Amazing Facts About The 8 Planets In The Solar System

Avatar of Dina Essawy
Updated on: Educator Review By: Michelle Connolly

Planets are large objects, they are shaped like a slightly squashed ball called a spheroid. Planets are smaller than stars, and they are pale. Let’s learn together what is the solar system and what are the eight planets in the Solar System???

What is the Solar System?

The Solar System formed billion years ago. It consists of the Sun and everything that orbits or travels around the Sun. The Sun is a star that gives us light and heat and is made up of hot gas. The Solar System consists of the Earth, the remaining planets, stars, asteroids, and comets that come out to revolve.

Not all thing in the Solar System orbits the Sun. For example, the Moon revolves around the Earth. Do you know that most of the solar system is empty space although it has a lot of things? The solar system is a small part of a big system of stars and other objects called the Milky Way galaxy. 

The Milky Way

There are three types of planets in the Solar System:

Terrestrial or rocky are almost made up of rocks.

Jovian or gas giants are almost made of gas.

Icy planets are almost made of ice.

There are “8” planets that orbit around the Sun. Here are the planets from the closest to the farthest: 

Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune.

Mercury

Planets for Kids
Planets for Kids

Mercury is considered the smallest planet, and closest planet of all to the sun. Its orbit around the sun takes about 87 Earth days. It has a radius of 2,439.7 km. Mercury is made of metallic and silicate material. Mercury is considered a terrestrial planet.

Mercury is a terrestrial planet, its surface looks like the moon. It has many craters because it does not have an atmosphere to slow objects down. Most of Mercury’s surface is greyish-brown.

Many satellites have been sent to Mercury to discover it. The first satellite was NASA’s MARINER10. It took many pictures of Mercury’s surface. Mariner 10 found that Mercury has many craters and got a lot of information about Mercury’s magnetic field. Mercury’s magnetic field is similar to the Earth’s magnetic field.

The second satellite to discover Mercury was NASA’s MESSENGER. It made a chart of most of Mercury. MESSENGER  studied Mercury’s high density, magnetic field, the structure of its core, ice at its poles, and thin atmosphere. 

But unfortunately, MESSENGER crashed into Mercury’s surface.

Venus

Venus is the second planet from the sun. Its day is longer than a year. Venus’s year length is 225 Earth days. Venus orbits around the Sun about 108 million km. It completes an orbit every 224 days. It has a radius of 6,051 km. 

Venus for Kids
Venus for Kids

Venus is considered a terrestrial planet like Mercury. It has a lot of volcanoes, its surface appears as if it has been shaped by volcanic activity. Venus’s atmosphere is a combination of carbon dioxide and nitrogen gas with clouds of sulphuric acid. The pressure on Venus is too high. 

Venus has been discovered by many satellites. One of them was Mariner 2. It discovered the atmosphere of Venus, its magnetic field, and its mass. It is still orbiting around the Sun today. The other one was Venera 15. It was made to study the surface of Venus.

Earth 

Earth for Kids
Earth for Kids

Earth is the third planet from the sun. it goes around the Sun once. It has a radius of 6,37 Km. It has a large amount of water on its surface, and because of its water Earth becomes our home. Our Earth planet is unique for many reasons. Water covers roughly 71% of Earth’s surface.

A fifth of Earth’s atmosphere consists of oxygen, produced by plants. Earth is considered the only planet that supports life because of oxygen. This oxygen also forms the ozone layer which protects Earth’s surface from bad ultraviolet radiation from the Sun.

Earth is also a terrestrial planet, so Earth is rocky. It is considered the largest of the rocky planets. Earth isn’t too hot and isn’t too cold, and this is often called the “Goldilocks distance.” Tides on Earth are created by our moon, which in turn has helped our life to improve. 

Earth also has a magnetic field, which plays a big part in preserving our planet from the effects of solar wind. Earth has no rings and has only one moon.

Mars

Mars is one of the terrestrial planets. It is considered the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet.  Due to the rusting process of the surface minerals, you can find the surface of Mars reddish-brown in colour.

Planet Mars for Kids
Planet Mars for Kids

Mars has the largest volcano in the solar system, which is called Olympus Mons. and Mars also has one of the largest canyons in the Solar System, which is called Valles Mariners.

The most explored planet was Mars. There were about 40 discovery attempts at Mars. You can compare the days and seasons to those of Earth that’s because of the rotational period “axis tilt”.

Jupiter

Planet Jupiter for Kids
Planet Jupiter for Kids

Jupiter is considered the fifth planet from the sun and the largest planet of all. It is made up of a mixture of hydrogen and helium, which is very similar to our sun. 

Jupiter takes about 4,3 Earth days to complete one orbit around the sun. It has a radius of 69,9 km. It is a gas giant planet, made up of gases and liquids that always revolve around it. Jupiter also has a magnetic field, which is fourteen times stronger than Earth’s.

For many years Jupiter has been studied. Astronauts have sent many spacecraft, probes, and orbiters to collect data and take detailed images of Jupiter. Galileo Galilei was considered the first astronaut whose observation was detailed. His spacecraft orbited the gas giant and sent a probe into the atmosphere.

Saturn

Saturn for Kids
Saturn for Kids

Saturn is considered the sixth planet from the sun and the second-largest planet in our solar system. It takes about 29.4 Earth years to complete the orbit. Saturn has a radius of 58,2 km.

Saturn is a gas giant planet like Jupiter, which is made up of mostly hydrogen and helium. Saturn is known as “great white spots”. Every full Saturn orbit, these are some short-lived storms that seem to appear once. Jupiter’s magnetic field is bigger than Saturn’s. While Earth’s magnetic field is a little stronger than Saturn.

Saturn’s colour is pale yellow because of a high quantity of ammonia crystals, which are found in the upper atmosphere.

Saturn is considered the sixth planet from the sun. It is also the second-largest planet in our solar system. It takes about 29.4 Earth years to complete the orbit. Saturn has a radius of 58,2 km.

 Saturn is a gas giant planet, which is made up of hydrogen and helium. Saturn is known as “great white spots”. Every full Saturn orbit, these are some short-lived storms that seem to appear once. Jupiter’s magnetic field is bigger than Saturn’s. While Earth’s magnetic field is a little stronger than Saturn.

Saturn’s colour is pale yellow because of a high quantity of ammonia crystals, which are found in the upper atmosphere.

Uranus

Uranus for Kids
Uranus for Kids

Uranus is the seventh planet from the Sun and the third-largest diameter in our solar system. The day on Uranus equals about 17 Earth hours which means Uranus takes that time to complete one rotation.

Do you know what is the Uranian year?

That means the rotation of Uranus around the sun. It takes about 84 Earth years for Uranus to complete its orbit around the sun.

Uranus is also a gas giant made up of mostly swirling fluids because of that Uranus doesn’t have a real surface. Uranus appears in blue-green because of the presence of methane in its atmosphere. Uranus atmosphere mostly consists of hydrogen and helium. It has a radius of 25,36 km.

Neptune

Neptune for Kids
Neptune for Kids

Here is the eighth planet and farthest Solar planet from the Sun. Neptune is considered the fourth-largest planet in the Solar System, however, it is the smallest of the gas giants.

Neptune can rotate only one time in 16 hours and takes about 165 Earth years to orbit the sun. It has a radius of 24.7 km.

Neptune’s magnetic field is 27 times stronger than Earth’s. It is the only planet, which is so hard to see by the naked eye.

Pluto

Today, Pluto is considered a dwarf planet because of its size. In the past, scientists considered Pluto as a ninth planet but now no. It doesn’t seem to have a magnetic field. Pluto has mountains, valleys, and craters.

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