1. Comparing Distances from the Sun to Planets in our Solar System

2. What is the Solar System?
The solar system is our sun and everything that travels around it. The sun is the center of our solar system and it is the largest object in our system.
There are 8 planets (Pluto is a dwarf planet) and their moons, along with comets, asteroids, and other space objects that orbit the sun.

3. Terms You Need to Know
Celestial Body – an object in space like a moon, planet, or star.
Gaseous Planet – a planet composed of mostly of hydrogen and helium with a small rocky core. Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune are called Gas Giants.
Spacecraft – craft designed to be used outside of Earth’s atmosphere such as robotic spacecraft, probes, satellites, space shuttles, and space stations.

4. Order of the Planets

5. A Trick to Help Remember the Order of the Planets
My – Mercury
Very – Venus
Excellent – Earth
Mother – Mars
Just – Jupiter
Served - Saturn
Us – Uranus
Nachos - Neptune

6. Distance Between the Planets Demonstration
We will go into the hallway and use the floor tiles to create a model that will represent the distances between the planets.
Remember to use your inside voices.

7. Review Questions
Compare the distance of the inner planets from the sun to the distance of the outer planets from the sun.
The inner planets are close to the sun, but the outer planets are far away from the sun.
Compare the distances between the inner planets to the distance between the outer planets.
The inner planets are close together, but the outer planets are spaced far apart.