The Solar System Explained in Simple Terms
The solar system is located approximately 24,000 to 27,000 light-years from the center of the Milky Way. (The Milky Way contains between 100 billion and 400 billion stars, of which the Sun is just one.) The Sun orbits the galactic center at a speed of 220 km/s, completing one orbit every 250 million years. This causes Earth's climate and the natural world to undergo a 250-million-year cycle. The Sun's orbit is generally oriented toward the constellation Vega, near Hercules.