contact binary nucleus explored in detail by ESA's Rosetta mission.

Chiron

Centaur object ~8.4 to 18.9 AU from the Sun; hybrid asteroid-comet orbiting between Saturn and Uranus with a faint ring system.

Chariklo

Centaur object ~13.1 to 18.5 AU from the Sun; largest confirmed Centaur, famous for hosting a pair of dense, narrow rings.

Solar Wind

Plasma stream flowing outward from the Sun past 100 AU; continuous emission of charged particles shaping planetary magnetospheres.

Heliosphere

Bubble-like region of space ~100 to 120+ AU from the Sun; vast cavity carved out by solar wind shielding against interstellar radiation.

Heliopause

Boundary zone ~120 AU from the Sun; outer border where solar wind pressure balances the incoming interstellar medium.

Trojan Asteroids

Asteroid populations at ~5.2 AU (and others); stable swarms orbiting at Lagrange points L4 and L5 of a planet, predominantly Jupiter.

Scattered Disc

Distant circumstellar region ~30 to 100+ AU from the Sun; populated by icy minor planets dynamically scattered by Neptune's gravity.

Gonggong

Dwarf planet candidate in the scattered disc ~67.5 AU from the Sun; red, icy surface containing water and methane, orbited by moon Xiangliu.

Quaoar

Classical Kuiper Belt object ~43.7 AU from the Sun; dense trans-Neptunian object orbited by moon Weywot, possessing an unusual ring.

Orcus

Plutino object ~39.2 AU from the Sun; orbital resonance with Neptune mirroring Pluto's orbit, orbited by large moon Vanth.

Arrokoth

Classical Kuiper Belt object ~44.6 AU from the Sun; primitive contact binary planetesimal flyby target of the New Horizons spacecraft.