Final answer:
The solar system consists of the Sun and many smaller objects, including planets, moons, and debris like asteroids and comets. These objects formed from a cloud of gas and dust, and the Sun and planets likely formed together in a spinning cloud called the solar nebula.
Step-by-step explanation:
The solar system consists of the Sun and many smaller objects. This includes the planets, their moons and rings, as well as debris such as asteroids, comets, and dust. These objects formed together with the Sun about 4.5 billion years ago from a cloud of gas and dust.
Astronomers believe that the Sun and the planets formed together in a spinning cloud of gas and dust called the solar nebula. This is supported by observations of similar circumstellar disks around other stars. The material in the solar nebula first coalesced into planetesimals, which then formed the planets and moons.
There are four distinct classes of objects in the solar system: the inner terrestrial planets, the outer giant planets, the icy dwarf planets on the fringes of the main planetary system, and smaller objects like asteroids, comets, and cosmic dust.