In our wonderful Solar System there are 8 planets that orbit the Sun. There
are two types of planets and they are terrestrial planets (or hard rocky planets) and jovian planets (better known
as the gas giants)
They are each unique in their own special way and this page will have some facts about each of them. We will
be covering them in order from closest to the Sun to furtherst.
Name: Mercury
Day: 58 Earth Days
Year: 88 Earth Days
Type: Terrestrial (Rocky)
Info:
Mercury is the closest planet to the Sun in our Solar System and the start of our journey. It has long days but a short
year because it spins slowly but orbits the
Sun at a very fast rate. Thanks to this slow spin the Sun only rises
here once every 180 Earth Days!
It is the smallest planet and despite being the closest to the Sun
it isn't actually the hottest. Mercury is
one of only two planets that do not have any moons. After Mercury we have the planet Venus.
Name: Venus
Day: 243 Earth Days
Year: 225 Earth Days
Type: Terrestrial (Rocky)
Info:
Venus is the second planet to the Sun but despite not being the closest, it is in fact the hottest.
It is so hot on Venus that metals like lead would turn to liquid just being there.
Venus spins very slowly and most
unusally it spins the opposite direction of most other planets. The planet orbits the Sun faster than it spins so a
year on Venus is actually
shorter than a day on Venus. Venus, like Mercury, does not have a moon.
Name: Earth
Day: 1 Earth Days
Year: 365 Earth Days
Type: Terrestrial (Rocky)
Info:
Mother Earth might be the most speical of them all. Many of us might not see it that way because we live
here but that fact alone is what makes it so special! Earth is the only
planet that is capable of supporting life as we know it. Earth is covered in about 70% water and has an
atmosphere that protects us from meteoriods and harmful radiation from the Sun.
Even though we live here we still have plenty to learn about our planet and study it constantly with Satelites.
The next planet on our trip is the red planet Mars.
Name: Mars
Day: 24.6 Earth Hours
Year: 687 Earth Days
Type: Terrestrial (Rocky)
Info:
Mars otherwise known as the "Red Planet" is a cold desert world around half the size of Earth. Mars is similar
to Earth in the fact that it has seasons, weather, and polar ice caps. Scientists
believe that there was once liquid water on Mars but that was a long long time ago. Scientists also want to know
if Mars had life on it at one point or if it could possibly support life
in the future. Mars has two moons and it is the only other planet that we have sent rovers to to explore the surface.
Next up is the first gas giant, Jupiter.
Name: Jupiter
Day: 10 Earth Hours
Year: 11.8 Earth Years
Type: Jovian (Gas Giant)
Info:
Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and also the largest. It is covered in clouds and has storms like its
famous Great Red Spot that have been going on for hundreds of years. Jupiter is the
first planet in our lineup that has rings but they are very hard to see. Jupiter is very greedy when it comes to
moons and it has 79 confirmed moons orbiting it. Jupiter's atmosphere is very
thick and doesn't have a solid surface. Although scientist think it might have a solid inner core somewhere buried
under all those clouds. The next planet to visit is Saturn.
Name: Saturn
Day: 10.7 Earth Hours
Year: 29 Earth Years
Type: Jovian (Gas Giant)
Info:
Saturn is another Gas Giant like its neighbor Jupiter but unlike Jupiter's faint rings, Saturn has very vibrant
and easy to see. They are extremely beautiful to observe, the rings are made up of chunks
of ice and rock. There are actually 7 rings in total. Saturn has 53 moons and 29 unconfirmed moons that
Scientists need to learn more about. Famous astronomer Galileo first viewed Saturn
with a telescope back in the 1600s. Although, he thought he was viewing 3 planets or a planet that had handles
he was actually viewing the rings of Saturn. The next planet is Uranus.
Name: Uranus
Day: 17 Earth Hours
Year: 84 Earth Years
Type: Jovian (Ice/Gas Giant)
Info:
Uranus is the 7th planet in our Solar System and is another Jovian planet, however instead of a gas giant it is an
ice giant. Uranus has methane in its atmosphere that gives it its blue color. Uranus also has rings
but they are also faint like Jupiter's. Uranus is special because it rotates in the opposite direct of most other
planets like Venus, but it also rotates on its side it is the only planet that does this. Uranus has
only been visited by one satelite Voyager 2. Last but not least is Neptune.
Name: Neptune
Day: 16 Earth Hours
Year: 165 Earth Years
Type: Jovian (Ice/Gas Giant)
Info:
Neptune is the last planet in our Solar System but certainly not least. It is very dark, windy, and cold. It is 30
times further from the Sun than Earth and has methane in its atmosphere like Uranus so it too has the
blue hue. Neptune has 6 rings but that can be difficult to see. Neptune has 14 moons that orbit it and has also
only been visited by Voyager 2. Neptune is very lonely and only has Uranus as its neighbor. It does however
have Pluto whom use to be a planet back in the day but lost the right to call itself a planet. That marks the end of
our wonderful atmosphere!
If you are feeling up for a challenge then why not follow this link to take a quiz to see how much you learned!