00:00Our solar system is one of over 500 known solar systems in the entire Milky Way galaxy.
00:10The solar system came into being about 4.5 billion years ago when a cloud of interstellar
00:16gas and dust collapsed, resulting in a solar nebula, a swirling disk of material that collided
00:22to form the solar system.
00:26The solar system is located in the Milky Way's Orion star cluster.
00:30Only 15% of stars in the galaxy host planetary systems, and one of those stars is our own
00:36sun.
00:40Revolving around the sun are eight planets.
00:43The planets are divided into two categories based on their composition, terrestrial and
00:48Jovian.
00:50Terrestrial planets, including Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars, are primarily made of rocky
00:55material.
00:56Their surfaces are solid, they don't have ring systems, they have very few or no moons,
01:02and they are relatively small.
01:05The smallest and closest to the sun is Mercury, which has the shortest orbit in the solar
01:10system at about three Earth months.
01:13Venus is the hottest planet, with temperatures of up to 867 degrees Fahrenheit due to an
01:20atmosphere of carbon dioxide and extensive lava flows.
01:24Close to this world of fire is a world of water, Earth.
01:28The water systems on this planet help create the only known environment in the universe
01:32capable of sustaining life.
01:36The last of the terrestrial planets, Mars, might have also supported life about 3.7 billion
01:42years ago, when the planet had a watery surface and moist atmosphere.
01:49Beyond the four terrestrial planets of the inner solar system lie the Jovian planets
01:53of the outer solar system.
01:55The Jovian planets include gas giants Jupiter and Saturn, and ice giants Uranus and Neptune.
02:02The gas giants are predominantly made of helium and hydrogen, and the ice giants also contain
02:07rock, ice, and a liquid mixture of water, methane, and ammonia.
02:12All four Jovian planets have multiple moons, sport ring systems, have no solid surface,
02:18and are immense.
02:21The largest Jovian is also the largest planet in the solar system, Jupiter.
02:26Nearby is Saturn, the solar system's second largest planet.
02:31Its signature rings are wide enough to fit between Earth and the moon, but are barely
02:36a kilometer thick.
02:40Past Saturn are the ice giants Uranus and Neptune.
02:43The slightly bigger of these ice giants, Uranus, is famous for rotating on its side.
02:50Next to Uranus is Neptune, the outermost planet in the solar system and also one of
02:55the coldest.
02:57Orbiting the terrestrial planets is the asteroid belt, a flat disk of rocky objects full of
03:02remnants from the solar system's formation, from microscopic dust particles to the largest
03:08known object, the dwarf planet Ceres.
03:12Another disk of space debris lies much further out and orbits the Jovian planets, the icy
03:18Kuiper belt.
03:20Apart from asteroids, the Kuiper belt is also home to dwarf planets such as Pluto and is
03:25the birthplace of many comets.
03:28Beyond the Kuiper belt is the Oort cloud, a vast spherical collection of icy debris.
03:33It is considered the edge of the solar system since that is where the gravitational and
03:38physical influences of the sun end.
03:42Our solar system's particular configuration of planets and other celestial objects, all
03:47revolving around a life-giving star, make it a special place to call home.
