The Disc

Why are all the planets arranged in a (more-or-less) flat disc around the Sun?

It has to do with the formation of the Solar System.

The matter spinning around the center (which was to become the Sun) was pulled towards the center because of the centrifugal force and gravity. The free flying objects crashed and collided while spinning, forming planets, and the rest became asteroids, meteoroids, comets, and dwarf planets. The aligning of the materials around the Sun resembles the rings around the Outer planets.

The Earth isn't flat, but the Solar System is!

Some objects in the Solar System do not rotate around the Sun in the same plane (level) as the others that are in the 'disc'. Do you know which ones?

I bet you didn't know ...

 Jupiter spins the fastest, but it's the largest!

Imagine this: a planet that is eleven times as big as the Earth, but one day lasts less than half of the day on Earth!

Remember that Jupiter is a gas giant - it means that it is mainly composed of Hydrogen and Helium (like the Sun!), but it's about -110°C cold.

Although it doesn't show in pictures, Jupiter has rings, as well as many, many, many moons. The biggest moon in the Solar System is Jupiter's Ganymede.

Do you know how many moons circle around Jupiter?

How did it all begin?

After our Sun was created, the leftover material that was circling around it clumped together to form other Solar System Objects.

Can you believe that only 0.2% of the whole original material was enough to create all the rest!?

Which object is the largest? Which objects are the smallest?