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.
Planets
Dwarf Planets
PLANET FACTS
The solar system has eight planets: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune.
There are five officially recognized dwarf planets in our solar system: 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.
The outer planets are gas giants Jupiter and Saturn, and ice giants Uranus and Neptune. NASA's Juno spacecraft is on an extended mission at Jupiter, and ESA's JUICE mission is on the way. NASA's Europa Clipper is launching to explore Jupiter's icy moon, Europa, in October 2024. The agency's Dragonfly rotorcraft lander will launch to Saturn's moon, Titan, no earlier than 2028.
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.
Read morePlanet Sizes and Locations in Our Solar System
Our solar system has eight planets, and five officially recognized dwarf planets. Which planet is biggest? Which is smallest? What…
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