Planet Facts: Read Some Really Neat Facts About The Planets in Our Solar System!

Planet Facts
Read some really neat

facts about the planets
in our solar system!
Note: The fast facts on this page
are appropriate for grades 1 to 3
while the "more about" links are
appropriate for grades 4+.
I've listed them in order from

closest to furthest from the
sun:
 Mercury
 Venus
 Earth
 Mars
 Ceres (dwarf planet found
in the asteroid belt)
 Jupiter
 Saturn
 Uranus
 Neptune
 Pluto (Note: Pluto is
considered a dwarf planet
now)
 Eris, Makemake, Haumea,
Sedna (also dwarf planets
-- found past Pluto)
Mercury takes 59 days to make a rotation but only

88 days to circle the Sun. That means that there
are fewer than 2 days in a year! Many
astronomers believe that Mercury might be the
core of what was once a much larger planet -- it
appears to be a huge ball of iron covered by a
thin layer of rock.

Venus is the brightest planet in our sky and can

sometimes be seen with the naked eye if you
know where to look. It is the solar system's
brightest planet -- yellow clouds of sulfuric acid
reflect the sun's light brightly.

Earth has more exposed water than land. Three
quarters of the Earth is covered by water!
On-Line Jigsaw Puzzles:
 Planet Earth
 View of Earth from the Moon
Mars is the home of "Olympus Mons", the largest

volcano found in the solar system. It stands
about 27 kilometers high with a crater 81
kilometers wide.

Between Mars and Jupiter, is a Dwarf Planet known as Ceres. It was

discovered in 1801. It is the smallest dwarf planet discovered in our universe
(so far) and is the only one found in the asteroid belt.
Jupiter is the largest planet in the solar system,

but it spins very quickly on its axis. A day on
Jupiter lasts only 9 hours and 55 minutes. Ack, I
get dizzy just thinking about it!
Jupiter is so big that you could fit all the other

planets in the solar system inside it. The red spot
of Jupiter is the biggest, most violent storm in the
known universe -- that spot is at least three times
the size of earth!
more about Jupiter >

(including actual photos)
Saturn is the second biggest planet, but it’s also

the lightest planet. If there was a bathtub big
enough to hold Saturn, it would float in the water!
The ring that surrounds Saturn could be the

remnants of a moon that was shattered by
Saturn's gravity.
more about Saturn >

(including actual photos)

Uranus’ axis is at a 97 degree angle, meaning

that it orbits lying on its side! Talk about a lazy
planet.

Neptune was discovered in 1846 (over 150 years
ago). Since that time it has still yet to make a
complete orbit around the sun, because one
Neptune year lasts 165 Earth years!
Like Jupiter, Neptune has a dark spot caused by

a storm. Neptune's spot is smaller than Jupiter's
-- it is only about the size of the planet earth.

Pluto’s orbit sometimes brings it closer to the Sun

than Neptune. It jumped ahead of Neptune on
September 5, 1989 and remained there until
February, 1999 when it went back to being the
farthest.
Note: Pluto is no longer considered a planet --

instead, astronomers call it a dwarf planet or
planetoid. Whatever the name, our solar system
isn't the neat model we once thought it was. It
takes a bit for grown-ups (like me!) to adapt to the
changes in our understanding (I now understand
a bit better how folks felt when someone started
telling them the earth was round not flat!)
In January 2005, astronomers in the United States

discovered a new body orbiting the sun in our
solar system. They named this planetoid, Eris
after the Greek goddess of strife.
Eris takes approximately 550 earth years to orbit

the sun. The majority of the time, it is further from
the sun than Pluto, but for a short time, it is closer.
Eris is actually larger than Pluto (it is the ninth

largest object orbitting our sun discovered so far!)
Makemake and Haumea are dwarf

planets just like Pluto, but a little
further out in our solar system.
Because their orbits are not perfect
circles, they trade places in terms of
which is closer and which is further
from the sun.
Both were discovered in late

2004/early 2005.

Haumea has a squished egg shape --
thought to be the result of a collision
from an asteroid or meteor at some
time.
In 2004, astronomers in
universities in the United
States discovered a new body
orbiting the sun in our solar
system. They named this
planetoid, Sedna after the Inuit
goddess of the Ocean. This is
the furthest orbiting body
identified in our solar system
to date.
Sedna is about three times

further from our sun than
Pluto. It takes between 10,500
and 12,000 earth years for
Sedna to make one orbit
around the sun (we haven't
quite figured out exactly how
long it takes).
Definition of a
'Planet': What
makes something
'beautiful'? Is a
Picasso painting
beautiful? Or do you
prefer a photograph?
Or perhaps the first
project ever created by
a beloved three year
old is where beauty
lies for you.
the most beautiful craft I've ever seen!
Definitions are created
by people to describe
the universe that
surrounds us. But we
don't have a King of
Definitions to tell us
when we've got it
right! Sometimes we
all agree on what
something means and
sometimes we don't.
There is no 'King of
Definitions' in charge
of deciding what is a
planet and what is
not. These decisions
are the result of a lot
of thinking and
conversation by a lot
of very smart people.
And these decisions
change over time as
our knowledge grows
and changes.
Where we stand now, there are 8 'planets' in our solar system and a
number of planetoids (dwarf planets). The biggest deciding factor that
makes something a planet is that it orbits on the same plane, that it has
significant gravity and that it is a large enough size.
It will be interesting to see how our solar system shapes up as astronomers

discover more and more through technologies such as the Hubble
Telescope!

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Planet Facts

Read some really neat

I've listed them in order from

Mercury takes 59 days to make a rotation but only

Venus is the brightest planet in our sky and can

On-Line Jigsaw Puzzles:

Mars is the home of "Olympus Mons", the largest

Between Mars and Jupiter, is a Dwarf Planet known as Ceres. It was

Jupiter is the largest planet in the solar system,

Jupiter is so big that you could fit all the other

more about Jupiter >

Saturn is the second biggest planet, but it’s also

The ring that surrounds Saturn could be the

more about Saturn >

Uranus’ axis is at a 97 degree angle, meaning

Like Jupiter, Neptune has a dark spot caused by

Pluto’s orbit sometimes brings it closer to the Sun

Note: Pluto is no longer considered a planet --

In January 2005, astronomers in the United States

Eris takes approximately 550 earth years to orbit

Eris is actually larger than Pluto (it is the ninth

Makemake and Haumea are dwarf

Both were discovered in late

Sedna is about three times

It will be interesting to see how our solar system shapes up as astronomers

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