About the Planets
Our solar system has eight planets, and five dwarf planets - all located in an outer spiral arm of the Milky Way galaxy called the Orion Arm.
PLANET FACTS
The solar system has eight planets. Moving outward from the Sun, the planets are: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune.
There are five officially recognized dwarf planets in our solar system. In order of distance from the Sun they are: Ceres, Pluto, Haumea, Makemake, and Eris.
The solar system can be divided into three regions: the inner solar system, the outer solar system, the Kuiper Belt, and the Oort Cloud.
The inner, rocky planets are Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars. These worlds also are known as terrestrial planets because they have solid surfaces. Mercury, Earth, and Mars are currently being explored by spacecraft. Two rovers are on the surface of Mars. NASA's rover – Perseverance – landed on Mars on Feb. 18, 2021. Three missions are in development to return to Venus.
Thousands more planets have been discovered beyond our solar system. Scientists call them exoplanets (exo means "from outside").
Is There Another Planet in the Solar System?
It's an intriguing idea that might explains some current mysteries, but direct evidence of another planet has yet to be found.
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