Solar System structure

--Br-jsosa (talk) 00:40, January 8, 2018 (UTC)The structure of the Solar System is comprised of a principal component—the Sun, a G2 main-sequence star that contains 99.86% of the system's known mass and dominates it gravitationally.M Woolfson (2000). "The origin and evolution of the solar system". Astronomy & Geophysics. 41 (1): 1.12. Bibcode:2000A&G....41a..12W. doi:10.1046/j.1468-4004.2000.00012.x. The Sun's four largest orbiting bodies, the giant planets, account for 99% of the remaining mass, with Jupiter and Saturn together comprising more than 90%. The remaining objects of the Solar System (including the four terrestrial planets, the dwarf planets, moons, asteroids, and comets) together comprise less than 0.002% of the Solar System's total mass.
The overall structure of the charted regions of the Solar System consists of the Sun, four relatively small inner planets surrounded by a belt of mostly rocky asteroids, and four giant planets surrounded by the Kuiper belt of mostly icy objects. Astronomers sometimes informally divide this structure into separate regions. The inner Solar System includes the four terrestrial planets and the asteroid belt. The outer Solar System is beyond the asteroids, including the four giant planets.[20] Since the discovery of the Kuiper belt, the outermost parts of the Solar System are considered a distinct region consisting of the objects beyond Neptune.Amir Alexander (2006). "New Horizons Set to Launch on 9-Year Voyage to Pluto and the Kuiper Belt". The Planetary Society. Archived from the original on 22 February 2006. Retrieved 8 November 2006.
==References==
Category:Solar System