The Solar System is made up of many objects. You can find anything from planets, asteroids, dwarf planets, moons, and the occasional comet actively taking part in the Solar System. Though this was not always the case. The Solar System as we know it today formed from the collapse of a giant molecular cloud some time around 4.6 billion years ago. This collapse was responsible for the formation of our star (the Sun) and the planets that we have come to know.

Today the major objects that make up our Solar System all orbit around our star, the Sun. The four inner (terrestrial) planets primarily consist of rock and metal and are relatively small in size. While the four outer planets considered gas giants are made up of gas and ice. In the last few centuries humans have opened the door to solar system exploration and as a species we are on the edge of our greatest step, the expanse of our exploratory knowledge and abilities as we step off our planet and study our little neck of the galaxy.