Sun: solar system. Art. Encyclopædia Britannica. Web. 8 Sep. 2015. <http://school.eb.com/levels/middle/article/277129/media?assemblyId=92825>.
The solar system consists of the sun and everything that orbits, or travels around, the sun. This includes the eight planets and their moons, dwarf planets, and countless asteroids, comets, and other small, icy objects. However, even with all these things, most of the solar system is empty space.
The solar system itself is only a small part of a huge system of stars and other objects called the Milky Way galaxy. The solar system orbits around the center of the galaxy about once every 225 million years. The Milky Way galaxy is just one of billions of galaxies that in turn make up the universe.
For more information on the solar system, click on the link below.
"Solar system." Britannica School. Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 2015. Web. 8 Sep. 2015. <http://school.eb.com/levels/middle/article/353789>.
Hundreds of billions of stars lie in the Milky Way Galaxy, a system of stars and interstellar gas and dust. The Sun and its solar system, including Earth, lie well within this galaxy. In fact, every star that can be seen from Earth without a telescope belongs to the Milky Way Galaxy. It is named for the Milky Way, the faint band of stars and gas clouds that stretches across Earth’s night sky. It glows whitish from starlight, giving it a milky appearance. The Milky Way forms part of the Milky Way Galaxy. This galaxy is one of billions of galaxies in the universe.
For more information on the Milky Way, click on the link below.
"Milky Way Galaxy." Britannica School. Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 2015. Web. 8 Sep. 2015. <http://school.eb.com/levels/middle/article/601151>.