Our Solar System
In our solar system there are 8 planets, 168 moons, and 1 star. Our solar system has the only planet that is proven to have life.
Mercury The planets Venus
Mercury: The closest planets to the sun and slightly larger than our moon. On Mercury's day side, temperatures can reach 840 degrees. Mercury's night side can reach hundreds of degrees below zero.
Venus: The second planet from the sun, Venus is extremely hot. Its size and structure are similar to Earth's, and it's toxic atmosphere, which could kill you in seconds, traps heat from the sun.
- Diameter: 3,031 miles
- Orbit: 88 Earth days
- Day: 58.6 Earth days
- Named after: messenger of the Roman gods
- Fun Fact: Mercury has been hit with more meteors than any other planet in our solar system.
Venus: The second planet from the sun, Venus is extremely hot. Its size and structure are similar to Earth's, and it's toxic atmosphere, which could kill you in seconds, traps heat from the sun.
- Diameter: 7,521 miles
- Orbit: 225 Earth days
- Day: 241 Earth days
- Named for: Roman goddess of love and beauty.
- Fun Fact: Venus has generated many reported UFO sightings.
Earth Mars Jupiter
Earth: The third planet from the sun, Earth is a water world in which 3/4 of it is covered in water. It is the only known planet in the whole universe that is known to harbor life.
Mars: The fourth planet from the sun, Mars is thought to have harbored life before and may still now. Mars harbors ice and shares similarities with Earth: It is rocky, has mountains and valleys, and storm systems ranging from localized tornado-like dust devils to planet-engulfing dust storms.
- Diameter: 7,926 miles
- Orbit: 365.24 days
- Day: 23 hours, 56 minutes
- Fun Fact: Earth zips around the sun at more than 18 miles per second.
Mars: The fourth planet from the sun, Mars is thought to have harbored life before and may still now. Mars harbors ice and shares similarities with Earth: It is rocky, has mountains and valleys, and storm systems ranging from localized tornado-like dust devils to planet-engulfing dust storms.
- Diameter: 4,217 miles
- Orbit: 687 Earth days
- Day: 24 hours, 37 minutes
- Named For: Roman god of war
- Fun Fact: It snows on Mars
- Diameter: 88,730 miles
- Orbit: 11.9 Earth years
- Day: 9.8 Earth hours
- Named for: Ruler of the Roman Gods
- Fun fact: Jupiter has dozens of moons, more than any planet in our solar system.
Saturn Uranus Neptune
Saturn: The sixth planet from the sun, Saturn is known for it's iconic rings which are made of ice and rock. Scientists are not yet sure how they formed. The gaseous planet is mostly hydrogen and helium. It has numerous moons.
Uranus: The seventh planet from our Sun, Uranus is the only giant planet whose equator is nearly at right angles to its orbit. Scientists say that planet sized object most likely crashed in to Uranus causing the tilt. This tilt causes Uranus to have seasons that last 20+ years.
Neptune: The eighth and final planet in our solar system, Neptune is known for having strong winds faster then the speed of sound. It has a rocky core and is 17 times more massive than Earth.
- Diameter: 74,900 miles
- Orbit: 29.5 Earth years
- Day: About 10.5 Earth hours
- Named For: Roman God of Agriculture
- Fun Fact: One of Saturn's moons (Pan) is inside of it's rings, and causes the gap.
Uranus: The seventh planet from our Sun, Uranus is the only giant planet whose equator is nearly at right angles to its orbit. Scientists say that planet sized object most likely crashed in to Uranus causing the tilt. This tilt causes Uranus to have seasons that last 20+ years.
- Day: 18 Earth hours
- Named for: Personification of heaven in ancient myth
- Diameter: 31,763 miles
- Orbit: 84 Earth years
- Fun Fact: Uranus was previously thought to be a star before being discovered as a planet in 1781.
Neptune: The eighth and final planet in our solar system, Neptune is known for having strong winds faster then the speed of sound. It has a rocky core and is 17 times more massive than Earth.
- Diameter: 30,775 miles
- Orbit: 165 Earth years
- Day: 19 Earth hours
- Named For: Roman God of Water
- Fun Fact: Neptune was predicted to exist using math.
Dwarf Planets
A dwarf planet has specific requirements, they need to:
- Orbit the sun.
- Have enough mass to assume a nearly round shape.
- Have not cleared the neighborhood around its orbit.
- Not be a moon.
Ceres Pluto
Ceres: Ceres is the largest object in the asteroid belt. Ceres appears to be differentiated into a rocky core and icy mantle, and may harbor an ocean of liquid water under its surface.
Pluto: Pluto used to be the ninth planet in our solar system, but it later became a dwarf planet because it is smaller than our moon. In about 200 years Pluto will be closer to the sun than Neptune.
Pluto: Pluto used to be the ninth planet in our solar system, but it later became a dwarf planet because it is smaller than our moon. In about 200 years Pluto will be closer to the sun than Neptune.