what is a solar system made up of.
A solar system is a collection of celestial objects that orbit a star. Our solar system, for example, consists of the Sun, planets, dwarf planets, moons, asteroids, comets, and interstellar dust.
The main components:
- Star: The central star of a solar system is a massive ball of plasma that generates heat and light through nuclear fusion. Our Sun is the star at the center of our solar system.
- Planets: Planets are large, spherical objects that orbit the star and do not produce their own light. Our solar system has eight planets: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune.
- Dwarf Planets: These are smaller celestial bodies that orbit the star, but they don't have enough mass to clear their orbital path of debris. Examples include Pluto, Ceres, Eris, and Makemake.
- Moons: Moons are natural satellites that orbit planets. Earth has one moon, while other planets can have multiple moons.
- Asteroids: Asteroids are rocky or metallic objects that orbit the Sun, often in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.
- Comets: Comets are made up of ice, dust, and rock. They have a nucleus, a coma (a cloud of gas and dust), and a tail that forms when they approach the Sun.
- Interstellar Dust: This is a cloud of tiny particles that exists between stars.