Our solar system was born when, in a spiral arm of the Milky Way, a giant rotating cloud of dust and gas began to collapse. Gravity compressed the dust and gases and the cloud became hotter and hotter and began to spin faster. Over the next hundred million years, the gases compressed until the center was so hot that nuclear fusion occurred, releasing considerable energy, combining charged hydrogen atoms to form helium. This process gave birth to a star, our Sun (Our Solar System, nd). Scientists have extensive data documenting the history of the solar system over the past 3.9 billion years, but it actually formed about 4.6 million years ago. The first 700 million years remain a mystery because earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and erosion have erased traces of that time. During these first 700 million years, the planets merged and water and other elements necessary for life were carried to the inner planets (Cowen, 2009). Our solar system is a diverse and extremely interesting point in the universe. Earth's solar system is located in the Milky Way and is part of a system of eight planets orbiting the Sun, the star that is the center of our solar system. The Sun constantly burns gas that heats and lights the Earth and other planets (Solar System Information, n.d.). The planets in our solar system vary greatly in size, composition, distance from the Sun, and atmosphere. Of the 100 to 200 billion stars in the Milky Way, only about 6,000 are visible to the naked eye from Earth, and one of them is the Sun. “Planets” means “wanderers” and are so called because they seemed to travel across the sky. Other objects in the solar system...... middle of paper ...... Atmospheric Administration website: http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/climate/gases.htmlThe effect greenhouse. (nd). Retrieved December 14, 2011, from the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research website: http://www.ucar.edu/learn/1_3_1.htm Gedzelman, S. (2002). Colors of the sky. Weatherwise, 55(1), 20. Retrieved December 6, 2011 from EbscoHost.Blue sky. (nd). Retrieved December 5, 2011, from the University of Wisconsin website: http://cimss.ssec.wisc.edu/wxwise/bluesky.htmlAstronomical Theory of Climate Change. (nd). Retrieved December 9, 2011, from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration website: http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/paleo/milankovitch.htmlSeasons of the year. (nd). Retrieved December 9, 2011, from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration website: http://www-istp.gsfc.nasa.gov/stargaze/Sseasons.htm