The solar system also contains over a million rocky fragments of at least 1km in diameter called asteroids as well as millions more with smaller diameters. Many of these asteroids are an asteroid belt between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter.

Part of the peripheral nervous system, the autonomic nervous system regulates involuntary activity in the heart, stomach, and intestines.

Decomposers (saprotrophs) are organisms such as bacteria and fungi that break down the organic matter in the dead bodies of plants and animals into simple nutrients.

An ecosystem is a biological community of interacting organisms and their physical environment. This includes both the biotic (living) and abiotic (non-living).

The four planets closest to the Sun (Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars) are called terrestrial (Earth-like) planets because, like the Earth, they're solid with inner metal cores covered by rocky surfaces.