The Eight Planets! By: Ashley Saurini

Our Solar System In our solar system, 8 planets circle around our sun everyday in a circular path called orbits. All of the 8 planets travel counter- clockwise!

The Two Parts of the Solar System  The first part is the inner solar system which contains Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars. These four are closest to the sun!  The second part is the outer solar system which contains Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune.

Mercury  Mercury is a small, rocky planet and it is covered in craters just like our moon.  Mercury is the planet that is closest to our sun!  Mercury is one of the fastest moving planets.

Venus  Venus is the second planet from the sun!  Venus is the brightest of the planets.  It is the hottest planet that we have due to the Greenhouse Effect.  Venus is known as Earth’s “sister planet”  The surface of Venus is covered in lava.  Venus is very slow moving, it takes 243 days to spin around the axis ONE time!!

Mars  Mars is named after its color, red. It is known as the “Red Planet”.  Mars is the fourth planet from the sun!  It takes Mars 24 hours and 36 minutes to spin around the axis once, just a little longer of a day than on Earth!  Mars has very large dust storms.

Jupiter  Jupiter is the fifth planet from the sun!  Jupiter is by far the largest planet in the solar system, it is 318 times bigger than Earth!  Jupiter is very gaseous, the swirls we see are tops of clouds high in the atmosphere.  Jupiter has winds that are more than 400 mph!  Jupiter has faint rings like Saturn, but much smaller.  Jupiter has at LEAST 16 moons!

Earth  Earth is the third planet from the sun!  71% of the Earth’s surface is covered in water.  Earth is the only planet that water can exist in liquid form on the surface.  The Earth’s atmosphere is 77% nitrogen and 21% oxygen.  Earth is known to be the most beautiful planet!

Earth’s Crust, Mantle and Core Inner Core Outer Core Mantle Crust

Saturn  Saturn is the root for the word Saturday.  Saturn is the sixth planet from the sun!  Saturn’s rings are very bright!  One day on Saturn is only 10 hours long, Saturn spins very quickly on its axis.  The rings get their color from the sun shining on them from far away.

Uranus  Uranus is the seventh planet from the sun!  Uranus’ blue color is from a gas called methane found in the upper atmosphere.  One day on Uranus is only 17 hours long!  Uranus lays on its side, its North and South poles are in the middle instead of the top and bottom!

Neptune  Neptune was named after the sea of gods because of its deep blue color.  Neptune is the eighth planet from the sun!  One day on Neptune is about 17 hours long!  Neptune has 8 moons.  Neptune has a “Great Dark Spot” which they believe is a whole in the atmosphere!

5 Question Quiz Time!

What is Astronomy? C) The study of outer space A) The study of physics B) Building spaceships D) Studying telescopes

CONTINUE

What are the Eight Planets of our Solar System in Order? A) Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune B) Mercury, Jupiter, Earth, Saturn, Venus, Mars, Uranus, Neptune C) Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Saturn, Neptune, Uranus, Jupiter D) Mercury, Mars, Earth, Venus, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune

CONTINUE

Which Planet is Biggest? A) Jupiter B) Uranus C) Saturn D) Mars

CONTINUE

Which Planet does NOT Have Rings? A) Mars B) Jupiter C) Uranus D) Saturn

CONTINUE

What is the Nearest Planet to the Sun? A) Mars B) Venus C) Mercury D) Earth

FINISH

You have now completed the 5 question quiz! I hope you now know all about our solar system!