MORE THAN PLANETS

SOLAR WIND PARTICLES

Did you know that the Earth is constantly bombarded with pieces from the Sun? They aren't rocks and flames. The Sun is sending very small particles (usually protons and electrons) into the Solar System. Those particles are called the solar wind. The flow of particles doesn't just go to Earth. The particles hit all of the planets in the Solar System and create an envelope that protects the system.

PROTECTING THE SOLAR SYSTEM

The heliosphere is not something you can touch like a planet or a comet. It is an area around the Solar System that is filled with particles given off by the Sun. Those particles and related magnetic fields are called the solar winds. The solar winds move through the heliosphere until they reach the edge called the heliopause.

PIECES OF A PLANET

Astronomers think that the asteroids are leftover pieces of the Solar System. As other large objects in the system combined to form planets, there were some smaller pieces left over. Their location between Mars and Jupiter could also influence the pieces. They may have never formed a small planet because of the gravitational pulls of Jupiter (very strong) and Mars (very weak). The pulling of the two planets keeps the asteroids separated and circling the Sun in a doughnut shaped area.