The sun's gravity tugs at nine planets and their moons, as well as millions of asteroids and comets. The sun and these orbiting objects make up Earth's solar system. Other solar systems exist around distant stars.
Scientists think Earth's solar system formed from a swirling cloud of gas and dust.
About 5 billion years ago, the core of the cloud collapsed. The super-thick material began to undergo nuclear reactions, and the sun was born. Farther out, matter clumped to form the planets. Planets have egg-shaped orbits, so their distance from the sun varies. A car would need about 60 million years to drive that distance.