THE SOLAR SYSTEM

Kids Learning

THE SOLAR SYSTEM

MERCURY
Mercury is the first planet from the sun, 36 million miles away from the sun and it has no moons. It is a small, rocky planet and very hot. It has dusty surface filled with craters. Mercury looks a lot like Earth’s moon. A year is 88 days long and one day on Mercury is as long as 59 days on Earth.

VENUS

Venus is the second planet from the sun, 67 million miles away from the sun and has no moons. Venus is almost as big as the Earth and you can find it shining in the night sky. There is strong winds that blow Venus’s thick, yellow clouds around. A year on Venus is 225 days long and one day there is as long as 243 Earth days.

EARTH

Earth is the third planet from the sun, 93 million miles away from the sun and has one moon. Earth is a ball of rock almost covered by oceans. It is not too hot and not too cold, just right for us to live on it. From space Earth looks like a blue ball covered with white clouds. Under the clouds you can see blue oceans and brown and green land. A year on Earth is 365 long and one day on Earth is 24 hours long.

MARS

Mars is the fourth planet from the sun. 141 million miles from the sun and has 2 moons. Mars is desert except for the ice caps at each end of the planet. It has tall mountains and deep canyons. The soil is full of rust and Mars looks red. Strong winds blow up big storms of red dust that makes the sky look pink. The nights are very cold on Mars. A year on Mars is 687 days long and one day is 24 1/2 hours long.

JUPITER

Jupiter is the fifth planet from the sun. 483 million miles from the sun and has at LEAST 15 moons. Jupiter is the biggest planet in the solar system. It is a giant ball of gass with a rocky center. No one has ever seen the surface of Jupiter, it is covered with thick clouds. These clouds are white, yellow, tan, orange, and red. Strong winds blow the clouds around. It is freezing cold at the top of the clouds and boiling hot in the center of Jupiter. There is a large red spot on Jupiter that scientists think is a giant storm. One year on Jupiter is as long as 12 years on Earth and one day is almost 10 hours long.

SATURN

Saturn is the sixth planet from the sun and is 885 million miles from the sun. Saturn has at LEAST 22 moons. Saturn is a giant ball of colored gas with a rocky center. It is covered with a haze of clouds. Scientists don’t think it has a solid surface. Saturn has many pretty rings around it. These rings are made out of bits of ice and rock that go around the planet. Saturn is freezing cold at the top of the clouds and very hot in the center. A year on Saturn is as long as 30 years on Earth. A day is only 10 1/2 hours long.

URANUS

Uranus is the seventh planet from the sun and 1 billion 779 million miles from the sun. It has 5 large ooms and 10 small ones. Uranus is a giant gas ball with a rocky center. It has rings that are thin and dark. Uranus looks blue-green in color. A thick haze covers the planet. Uranus tilts over on its side, and moves around the sun like a rolling ball. One year on Uranus is as long as 84 years on Earth. One day is 16 hours long.

NEPTUNE

Neptune is 2 billion 780 million miles from the sun and has at least 2 moons. Neptune is a large ball of gass with a center of rocks and iron. It looks greenish in color. This planet is covered with clouds and is very cold. A year on Neptune is as long as 164 years on Earth and one day is about 17 hours long.

PLUTO

Pluto is 3 billion 656 million miles from the sun and has 1 moon. Pluto is the smallest planet, and is the coldest spot in our solar system. A year on Pluto is as long as 250 years on Earth. A day is as long as 6 days on Earth.