The Solar System
The Solar System consists of the Sun and the other astronomical objects gravitationally bound to it: the nine (now 8) planets, their 166 known moons, three dwarf planets (Pluto, Ceres, and Eris and their 4 known moons), and billions of small bodies. Small bodies include Kuiper belt objects, comets, asteroids, meteoroids, and interplanetary dust.
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The terrestrial planets are (in order of distance from the sun):
- Mercury
- Venus
- Earth
- Mars
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The outer gas giants are:
- Jupiter
- Saturn
- Uranus
- Neptune
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The three dwarf planets are
- Ceres
- Pluto
- Eris