Malynda Chizek

How Big is the Solar System?

Let’s take a trip… ☼The Space Shuttle travels at 17,000 miles per hour. How long would it take to cross the Solar System?

Begin at the Sun ☼We’ll start at the Sun, and find out how old we would be when we finally reach Pluto! ☼The Sun lies almost at the center of our Solar System. Because Jupiter is so large, the center of the Solar System is not at the center of the Sun, but is still somewhere inside of the Sun.

The Sun is actually just an average star, made mostly of hydrogen and helium.

On to Mercury ☼Mercury is 35,964,590 miles from the Sun. ☼Even traveling at 17,000 miles per hour, it still takes 3 months to reach Mercury! ☼Mercury is a gray, rocky planet which always has one side facing the Sun.

Mercury Mercury travels around the Sun once every 87 days. The temperature on the daytime side reaches 806 degrees Fahrenheit, while the night side is a chilly -130 degrees!! Mercury has no moons.

Next Stop… Venus ☼The second planet is 67,200,000 miles from the Sun. ☼It takes an additional 2 and a half months to get there. (Now you are 5 and a half months older!) ☼Venus is yellow, almost the size of the Earth, and has a very thick, poisonous atmosphere.

Venus Venus’ year is 224 days, but its day is 243 days! Venus rotates backwards compared to all other planets except Uranus. It is the hottest planet… almost 900 degrees!

On to Earth! We live on the third planet in our Solar System, 92,900,000 miles from the Sun. The trip from Venus would take 2 months, we have aged 7 and a half months since we left the Sun! Earth is the only planet in the Solar System to have liquid on its surface. It is also the largest rocky planet.

Earth Earth’s temperature ranges from -126 degrees to 135 degrees. Earth is the first planet we encounter with a moon! Just for reference… our year is days long, and our day is 23 hours and 56 minutes long

Next… Mars The fourth planet in the Solar System is 128,000,000 miles from the Sun. From Earth, it takes another 3 months of travel. Now we’ve aged 10 and a half months. Mars is well known for its reddish color, caused by the iron in the soil. (And by the rovers currently exploring the surface!)

Mars Mars’ day is similar to ours… 24 hours, 40 minutes, but it’s year is 686 days (almost 2 years!) Its temperatures range from -124 degrees to 23 degrees. Mars also has two tiny moons

On to Jupiter The fifth planet in the Solar System is 483,000,000 miles from the Sun. This trip will take 2 years and 5 months! We’ve aged 3 years and 3 months since we started at the Sun Jupiter is the largest planet in the Solar System. Similar to the Sun, it is also mostly made of Hydrogen and Helium.

Jupiter Jupiter spins very quickly, its day is 10 hours long. A year on Jupiter is 12 years on Earth It is mostly made of gas, with a metallic core. Jupiter has more than 60 moons counted so far

Next Stop, Saturn Our sixth planet lies 886,000,000 miles from the Sun! It takes 2 years and 9 months to travel this far. Now we’re 6 years older than we started as. Saturn is yellow, white, and brown. It is well known for its fantastic rings, first seen by Galileo in the 1600’s.

Saturn Saturn’s day is also very short, 10 and a half hours! A Saturn year is 30 years on Earth. At last count, Saturn has 60 moons.

On to Uranus Our seventh planet is 1,783,000,000 miles from the Sun. It will take another 6 years and 3 months to reach! (12 years and 3 months gone!) Uranus is greenish-blue. It was the first planet discovered with a telescope, in 1781.

Uranus Uranus is unique in the fact that it orbits on its side, as well as backwards. A Uranian day is 17 hours an 15 monutes. A Uranian year is 84 years. Uranus has 27 known moons.

Next, Neptune Neptune, the 8 th planet in the Solar System is 2,793,000,000 miles from the sun. It takes 6 years and 10 months to reach! (19 years and one month older now!) Neptune is a bluish color. Similar to Jupiter, it also has a giant spot, but this one is dark blue.

Neptune Neptune’s day is 16 hours long. A year on Neptune is 165 years on Earth. Neptune has 13 known moons. Neptune is the furthest planet from the Sun.

Last Stop, Pluto! Pluto was demoted to “dwarf planet” by the IAU in August, 2006, but it’s still worth a trip! Pluto is 3,670,000,000 miles from the Sun. This trip will take an additional 6 years. Overall, we have aged 25 years and one month since we left the Sun!

Pluto Pluto’s day is 6 days and 9 hours long. Its year is 248 years long. Pluto has 3 known moons Its surface temperature is -369 degrees!

The “Edge” of the Solar System There are many other small, rocky dwarf planets out far beyond Pluto’s orbit. These extent out to 21 trillion miles! A trip to the edge of our Solar System would take 120 years and 6 months if we continued from Pluto. The Solar System is not a small place!

How Big are the Planets? Imagine the Earth (which is really 7930 miles wide) is only 3 inches wide. The Sun (really 865,000 miles wide) would be 27 feet, 3 inches Mercury (3030 miles) would be just over one inch! Venus (7520 miles) would be almost 3 inches

The Moon (1215 miles) is a little smaller than 1 inch. Mars(4215 miles) is 1 and a half inches. Jupiter (88,210 miles) is 2 feet, nine inches Saturn (74,130 miles) is 2 feet, 4 inches Uranus (32,190 miles) is 1 foot Neptune (30,760 miles) is 11 and a half inches Pluto (1500 miles) is just over half an inch. The Solar System is 256 miles wide.