The Solar System
Our Solar System consists of Nine known Planets (Excluding the Sun, Asteriods and Comets).
Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars are known as Terrestrial Planets. Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto are known as the Jovian Planets.
Asteroids and Comets also make up part of the Solar System.
The solar system falls into three broad categories of materials as indicated in the following table :
| Class | Elements | Melting Point |
| Terrestrial | Silicon, magnesium, iron oxides, etc. | 1500 - 2000 K |
| Icy | Carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, and hydrogen in combination (methane, ammonia, water,etc) | 273 K |
| Gaseous | Hydrogen, helium, neon, argon, etc. | 14 K |
Using the categories above, the general composition of the major bodies in our solar system are as follows :
| Bodies | % Terrestrial | % Icy | % Gaseous |
| Sun | 0.3 | 1.2 | 98.5 |
| Terrestrial Planets | 70 | 30 | 0 |
| Asteriods | 70 | 30 | 0 |
| Jupiter | 13 | 5 | 82 |
| Saturn | 21 | 12 | 67 |
| Uranus | 25 | 60 | 15 |
| Neptune | 20 | 70 | 10 |
| Comets | 15 | 85 | 0 |
The distribution of Mass throughout the Solar System is as follows :
| Object | Mass (% of Total Mass of Solar System) |
| Sun | 99.86 |
| Jovian Planets | 0.132 |
| Terrestrial Planets | 0.003 |
| Asteroids | 0.00003 |
| Comets | 0.0000003 |