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OUR SOLAR SYSTEM Our solar system is part of a spiral galaxy known as the Milky Way. The sun, the center of our solar system, holds eight planets and countless smaller objects such as moons, comets, asteroids and minor planets in its orbit. Our solar system is the only planetary system known to have life. Find out more here: Go back

The Sun is by far the largest object in our Solar System. Our Sun is not unique in the universe. It is a common middle-sized yellow star. There are trillions of other stars in the universe just like it. The Sun was born in a vast cloud of gas and dust around 5 billion years ago. The Sun Go back The Sun is so large that the Earth could easily fit inside the Sun a million times. Because the Sun is so large compared to everything else, it is easily able to hold on to the rest of the matter, causing everything else to orbit around it. Find out more here:

MERCURY The planet Mercury is the closest of the planets to the Sun. Because this planet lies so close to the Sun it is visible to observers on Earth in the late evening or early morning sky. Mercury is made out of a large percentage of heavier elements, mainly iron. It is essentially a large metal ball of iron! The surface of the planet Mercury is covered with craters. These craters have been created by eons of accidental encounters with asteroids and comets. Mercury is just a little bit larger than Earth's moon. The surface of Mercury that faces the Sun can reach about 426 degrees Celsius. On the other hand, the temperature on the nighttime side can plummet to almost -184 degrees Celsius. Go back Find out more here: Mercury takes 3 Earth months for a complete orbit around the Sun.

Venus Venus is in many ways Earth's sister planet. It is almost identical in size, chemistry, gravity and density as the Earth. In other words, Venus is made up of almost the exact same types of materials as the Earth and in about the same amounts. Venus is a deadly world where the surface temperature is hot enough to cook a meal in mere minutes. The atmosphere contains mostly carbon dioxide, making Venus a highly toxic place. No living thing would ever be able to survive! Venus has volcanoes, mountains and sand, just like Earth. The temperatures on Venus can reach almost 482 degrees Celsius. Go back Find out more here: The planet takes 7 Earth months to orbit the Sun.

EARTH Earth is the only planet we know of to have liquid water and life! One day on Earth takes 24 hours (this is the time it takes the Earth to rotate or spin once). Earth makes a complete orbit around the sun (a year in Earth time) in about 365 days. Earth is a rocky planet, with surface of mountains, valleys, canyons, plains and so much more. What makes Earth different from the other planets is that it is also an ocean planet: 70 percent of the Earth's surface is covered in oceans. Our atmosphere protects us from incoming meteoroids, most of which break up in our atmosphere before they can strike the surface as meteorites. Go back Find out more here: om/watch?v=YMY_- xYmJvE om/watch?v=YMY_- xYmJvE

THE MOON The moon is the brightest and largest feature in the night sky- reflecting light off the Sun. It is the Earths only satellite. The moon makes a complete orbit around Earth in 27 Earth days and rotates or spins at that same rate, or in that same amount of time. This causes the moon to keep the same side or face towards Earth during the course of its orbit. The moon is a rocky, solid-surface body, with much of its surface cratered and pitted from impacts. The moon and the Sun are not the same size. Its current orbital distance only makes it appear almost the same size. Go back Find out more here:

MARS Mars excites scientists because its mild temperament is more like the Earth's than any of the other planets. Evidence suggests that Mars once had rivers, streams, lakes, and even an ocean! You may sometimes hear Mars referred to as the "Red Planet." This is because the surface of Mars is red. If you stood on the surface of Mars, you would see red dirt and rocks everywhere. As technology advanced even more, scientists and researchers were able to actually land spacecraft on the surface of Mars called the Mars Rover. Mars also has the Solar System's biggest volcano, Olympus Mons, which is nearly 3 times larger than Mount Everest! Go back Find out more here: Mars takes almost 2 years to orbit the Sun!

ASTEROID BELT An asteroid is a large rock in outer space. Some can be very large, while others are as small as a grain of sand. Due to their smaller size, asteroids do not have enough gravity to pull themselves into the shape of a ball. The asteroid belt is divided into an inner belt and an outer belt. The inner belt, which is made up of asteroids that are within 402 million km of the Sun, contains asteroids that are made of metals. The outer belt, which includes 402 million km beyond the Sun, consists of rocky asteroids. These asteroids appear darker than the asteroids of the inner belt, and are rich in carbon. Asteroids are left over materials from the formation of the Solar System. The belt is between Mars and Jupiter. Go back

JUPITER Jupiter is by far the largest planet in our Solar System. The Earth could fit inside Jupiter more than 1000 times. Jupiter is a very stormy planet. There are storms found throughout the atmosphere, and most of the storms seem to never end. Jupiter is considered a gas giant because it does not have a solid surface. Under its atmosphere is a large liquid ocean of hydrogen and water. Jupiter spins really fast; it only takes 10 hours to go from night to day on Jupiter Jupiter has rings! They are faint and are only able to be viewed when Jupiter passes in front of the Sun. Go back Find out more here: Jupiter takes 12 Earth years to orbit the Sun!

SATURN In many ways, Saturn is similar to Jupiter, but it is much smaller. It is the second largest planet in our Solar System and it is a gas giant like Jupiter. Under the clouds of methane, hydrogen and helium, the sky gradually turns into liquid until it becomes a giant ocean of liquid chemicals. Saturn is well known for its rings. Its beautiful rings are approximately 273,266 km wide. But the rings are amazingly thin, estimated to be less than a kilometre thick. The rings are not solid but rather are made up of particles of ice, dust and rocks. The rings are held in place around Saturn by the moons that also orbit this large planet. The gravity of these moons also cause the gaps that are seen in between the rings. Go back Find out more here: Saturn takes almost 29.5 Earth years to orbit the Sun!

Like Jupiter and Saturn, Uranus is a gas giant. But Uranus is a little different. Unlike all the other planets and most of the moons in our Solar System, Uranus spins on its side. URANUS Uranus is an extremely cold planet. It has been called the "ice giant." It is believed that Uranus is made up of rock and ice and has a large rocky core. Scientists also believe that on the surface of Uranus there may be a huge ocean! Uranus also has rings, though they don't stretch out as far as the rings of Saturn. The rings of Uranus are made up of black dust particles and large rocks. Go back Find out more here: It takes 84 Earth years for Uranus to orbit the Sun.

Neptune Neptune is the smallest of the four gas giants in our Solar System. Much like Saturn and Uranus, Neptune's atmosphere contains hydrogen, helium and methane. Neptune is a very windy place. No other planet in the Solar System has winds that are as strong as Neptune’s. When Voyager 2 visited Neptune, its pictures showed a giant storm. This storm is called the "Great Dark Spot" because it appears as a dark oval shape on the surface of the planet. We do not know how long this storm has been active or if it is still present. More recently, the Hubble Space Telescope sent pictures back to Earth and there was no sign of the Great Dark Spot. These pictures did show two other dark spots that eventually faded away. Go back Find out more here: Neptune takes 165 Earth years to orbit the Sun.