For most of history, humanity did not recognize or understand the concept of the Solar System.

Most
people up to the Late Middle Ages–Renaissance believed Earth to be stationary at the centre of
the universe and categorically different from the divine or ethereal objects that moved through the
sky. Although the Greek philosopher Aristarchus of Samos had speculated on
a heliocentric reordering of the cosmos, Nicolaus Copernicus was the first to develop a
mathematically predictive heliocentric system.[11][12]
In the 17th century, Galileo discovered that the Sun was marked with sunspots, and that Jupiter had
four satellites in orbit around it.[13] Christiaan Huygens followed on from Galileo's discoveries by
discovering Saturn's moon Titan and the shape of the rings of Saturn.[14] Around 1677, Edmond
Halley observed a transit of Mercury across the Sun, leading him to realise that observations of
the solar parallax of a planet (more ideally using the transit of Venus) could be used
to trigonometrically determine the distances between Earth, Venus, and the Sun.[15] In 1705, Halley
realised that repeated sightings of a comet were of the same object, returning regularly once every
75–76 years. This was the first evidence that anything other than the planets orbited the Sun,
[16]
 though this had been theorized about comets in the 1st century by Seneca.[17] Around 1704, the
term "Solar System" first appeared in English. [18] In 1838, Friedrich Bessel successfully measured
a stellar parallax, an apparent shift in the position of a star created by Earth's motion around the
Sun, providing the first direct, experimental proof of heliocentrism. [19] Improvements in observational
astronomy and the use of uncrewed spacecraft have since enabled the detailed investigation of
other bodies orbiting the Sun.

Comprehensive overview of the Solar System. The Sun, planets, dwarf planets and moons are at scale for
their relative sizes, not for distances. A separate distance scale is at the bottom. Moons are listed near their
planets by proximity of their orbits; only the largest moons are shown.

Structure and composition

The principal component of the Solar System is the Sun, a G2 main-sequence star that contains
99.86% of the system's known mass and dominates it gravitationally. [20] 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.[g]
Most large objects in orbit around the Sun lie near the plane of Earth's orbit, known as the ecliptic.
The planets are very close to the ecliptic, whereas comets and Kuiper belt objects are frequently at
significantly greater angles to it.[24][25] As a result of the formation of the Solar System, planets (and
most other objects) orbit the Sun in the same direction that the Sun is rotating (counter-clockwise, as
viewed from above Earth's north pole).[26] There are exceptions, such as Halley's Comet. Most of the
larger moons orbit their planets in this prograde direction (with Triton being the
largest retrograde exception) and most larger objects rotate themselves in the same direction (with
Venus being a notable retrograde exception).
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. [27] 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.[28]
Most of the planets in the Solar System have secondary systems of their own, being orbited by
planetary objects called natural satellites, or moons (two of which, Titan and Ganymede, are larger
than the planet Mercury). The four giant planets have planetary rings, thin bands of tiny particles that
orbit them in unison. Most of the largest natural satellites are in synchronous rotation, with one face
permanently turned toward their parent.[29]

All planets of the Solar System lie very close to the ecliptic. The closer they are to the Sun, the faster they
travel (inner planets on the left, all planets except Neptune on the right).

Kepler's laws of planetary motion describe the orbits of objects about the Sun. Following Kepler's
laws, each object travels along an ellipse with the Sun at one focus. Objects closer to the Sun (with
smaller semi-major axes) travel more quickly because they are more affected by the Sun's gravity.
On an elliptical orbit, a body's distance from the Sun varies over the course of its year. A body's
closest approach to the Sun is called its perihelion, whereas its most distant point from the Sun is
called its aphelion. The orbits of the planets are nearly circular, but many comets, asteroids, and
Kuiper belt objects follow highly elliptical orbits. The positions of the bodies in the Solar System can
be predicted using numerical models.
Although the Sun dominates the system by mass, it accounts for only about 2% of the angular
momentum.[30][31] The planets, dominated by Jupiter, account for most of the rest of the angular
momentum due to the combination of their mass, orbit, and distance from the Sun, with a possibly
significant contribution from comets.[30]
The Sun, which comprises nearly all the matter in the Solar System, is composed of roughly 98%
hydrogen and helium.[32] Jupiter and Saturn, which comprise nearly all the remaining matter, are also
primarily composed of hydrogen and helium. [33][34] A composition gradient exists in the Solar System,
created by heat and light pressure from the Sun; those objects closer to the Sun, which are more
affected by heat and light pressure, are composed of elements with high melting points. Objects
farther from the Sun are composed largely of materials with lower melting points. [35] The boundary in
the Solar System beyond which those volatile substances could condense is known as the frost line,
and it lies at roughly 5 AU (750 million km; 460 million mi) from the Sun.[4]
The objects of the inner Solar System are composed mostly of rock,[36] the collective name for
compounds with high melting points, such as silicates, iron or nickel, that remained solid under
almost all conditions in the protoplanetary nebula.[37] Jupiter and Saturn are composed mainly of
gases, the astronomical term for materials with extremely low melting points and high vapour
pressure, such as hydrogen, helium, and neon, which were always in the gaseous phase in the
nebula.[37] Ices, like water, methane, ammonia, hydrogen sulfide, and carbon dioxide,[36] have melting
points up to a few hundred kelvins.[37] They can be found as ices, liquids, or gases in various places
in the Solar System, whereas in the nebula they were either in the solid or gaseous phase. [37] Icy
substances comprise the majority of the satellites of the giant planets, as well as most of Uranus and
Neptune (the so-called "ice giants") and the numerous small objects that lie beyond Neptune's orbit.
[36][38]
 Together, gases and ices are referred to as volatiles.[39]

Distances and scales

Size comparison of the Sun and the planets (clickable)

The distance from Earth to the Sun is 1 astronomical unit [AU] (150,000,000 km; 93,000,000 mi). For
comparison, the radius of the Sun is 0.0047 AU (700,000 km; 400,000 mi). Thus, the Sun occupies
0.00001% (10−5 %) of the volume of a sphere with a radius the size of Earth's orbit, whereas Earth's
volume is roughly one millionth (10−6) that of the Sun. Jupiter, the largest planet, is 5.2 astronomical
units (780,000,000 km; 480,000,000 mi) from the Sun and has a radius of 71,000 km (0.00047 AU;
44,000 mi), whereas the most distant planet, Neptune, is 30 AU (4.5×109 km; 2.8×109 mi) from the
Sun.
With a few exceptions, the farther a planet or belt is from the Sun, the larger the distance between its
orbit and the orbit of the next nearer object to the Sun. For example, Venus is approximately 0.33
AU farther out from the Sun than Mercury, whereas Saturn is 4.3 AU out from Jupiter, and Neptune
lies 10.5 AU out from Uranus. Attempts have been made to determine a relationship between these
orbital distances (for example, the Titius–Bode law),[40] but no such theory has been accepted.
Some Solar System models attempt to convey the relative scales involved in the Solar System on
human terms. Some are small in scale (and may be mechanical—called orreries)—whereas others
extend across cities or regional areas.[41] The largest such scale model, the Sweden Solar System,
uses the 110-metre (361 ft) Ericsson Globe in Stockholm as its substitute Sun, and, following the
scale, Jupiter is a 7.5-metre (25-foot) sphere at Stockholm Arlanda Airport, 40 km (25 mi) away,
whereas the farthest current object, Sedna, is a 10 cm (4 in) sphere in Luleå, 912 km (567 mi) away.
[42][43]
If the Sun–Neptune distance is scaled to 100 metres (330 ft), then the Sun would be about 3 cm
(1.2 in) in diameter (roughly two-thirds the diameter of a golf ball), the giant planets would be all
smaller than about 3 mm (0.12 in), and Earth's diameter along with that of the other terrestrial
planets would be smaller than a flea (0.3 mm or 0.012 in) at this scale.[44]

The Solar System. Distances are to scale, objects are not.

Distances of selected bodies of the Solar System from the Sun. The left and right edges of each bar
correspond to the perihelion and aphelion of the body, respectively, hence long bars denote high orbital
eccentricity. The radius of the Sun is 0.7 million km, and the radius of Jupiter (the largest planet) is 0.07 million
km, both too small to resolve on this image.

Formation and evolution

Artist's conception of a protoplanetary disk

Main article: Formation and evolution of the Solar System

The Solar System formed 4.568 billion years ago from the gravitational collapse of a region within a
large molecular cloud.[h] This initial cloud was likely several light-years across and probably birthed
several stars.[46] As is typical of molecular clouds, this one consisted mostly of hydrogen, with some
helium, and small amounts of heavier elements fused by previous generations of stars. As the region
that would become the Solar System, known as the pre-solar nebula,[47] collapsed, conservation of
angular momentum caused it to rotate faster. The centre, where most of the mass collected, became
increasingly hotter than the surrounding disc.[46] As the contracting nebula rotated faster, it began to
flatten into a protoplanetary disc with a diameter of roughly 200 AU (30 billion km; 19 billion mi)
[46]
 and a hot, dense protostar at the centre.[48][49] The planets formed by accretion from this disc,[50] in
which dust and gas gravitationally attracted each other, coalescing to form ever larger bodies.
Hundreds of protoplanets may have existed in the early Solar System, but they either merged or
were destroyed, leaving the planets, dwarf planets, and leftover minor bodies.[51]
 The geology of the contact binary object Arrokoth (nicknamed Ultima Thule), the first
undisturbed planetesimal visited by a spacecraft, with comet 67P to scale. The eight subunits of the larger lobe,
labeled ma to mh, are thought to have been its building blocks. The two lobes came together later, forming
a contact binary. Objects such as Arrokoth are believed in turn to have formed protoplanets.[52]

Due to their higher boiling points, only metals and silicates could exist in solid form in the warm inner
Solar System close to the Sun, and these would eventually form the rocky planets of Mercury,
Venus, Earth, and Mars. Because metallic elements only comprised a very small fraction of the solar
nebula, the terrestrial planets could not grow very large. The giant planets (Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus,
and Neptune) formed further out, beyond the frost line, the point between the orbits of Mars and
Jupiter where material is cool enough for volatile icy compounds to remain solid. The ices that
formed these planets were more plentiful than the metals and silicates that formed the terrestrial
inner planets, allowing them to grow massive enough to capture large atmospheres of hydrogen and
helium, the lightest and most abundant elements. Leftover debris that never became planets
congregated in regions such as the asteroid belt, Kuiper belt, and Oort cloud.[51] The Nice model is an
explanation for the creation of these regions and how the outer planets could have formed in
different positions and migrated to their current orbits through various gravitational interactions. [53]
Within 50 million years, the pressure and density of hydrogen in the centre of the protostar became
great enough for it to begin thermonuclear fusion.[54] The temperature, reaction rate, pressure, and
density increased until hydrostatic equilibrium was achieved: the thermal pressure equalled the force
of gravity. At this point, the Sun became a main-sequence star.[55] The main-sequence phase, from
beginning to end, will last about 10 billion years for the Sun compared to around two billion years for
all other phases of the Sun's pre-remnant life combined.[56] Solar wind from the Sun created
the heliosphere and swept away the remaining gas and dust from the protoplanetary disc into
interstellar space, ending the planetary formation process. The Sun is growing brighter; early in its
main-sequence life its brightness was 70% that of what it is today. [57]
The Solar System will remain roughly as we know it today until the hydrogen in the core of the Sun
has been entirely converted to helium, which will occur roughly 5 billion years from now. This will
mark the end of the Sun's main-sequence life. At that time, the core of the Sun will contract with
hydrogen fusion occurring along a shell surrounding the inert helium, and the energy output will be
much greater than at present. The outer layers of the Sun will expand to roughly 260 times its
current diameter, and the Sun will become a red giant. Because of its vastly increased surface area,
the surface of the Sun will be considerably cooler (2,600 K (2,330 °C; 4,220 °F) at its coolest) than it
is on the main sequence.[56] The expanding Sun is expected to vaporize Mercury and render Earth
uninhabitable. Eventually, the core will be hot enough for helium fusion; the Sun will burn helium for
a fraction of the time it burned hydrogen in the core. The Sun is not massive enough to commence
the fusion of heavier elements, and nuclear reactions in the core will dwindle. Its outer layers will
move away into space, leaving a white dwarf, an extraordinarily dense object, half the original mass
of the Sun but only the size of Earth.[58] The ejected outer layers will form what is known as
a planetary nebula, returning some of the material that formed the Sun—but now enriched
with heavier elements like carbon—to the interstellar medium.

Sun
Main article: Sun
The Sun is the Solar System's star and by far its most massive component. Its large mass (332,900
Earth masses),[59] which comprises 99.86% of all the mass in the Solar System, [60] produces
temperatures and densities in its core high enough to sustain nuclear fusion of hydrogen into helium,
making it a main-sequence star.[61] This releases an enormous amount of energy,
mostly radiated into space as electromagnetic radiation peaking in visible light.[62]
The Sun is a G2-type main-sequence star. Hotter main-sequence stars are more luminous. The
Sun's temperature is intermediate between that of the hottest stars and that of the coolest stars.
Stars brighter and hotter than the Sun are rare, whereas substantially dimmer and cooler stars,
known as red dwarfs, make up 85% of the stars in the Milky Way.[63][64]
The Sun is a population I star; it has a higher abundance of elements heavier than hydrogen and
helium ("metals" in astronomical parlance) than the older population II stars.[65] Elements heavier than
hydrogen and helium were formed in the cores of ancient and exploding stars, so the first generation
of stars had to die before the universe could be enriched with these atoms. The oldest stars contain
few metals, whereas stars born later have more. This high metallicity is thought to have been crucial
to the Sun's development of a planetary system because the planets form from the accretion of
"metals".[66]

Interplanetary medium
Main articles: Interplanetary medium and Solar wind

The heliospheric current sheet

The vast majority of the Solar System consists of a near-vacuum known as the interplanetary

medium. Along with light, the Sun radiates a continuous stream of charged particles (a plasma)
known as the solar wind. This stream of particles spreads outwards at roughly 1.5 million kilometres
per hour (930,000 mph),[67] creating a tenuous atmosphere that permeates the interplanetary medium
out to at least 100 AU (15 billion km; 9.3 billion mi) (see §  Heliosphere).[68] Activity on the Sun's
surface, such as solar flares and coronal mass ejections, disturbs the heliosphere, creating space
weather and causing geomagnetic storms.[69] The largest structure within the heliosphere is
the heliospheric current sheet, a spiral form created by the actions of the Sun's rotating magnetic
field on the interplanetary medium. [70][71]
Earth's magnetic field stops its atmosphere from being stripped away by the solar wind.[72] Venus and
Mars do not have magnetic fields, and as a result the solar wind is causing their atmospheres to
gradually bleed away into space.[73] Coronal mass ejections and similar events blow a magnetic field
and huge quantities of material from the surface of the Sun. The interaction of this magnetic field and
material with Earth's magnetic field funnels charged particles into Earth's upper atmosphere, where
its interactions create aurorae seen near the magnetic poles.
The heliosphere and planetary magnetic fields (for those planets that have them) partially shield the
Solar System from high-energy interstellar particles called cosmic rays. The density of cosmic rays
in the interstellar medium and the strength of the Sun's magnetic field change on very long
timescales, so the level of cosmic-ray penetration in the Solar System varies, though by how much is
unknown.[74]
The interplanetary medium is home to at least two disc-like regions of cosmic dust. The first,
the zodiacal dust cloud, lies in the inner Solar System and causes the zodiacal light. It was likely
formed by collisions within the asteroid belt brought on by gravitational interactions with the planets.
[75]
 The second dust cloud extends from about 10 AU (1.5 billion km; 930 million mi) to about 40 AU
(6.0 billion km; 3.7 billion mi), and was probably created by similar collisions within the Kuiper belt.[76]
[77]

Inner Solar System

The inner Solar System is the region comprising the terrestrial planets and the asteroid belt.
[78]
 Composed mainly of silicates and metals, the objects of the inner Solar System are relatively
close to the Sun; the radius of this entire region is less than the distance between the orbits of
Jupiter and Saturn. This region is also within the frost line, which is a little less than
5 AU (750 million km; 460 million mi) from the Sun.

Inner planets
Main article: Terrestrial planet

The inner planets. From top to bottom rightwards: Earth, Mars, Venus, and Mercury (sizes to scale).

Orrery showing the motions of the inner four planets. The small spheres represent the position of each planet
on every two Julian days, beginning August 3, 2020 and ending June 21, 2022 (Mars at perihelion).

The four terrestrial or inner planets have dense, rocky compositions, few or no moons, and no ring
systems. They are composed largely of refractory minerals such as the silicates—which form
their crusts and mantles—and metals such as iron and nickel which form their cores. Three of the
four inner planets (Venus, Earth and Mars) have atmospheres substantial enough to generate
weather; all have impact craters and tectonic surface features, such as rift valleys and volcanoes.
The term inner planet should not be confused with inferior planet, which designates those planets
that are closer to the Sun than Earth is (i.e. Mercury and Venus).
Mercury
Main article: Mercury (planet)
Mercury (0.4 AU (60 million km; 37 million mi) from the Sun) is the closest planet to the Sun and on
average, all seven other planets.[79][80] The smallest planet in the Solar System (0.055 M🜨), Mercury
has no natural satellites. Besides impact craters, its only known geological features are lobed ridges
or rupes that were probably produced by a period of contraction early in its history. [81] Mercury's very
tenuous atmosphere consists of atoms blasted off its surface by the solar wind. [82] Its relatively large
iron core and thin mantle have not yet been adequately explained. Hypotheses include that its outer
layers were stripped off by a giant impact, or that it was prevented from fully accreting by the young
Sun's energy.[83][84]
Venus
Main article: Venus
Venus (0.7 AU (100 million km; 65 million mi) from the Sun) is close in size to Earth (0.815 M🜨) and,
like Earth, has a thick silicate mantle around an iron core, a substantial atmosphere, and evidence of
internal geological activity. It is much drier than Earth, and its atmosphere is ninety times as dense.
Venus has no natural satellites. It is the hottest planet, with surface temperatures over 400 °C
(752 °F), most likely due to the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.[85] No definitive
evidence of current geological activity has been detected on Venus, but it has no magnetic field that
would prevent depletion of its substantial atmosphere, which suggests that its atmosphere is being
replenished by volcanic eruptions.[86]
Earth
Main article: Earth
Earth (1 AU (150 million km; 93 million mi) from the Sun) is the largest and densest of the inner
planets, the only one known to have current geological activity, and the only place where life is
known to exist.[87] Its liquid hydrosphere is unique among the terrestrial planets, and it is the only
planet where plate tectonics has been observed. Earth's atmosphere is radically different from those
of the other planets, having been altered by the presence of life to contain 21% free oxygen.[88] It has
one natural satellite, the Moon, the only large satellite of a terrestrial planet in the Solar System.
Mars
Main article: Mars
Mars (1.5 AU (220 million km; 140 million mi) from the Sun) is smaller than Earth and Venus
(0.107 M🜨). It has an atmosphere of mostly carbon dioxide with a surface pressure of 6.1 millibars
(0.088 psi; 0.18 inHg) (roughly 0.6% of that of Earth). [89] Its surface, peppered with vast volcanoes,
such as Olympus Mons, and rift valleys, such as Valles Marineris, shows geological activity that may
have persisted until as recently as 2 million years ago.[90] Its red colour comes from iron oxide (rust)
in its soil.[91] Mars has two tiny natural satellites (Deimos and Phobos) thought to be either
captured asteroids,[92] or ejected debris from a massive impact early in Mars's history. [93]

Asteroid belt
Main article: Asteroid belt

The donut-shaped asteroid belt is located between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter.

   Sun
   Jupiter trojans
   Planetary orbit
   Asteroid belt
   Hilda asteroids
   NEOs (selection)

Asteroids except for the largest, Ceres, are classified as small Solar System bodies[f] and are
composed mainly of refractory rocky and metallic minerals, with some ice.[94][95] They range from a few
metres to hundreds of kilometres in size. Asteroids smaller than one meter are usually
called meteoroids and micrometeoroids (grain-sized), depending on different, somewhat arbitrary
definitions.
The asteroid belt occupies the orbit between Mars and Jupiter, between 2.3 and 3.3 AU (340 and
490 million km; 210 and 310 million mi) from the Sun. It is thought to be remnants from the Solar
System's formation that failed to coalesce because of the gravitational interference of Jupiter. [96] The
asteroid belt contains tens of thousands, possibly millions, of objects over one kilometre in diameter.
[97]
 Despite this, the total mass of the asteroid belt is unlikely to be more than a thousandth of that of
Earth.[23] The asteroid belt is very sparsely populated; spacecraft routinely pass through without
incident.[98]
Ceres
Main article: Ceres (dwarf planet)

Ceres – map of gravity fields: red is high; blue, low.

Ceres (2.77 AU (414 million km; 257 million mi)) is the largest asteroid, a protoplanet, and a dwarf
planet.[f] It has a diameter of slightly under 1,000 km (620 mi), and a mass large enough for its own
gravity to pull it into a spherical shape. Ceres was considered a planet when it was discovered in
1801 and was reclassified to asteroid in the 1850s as further observations revealed additional
asteroids.[99] It was classified as a dwarf planet in 2006 when the definition of a planet was created.
Asteroid groups
Asteroids in the asteroid belt are divided into asteroid groups and families based on their orbital
characteristics. Asteroid moons are asteroids that orbit larger asteroids. They are not as clearly
distinguished as planetary moons, sometimes being almost as large as their partners. The asteroid
belt also contains main-belt comets, which may have been the source of Earth's water. [100]
Jupiter trojans are located in either of Jupiter's L4 or L5 points (gravitationally stable regions leading
and trailing a planet in its orbit); the term trojan is also used for small bodies in any other planetary or
satellite Lagrange point. Hilda asteroids are in a 2:3 resonance with Jupiter; that is, they go around
the Sun three times for every two Jupiter orbits.[101]
The inner Solar System also contains near-Earth asteroids, many of which cross the orbits of the
inner planets.[102] Some of them are potentially hazardous objects.

Outer Solar System

The outer region of the Solar System is home to the giant planets and their large moons.
The centaurs and many short-period comets also orbit in this region. Due to their greater distance
from the Sun, the solid objects in the outer Solar System contain a higher proportion of volatiles,
such as water, ammonia, and methane than those of the inner Solar System because the lower
temperatures allow these compounds to remain solid.[51]

Outer planets
Main article: Giant planet
The outer planets (in the background) Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune, compared to the inner
planets Earth, Venus, Mars and Mercury (in the foreground)

Orrery showing the motions of the outer four planets. The small spheres represent the position of each planet
on every 200 Julian days, beginning November 18, 1877 and ending September 3, 2042 (Neptune at
perihelion).

The four outer planets, or giant planets (sometimes called Jovian planets), collectively make up 99%
of the mass known to orbit the Sun.[g] Jupiter and Saturn are together more than 400 times the mass
of Earth and consist overwhelmingly of the gases hydrogen and helium, hence their designation
as gas giants.[103] Uranus and Neptune are far less massive—less than 20 Earth masses (M🜨) each—
and are composed primarily of ices. For these reasons, some astronomers suggest they belong in
their own category, ice giants.[104] All four giant planets have rings, although only Saturn's ring system
is easily observed from Earth. The term superior planet designates planets outside Earth's orbit and
thus includes both the outer planets and Mars.
Jupiter
Main article: Jupiter
Jupiter (5.2 AU (780 million km; 480 million mi)), at 318 M🜨, is 2.5 times the mass of all the other
planets put together. It is composed largely of hydrogen and helium. Jupiter's strong internal heat
creates semi-permanent features in its atmosphere, such as cloud bands and the Great Red Spot.
Jupiter has 79 known satellites. The four largest, Ganymede, Callisto, Io, and Europa, show
similarities to the terrestrial planets, such as volcanism and internal heating. [105] Ganymede, the
largest satellite in the Solar System, is larger than Mercury.
Saturn
Main article: Saturn
Saturn (9.5 AU (1.42 billion km; 880 million mi)), distinguished by its extensive ring system, has
several similarities to Jupiter, such as its atmospheric composition and magnetosphere. Although
Saturn has 60% of Jupiter's volume, it is less than a third as massive, at 95 M🜨. Saturn is the only
planet of the Solar System that is less dense than water. [106] The rings of Saturn are made up of small
ice and rock particles. Saturn has 82 confirmed satellites composed largely of ice. Two of
these, Titan and Enceladus, show signs of geological activity.[107] Titan, the second-largest moon in
the Solar System, is larger than Mercury and the only satellite in the Solar System with a substantial
atmosphere.
Uranus