In Depth | Our Solar System – NASA Solar System Exploration
Most of the hundreds of billions of stars in our galaxy are thought to have planets of their own, and the Milky Way is but one of perhaps 100 billion galaxies in the universe.
In Depth | Earth's Moon – NASA Solar System Exploration
The brightest and largest object in our night sky, the Moon makes Earth a more livable planet by moderating our home planet's wobble on its axis, leading to a relatively stable climate. It also …
In Depth | Sun – NASA Solar System Exploration
The Sun doesn't behave the same way all the time. It goes through phases of high and low activity, which make up the solar cycle. Approximately every 11 years, the Sun’s geographic …
About the Planets - NASA Solar System Exploration
May 28, 2025 · 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.
Our Sun is one of over 100 billion stars in the Milky Way, and our galaxy is just one of countless billions in the universe, each having millions – or billions – of stars of their own.
Occasionally, giant molecular clouds, stars passing nearby, or tidal interactions with the Milky Way’s disc disturb the orbit of one of these bodies in the outer region of the Oort Cloud, …
In Depth | Kuiper Belt – NASA Solar System Exploration
The Kuiper Belt is a large region in the cold, outer reaches of our solar system beyond the orbit of Neptune. It's sometimes called the "third zone" of the solar system. Astronomers think there …
In Depth | Oumuamua – NASA Solar System Exploration
The observations suggest this unusual object had been wandering through the Milky Way, unattached to any star system, for hundreds of millions of years before its chance encounter …
Science Missions - NASA Science
Sep 24, 2025 · Follow the telescope from an idea developed at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center all the way to the launchpad in French Guiana, with never-before-seen footage …
Directory - NASA Solar System Exploration
Later that year Nicholas moved, with his parents, to South Africa, where he grew up. Along the way he continued to be fascinated by space and watched STS-1 (Columbia) launch on April …