Sources:
https://theplanets.org
http://space-facts.com
http://wonderopolis.org/wonder/why-is-pluto-no-longer-a-planet
The Solar System
The Sun:
- The sun is the center of our solar system. All the other planets orbit around the sun.
- The sun is primarily made of two gases, hydrogen and helium.
- It is 4.6 BILLION years old and the surface temperature is around 5500°C (9932°F).
- Over ONE MILLION Earths could fit inside the sun. It’s REALLY big.
- The sun is classified as a Yellow Dwarf Star.
Sources: https://theplanets.org
http://space-facts.com
http://wonderopolis.org/wonder/why-is-pluto-no-longer-a-planet
Mercury:
- Mercury is the closest planet to the sun.
- Mercury is the smallest planet.
- Since Mercury is smaller than Earth it has less gravity so your weight on Mercury would
be 38% of what it is on Earth.
- A day on the surface of Mercury is 176 Earth days.
- Mercury does not have any moons or rings.
Sources: https://theplanets.org
http://space-facts.com
http://wonderopolis.org/wonder/why-is-pluto-no-longer-a-planet
Venus:
- Venus is the second planet from the sun, it is also the brightest object in Earth’s sky
after the sun and moon.
- One day on Venus is longer than one year on Earth.
- The surface temperature on Venus is 462°C (863.6°F).
- Most planets rotate counter-clockwise on their axis, however, Venus rotates clockwise.
- Venus is the closest planet to Earth.
Sources: https://theplanets.org
http://space-facts.com
http://wonderopolis.org/wonder/why-is-pluto-no-longer-a-planet
Earth:
- Earth is the third planet from the sun.
- It takes about 365 days (1 year) for the Earth to make a complete rotation around the
sun.
- Earth is the only planet not named after a mythological god or goddess.
- The gravity between the Earth and the moon create the tides (the rise and fall of the sea
levels).
- 70% of the Earth’s surface is covered by water.
Sources: https://theplanets.org
http://space-facts.com
http://wonderopolis.org/wonder/why-is-pluto-no-longer-a-planet
Mars:
- Mars is the second smallest planet in the solar system.
- The tallest mountain in the solar system is on mars, Olympus Mons is 21km (68,897 ft.)
high, that’s 2.37 times the height of Mount Everest.
- The sun looks about half it’s size from Mars as it does from Earth.
- It takes mars 687 Earth days to complete an orbit around the sun.
- Mars has seasons like Earth but they last twice as long.
Sources: https://theplanets.org
http://space-facts.com
http://wonderopolis.org/wonder/why-is-pluto-no-longer-a-planet
Jupiter:
- Jupiter is the largest planet in the solar system, it is 318 times the size of Earth.
- Jupiter has the shortest days of all the planets, the day only lasts around 9 hours and 55
minutes.
- The great red spot on Jupiter is a giant storm that has raged for 350 years. The spot is so
large that 3 Earths could fit inside it.
- Jupiter’s moon, Ganymede, is the largest moon in the solar system, it’s larger than the
planet Mercury.
- Jupiter has unique cloud features, it’s upper atmosphere is divided into cloud belts and
zones, they are made primarily of ammonia crystals and sulfur.
Sources: https://theplanets.org
http://space-facts.com
http://wonderopolis.org/wonder/why-is-pluto-no-longer-a-planet
Saturn:
- Saturn is best known for it’s ring system. It has over 30 rings made mostly of ice chunks,
rocks, and dust.
- Saturn has 150 moons and moonlets that are all frozen.
- Saturn has a mass that is 95 times the mass of Earth.
- A year on Saturn is about 29.4 years on Earth.
- Saturn is made up of mostly hydrogen.
Sources: https://theplanets.org
http://space-facts.com
http://wonderopolis.org/wonder/why-is-pluto-no-longer-a-planet
Uranus:
- Uranus was the first planet discovered by a telescope.
- It has 13 rings and 27 moons.
- Uranus is about the size of 15 Earths.
- Uranus, like Venus, rotates clockwise on it’s axis.
- A day on Uranus is only 17 hours and 14 minutes.
Sources: https://theplanets.org
http://space-facts.com
http://wonderopolis.org/wonder/why-is-pluto-no-longer-a-planet
Neptune:
- Neptune is the last planet in the solar system, the furthest away from the sun.
- It takes 164.8 Earth days for Neptune to orbit around the sun.
- Neptune has 14 moons and 5 rings.
- The climate on Neptune is very active, large storms sweep across it. The largest storm
was the Great Dark Spot in 1989 which lasted about 5 years.
- The average temperature on Neptune is -214°C (-353°F).
Sources: https://theplanets.org
http://space-facts.com
http://wonderopolis.org/wonder/why-is-pluto-no-longer-a-planet
Pluto:
- Pluto used to be considered the 9th planet in the solar system, however, it is now
classified as a dwarf planet because it’s gravity does not sweep and clear the space
around it as it orbits. The definition of a planet changed in 2006 so that it now requires
that the gravity of a planet sweep and clear the space around it as it orbits in order to be
considered a planet therefore Pluto is no longer a planet.
- Pluto has 5 moons.
- Pluto is very small, only 17% the size of Earth’s moon.
- Pluto is one third water and contains 3 times more water than all of Earth’s oceans. The
other two thirds are rock mostly covered with ice.
- In the 76 years between the discovery of Pluto and its reclassification in 2006, Pluto only
completed one third of it’s orbit around the sun.
Sources: https://theplanets.org
http://space-facts.com
http://wonderopolis.org/wonder/why-is-pluto-no-longer-a-planet
