We're living through an extraordinary time of exploration. A ?eet of space probes are continually beaming data from their sensors back to Earth. Hidden in this stream of code are startling new discoveries about the worlds we share with the Sun. We will piece together these remarkable and often surprising ?ndings to tell the greatest science story of them all – the life and times of the Solar System.

What emerges is a dramatic tale chronicling the adventures of eight planetary siblings. Born from violence, they grow up together, in time becoming living and breathing worlds, only to fade away one by one as they age. Along the way each world takes on its own unique character which we will come to know as we cross the vastness of space and time to visit them. We'll place our cameras on the surfaces of these worlds at moments of heightened drama. We'll give readers a glimpse of the most memorable moments in the evolution of our star system.

Along the way we will meet all eight of the major planets, plus a supporting cast of moons, asteroids and comets, and a mysterious as yet unseen world way out beyond the Kuiper belt…