* The nucleus: He envisioned a tiny, dense, positively charged core at the center of the atom, like the sun in our solar system.

* Electrons: He thought of electrons, negatively charged particles, orbiting the nucleus, like planets orbiting the sun.

* Empty space: Most of the atom, according to Rutherford, was empty space, just like the space between planets in our solar system.

This model was a revolutionary step forward from the earlier "plum pudding" model, which imagined a positively charged sphere with electrons embedded in it. Rutherford's model explained the results of his gold foil experiment, which showed that most alpha particles passed straight through the foil, while a few were deflected at large angles, suggesting a concentrated positive charge at the center.

It's important to remember that Rutherford's model was later refined by Niels Bohr and others, leading to the quantum mechanical model of the atom that we understand today. However, Rutherford's solar system model provided a crucial foundation for our understanding of atomic structure.