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Caption: How old is the Solar System? We usually say about 4.6 billion years old. But here’s a fun way to think about it. We measure our age by how many times Earth has … more How old is the Solar System? We usually say about 4.6 billion years old. But here’s a fun way to think about it. We measure our age by how many times Earth has orbited the Sun. One orbit = one year. But the Sun isn’t sitting still. It’s racing around the centre of the Milky Way at about 230 km/s, roughly 26,000 light-years from the galactic centre. So while Earth is orbiting the Sun… the entire Solar System is orbiting the galaxy. Astronomers call this a galactic year — the time it takes the Sun to complete one orbit around the Milky Way. And that takes about 230 million Earth years. So if the Solar System is around 4.6 billion years old, and each galactic orbit takes 230 million years… That means our Solar System is only about 20 galactic years old. #Astronomy #SolarSystem #MilkyWay #FunFact #Space less
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