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Our Solar System

A collection of pictures of objects in our solar system that have been visited by space probes.

Like our other space galleries, the pictures have not been selected because
of their scientific significance but because of their esthetic value and sometimes because of their historical importance.

For those more interested in the science behind the images, we have provided the respective Wikipedia links.

The Sun

Source: Wikipedia

Mercury

Source: blogontheuniverse

Venus

Source: Wikipedia

NASA's SDO and ESA's SOHO probes have
taken some amazing pictures of our home star.
NASA's Mariner 10 was the first probe to fly by Mercury. Then, Messenger orbited the planet for four years, before crashing into its surface in 2015. The first closeup pictures of Venus were taken by Mariner 10 in 1974, but no camera could penetrate the planet's cloud cover.
In 1990, the Magellan probe took extensive radar images, leading to a composite image of the planet.

Click here for more pictures of the Sun

Click here for more pictures of Mercury

Click here for more pictures of Venus

The Earth

Source: donaldedavis.com

The Earth seen from the ISS

Source: spacecraftearth.com

The Earth seen from the Moon

Source: Wikipedia

Pictures of Earth from space have been taken for as long as there was spaceflight. The first colored picture of the entire Earth was taken in July 1967 by the American satellite DODGE. The International Space Station is humanity's outpost
in Earth orbit. The station's Cupola is an ideal spot to observe and photograph the Earth.
The "Eartrise" picture taken by the crew of Apollo 8
at Christmas Day 1968 is on of the most iconic pictures
of our home planet.

Click here for more pictures of the Earth
seen from orbit

Click here for more pictures of the Earth
seen from the ISS

Click here for more pictures of the Earth
seen from the moon

The Earth seen from far away

Source: NASA

The Moon

Source: Lick Observatory

Lunar Orbit

Source: Lunar & Planetary Institute

Leaving Earth orbit, our planet soon
becomes one star among many.
This picture of the Earth was taken in 2013 by
the Cassini spacecraft in orbit of Saturn.
There is no shortage of iconic pictures of the moon.
This one, taken by American photographer
Laurie Hatch is one of our favorites.
Automatical and crewed spacecrafts have been orbiting the Moon for over 50 years. Here are some of the best pictures from Lunar orbit.

Click here for more pictures of the Earth
seen from other planets

Click here for more early
pictures of the Moon

Click here for more pictures
from Lunar orbit

On the Surface of the Moon

Source: theconversation.com

The Apollo Program

Source: NASA

Mars

Source: spacetelescope.org

Since the landing of Luna 9 in 1966, automatic probes and rovers have sent pictures from the Lunar surface. In the 1970, twelve men walked on the Moon.
Here are some of the most iconic pictures of humanity's first visit to another world.
Leaving Earth orbit, our planet soon
becomes one star among many.
This picture of the Earth was taken in 2013 by
the Cassini spacecraft in orbit of Saturn.

Click here for more pictures
of the Lunar surface

Click here for more pictures
of the Apollo program

Click here for more pictures of Mars

On the Surface of Mars

Source: universetoday.com

Phobos and Deimos

Source: Freie Universität Berlin

Asteroids

Source: Wikipedia

Since 1971, five landers and four rovers have successfully transmitted data and thousands
of pictures from the Martian surface.
The Martian moons are the objects closest to Earth that have never been directly visited by a space probe, but we got some good pictures from flybys. Before reaching the next planet, one has to cross the Asteroid Belt. A number of spacecraft have done so and have taken pictures of over a dozend asteroids.

Click here for more pictures
of the Martian surface

Click here for more pictures of Mars' Moons

Click here to move on to the Asteroid Belt

Ceres and Vesta

Source: Planetary Society

Comets

Source: wordpress.com

Churyumov-Gerasimenko

Source: Planetary Society

We devoted an extra page to the two largest objects in the Asteroid Belt, Ceres and Vesta. Both objects were orbited by the Dawn spacecraft. Since 1985, a number of comets have been visited by space probes. In 1986, an armada of crafts had close encounters with Halley's Comet. In 2014, ESA's Rosetta probe entered orbit around comet Churyumov-Gerasimenko and deployed a lander. We devoted an extra page to that particular comet.

Click here for pictures of Ceres and Vesta

Click here for pictures of comets
visited by spacecrafts

Click here for more pictures of
comet Churyumov-Gerasimenko

Jupiter

Source: NASA/ESA/spacedaily.com

Jupiter Orbit

Source: Johns Hopkins APL

Io

Source: JPL / NASA

The first closeup pictures of the largest planet in the Solar System were delivered during the flyby of Pioneer 10 in 1973. The Galileo probe orbited Jupiter from 1995 to 2003. The Juno spacecraft entered Jupiter's orbit in 2016 and still circles the planet. We devoted extra pages to Jupiter's four largest moons, starting with Io, the most vulcanic object in the Solar System.

Click here for pictures of
Jupiter flybys

Click here for pictures of
Jupiter from orbit

Click here for more pictures of
Jupiter's moon Io

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