3.  Mercury has no atmosphere. This means there is no air.  Mercury is a planet of extreme temperatures. During the day, temperatures can reach over 800° F. At night the temperatures can drop to almost 300° F.  A year on Mercury is only 88 Earth days. One day is only 59 Earth days.

4.  Although it is farther from the Sun than Mercury, Venus is even hotter. Temperatures can climb up to 900° F.  A year on Venus is 225 Earth-days long. One day is 243 Earth- days long.  You can find Venus shining in the western sky at night.

5.  Earth is the only planet with air we can breathe.  From space Earth looks like a ball covered with white clouds.  Earth is the only planet with plants and animals.

6.  A year on Mars is 687 Earth-days long.  Mars has 2 moons.  Mars does NOT have an atmosphere.

7.  Jupiter has 16 moons that we know of.  Jupiter is twice as large as the other 8 planets put together.  If Jupiter were hollow more than 1,000 planets the size of Earth could fit inside it.

8.  Saturn has at least 18 moons.  Saturn was the first known planet.  Saturn is about 10 times as large as Earth.

9.  A man weighing 150 pounds on Earth would weigh 162 pounds on Uranus.  Uranus has 5 large moons and 10 small moons.  A year on Uranus is 84 Earth-years long. A day is 17 Earth- hours.

10.  Neptune looks like a twin of Uranus.  Neptune is a large blue- green ball of gas with a center of rock and iron.  Neptune’s color comes from a gas called methane.

11.  Pluto is different from the other 8 planets.  Pluto is the smallest planet. It is smaller than our moon.  Pluto is also the coldest spot in the solar system.