I can get some information by targeting a ship but I hear talk of scanning a world or whatever. Is there a key binding in the options panel or is it something you have to select from one of your control panels?
Just target the planet/star and point your ship at it. When you are close enough, you see SCANNING in the bottom left, and hear a tinkling sound. When completed, the information will appear bottom left
An equiped and powered Detailed Surface Scanner will, as the name suggests, provide more detail
There is however an item called Basic-/Intermediate-/Advanced Discovery scanner. you can get by outfitting an internal compartment. This thing can help you find plantets etc.in an yet to you unknown system... for more details i suggest some very educational youtube videos on that topc