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Our planet is just one in what is called the solar system. We share this corner of space with 7 other planets (and Pluto*), their 60 moons, an asteroid belt, some comets and the Kuiper belt. In this section I am going to talk about our local solar neighbourhood and how much of it you can see from our little planet.

* Pluto was downgraded from planet status on August 24th 2006 it was reclassified as a dwarf planet

Moon

Most peoples’ first encounter with celestial bodies is with our own moon. Our moon was originally formed some 4.3 billion years ago when a large chunk of rock (about the size of Mars) slammed into the Earth. Due to the Moon's own orbit and rotation period only one side of the moon ever faces the Earth. Ever since I was a child I've looked towards the moon with awe, something that you will probably be able to tell from all my pictures.

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Sun

When we think of the stars in the sky we tend to overlook our own sun. Alongside all the others stars in the galaxy it is of average size, temperature and brightness. Temperatures at its core are estimated at a scorching 15 million ^oC. This is relatively cool compared to other stars. The Sun appears to have been active for 4.6 billion years and has enough fuel to go on for another five billion years or so. At the end of its life it will begin to swell, ultimately growing so expanding far out enough into the solar system that it will swallow the Earth. After a billion years as a red giant, it will suddenly collapse into a white dwarf. It may then take a trillion years to cool off completely. Every second, the sun produces energy equivalent to 35,000,000 times the annual electricity consumption of North America. 

--> IMPORTANT <--
Never look at the sun through your telescope, camera or binoculars.
It WILL instantly damage your eyes. Always use a high quality sun filter.  

Mercury

Mercury is the closest plant to the sun, but is fairly difficult to see due to its low position in the sky. At less than half the diameter of the Earth it is a small planet that resembles our own Moon with its surface being dotted with thousands of craters. During the day its surface is scorched by soaring temperature and sunlight, yet over night it plummets below freezing.
Moons: None

Venus

Venus is sometimes referred to as our sister planet due to its closeness in size (only 400 miles in diameter less) and makeup. On its orbit it comes within 25 million miles, closer than any other planet, and therefore after the sun and moon is the brightest object in the night sky. It may well be very similar to Earth, but it’s not somewhere we would like to live - clouds of sulphuric acid (H²SO⁴), an atmosphere of almost entirely Carbon Dioxide (CO²) and gravity about 90 times greater than on Earth make this a truly inhospitable place.
Moons: None

Earth

Our home planet, the largest of the four inner planets, is 3 planets from the sun in what is called the 'safe zone'. Named this because any closer in and it would be too hot to survive and any further out and it would be too cold. Earth, as far as we know, is the only planet in our Solar System to support life and so far this is also true for the rest of the universe - can that really be possible?
Moons: one

Mars

Nicknamed the Red Planet due to its surface of red deserts. Venus may share the physical characteristics of Earth but it's Mars that is the most similar. It has a 24 hour day, what could be described as seasons and polar ice caps. However before we all rush off it might be noted that the temperature on Mars rarely rises above freezing, with a thin atmosphere with almost no oxygen.
Moons: Two - (Deimon & Phobos)

Jupiter

Jupiter is truly a giant, it is the largest of all the planets so much so you could fit all the other planets of the Solar System inside it. Jupiter has the shortest days of the 8 planets, rotating once on its axis in under 10 hours. This size and speed has played a major part in our very survival. Its size and immense gravitational pull has been our saviour from many space born attacks from comets.
Moons: Sixty Three - (Adrastea, Aitne, Amalthea, Ananke, Aoede, Arche, Autonoe, Callisto, Carme, Callirrhoe, Carpo, Chaldene, Cyllene, Elara, Erinome, Euanthe, Eukelade, Euporie, Europa, Eurydome, Ganymede, Harpalyke, Hegemone, Helike, Hermippe, Himalia, Io, Iocaste, Isonone, Kale, Kallichore, Kalyke, Kore, Leda, Lysithea, Magaclite, Metis, Mneme, Orthosie, Pasiphae, Pasithee, Praxidike, Sinope, Sponde, S/2000 J11, S/2003 J2, S/2003 J3, S/2003 J4, S/2003 J5, S/2003 J9, S/2003 J10, S/2003 J12, S/2003 J15, S/2003 J16, S/2003 J17, S/2003 J18, S/2003 J19, S/2003 J 23, Taygete, Thebe, Thelxinoe, Themisto, Thyone)

Saturn

Other than Earth, Saturn is probably the most well known member of the Solar System, and it owes this to its rings. From Earth through a modest pair of binoculars or a telescope they may look solid but they are in fact tiny rocks and dust trapped in this giant’s orbit. Although Saturn is huge, it is surprisingly light, if there was a body of water large enough to contain it then it would float.
Moons: Fifty Nine - (Aegir Albiorix Atlas Bebhionn Bergelmir Bestla Calypso Daphnis Dione Enceladus Epimetheus Erriapo Farbauti Fenrir Fornjot Hati Helene Hyperion Hyrokkin Iapetus Ijiraq Janus Kari Kiviuq Loge Methone Mimas Mundilfari Narvi Paaliaq Pallene Pan Pandora Phoebe Polydeuce Prometheus Rhea Siarnaq Skathi Skoll Surtur Suttungr S/2004 S07 S/2004 S12 S/2004 S13 S/2004 S17 S/2006 S1 S/2006 S3 S/2006 S4 S/2006 S6 S/2007 S1 S/2007 S2 S/2007 S3 Tarvos Telesto Tethys Thrymr Titan Ymir)

Uranus

Uranus is the 3rd largest of the planets (behind Jupiter and Saturn) yet it was only discovered in 1781. Two things of interest (or unusual) about this gas giant is that a) apart from a few small cloud fronts its surface is almost entirely featureless and b) it rotates on its side!
Moons: Twenty Seven - (Ariel Belinda Bianca Caliban Cordelia Cressida Cupid Desdemona Juliet Mab Margaret Miranda Oberon Ophelia Portia Prospero Puck Rosalind Setebos Stephano Sycorax S/1986 U10 S/2001 U2 S/2001 U3 Titania Trinculo Umbriel)

Neptune

Neptune is the outermost of the gas giants. Like Uranus it has an atmosphere rich in hydrogen, helium and methane, and it too has faint rings. Neptune was discovered in 1846 after disturbances caused by the gravitational pull of Uranus were noted. Little else was known until Voyager 2 space probe made a fly by in 1989.
Moons: Thirteen - (Despina Galatea Halimede Larissa Laomedeia Naiad Nereid Neso Proteus Psamathe Sao Thalassa Triton)

Dwalf Planets

Pluto

Although only two thirds the size of our Moon (and smaller then Io, Europa, Ganymede, Callisto, Titan and Triton) Pluto was regarded as a planet in the solar system for many years. However on August 24th 2006 it was reclassified as a dwarf planet. The surface temperature on Pluto varies between about -235 and -210 ^oC. It has one orbiting moon, Charon, although Hubble has recently discovered two more objects in orbit, named Nix and Hydra.
Moons: Three - (Charon Nix Hydra)

Eris

Astronomers have discovered a new object that some people are calling our Solar System's "tenth planet". The object is a large sphere of ice and rock similar to Pluto. It orbits the Sun on the edge of the Solar System.

Eris looks like it is about 2,700 km (1,700 miles) across. It is too far away and very hard to see, even with the world's biggest telescopes to be sure, but it's probably larger than Pluto.
Moons: One - (Dysnomia)

Ceres

Ceres is the largest asteroid in the main asteroid belt. It was classified as a "dwarf planet" in 2006, along with Pluto and Eris. With a diameter of about 975 km (605 miles), it is by far the largest and most massive body in the main asteroid belt, and contains about a third of the belt's total mass. Ceres orbits the Sun once every 4.6 years. Its orbit lies between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. The asteroid turns on its axis once every 9 hours, so that's how long a day is on Ceres.
Moons: None

Kuiper belt

The outer edge of our Solar System is not empty, it is filled with large and small spheres of ice and rock. Astronomers call this huge group of planetoids "Kuiper Belt Objects", or "KBOs" for short. The Kuiper Belt is a bit like the asteroid belt, but much farther from the Sun. Scientists think there are many thousands of KBOs, although only a few hundred have been discovered so far.

KBOs are gigantic balls of ice and rock. Some are relatively small, some are tens of km across, and some are as big as the 'planet' Pluto, and may be larger! They orbit the Sun on the edge of the Solar System, near Pluto. They orbit between 30 to 50 AU (1 AU = Earth to Sun distance) from the Sun. Some astronomers think the Kuiper Belt goes out to 100 AU. KBOs take 200 years or longer to orbit the Sun!