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MERCURY
CLOSEST
PLANET TO SUN
88 EARTH DAYS
TO ORBIT SUN
(YEAR)
- 170° C - 430 °C
- 280° F - 800° F
4,879 KM WIDE
SMALLEST PLANET
176 EARTH DAYS
TO ROTATE
(DAY)
0 MOONS
Mercury is the second densest planet
after Earth.
Only two spacecraft have ever
visited Mercury because of how
close it is to the Sun.
Mercury has 38% of the gravity of
Earth meaning it cannot hold onto
the gases it needs to have an
atmosphere.
Mercury is named after the Roman
messenger of the gods (also known
by his Greek name, Hermes).
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VENUS
2ND PLANET
FROM THE SUN
225 EARTH DAYS
TO ORBIT SUN
(YEAR)
462° C | 863° F
HOTTEST PLANET
12,104 KM
WIDE
243 EARTH DAYS
TO ROTATE
(DAY)
0 MOONS
Venus is the second brightest natural
object in the sky (after the Moon).
Venus is called Earth’s sister planet
because of its similar size and core
and its proximity to Earth.
Billions of years ago, Venus’s climate
may have been very similar to Earth’s
current climate, and the planet may
have been covered by water.
Venus rotates clockwise on its axis,
in the opposite direction to most
other planets.
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EARTH
3RD PLANET
FROM THE SUN
365 EARTH DAYS
TO ORBIT SUN
(YEAR)
- 88° C - 58° C
- 126° F - 136° F
12,756 KM
WIDE
1 EARTH DAY
TO ROTATE
(DAY)
1 MOON
Earth is the densest planet in the
solar system.
Earth is the only planet not named
after a god. “Earth” comes from the
English word “ertha” meaning land.
The rotation of the Earth is gradually
slowing by 17 milliseconds every
hundred years. In 140 million years,
our day will be 25 hours.
70% of Earth’s surface is covered by
water. The first life on Earth
developed in the Earth’s oceans.
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MARS
4TH PLANET
FROM THE SUN
687 EARTH DAYS
TO ORBIT SUN
(YEAR)
- 87° C - - 5° C
- 124.6° F - 23° F
6,755 KM
WIDE
1 EARTH DAY
TO ROTATE
(DAY)
2 MOONS
After Earth, Mars is the most
hospitable planet for life.
The tallest mountain in the solar
system is on Mars. Olympus Mons is
a volcano which is 13 miles high.
Mars has seasons just like Earth
because Mars is tilted on its axis at a
similar degree as Earth. Mars’ seasons
last twice as long as Earth’s seasons.
Mars experiences the largest dust
storms in our solar system due to
the elliptical shape of its orbit.
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JUP I TER
5TH PLANET
FROM THE SUN
11.9 EARTH
YEARS TO ORBIT
SUN (YEAR)
- 108° C
- 162.4° F
142,984 KM
WIDE
10 EARTH
HOURS TO
ROTATE (DAY)
67 MOONS
4 RINGS
Jupiter has a faint ring system around
it made of dust particles.
Jupiter has the largest magnetic
field of any planet in the solar
system.
Jupiter’s Great Red Spot is an
enormous storm, which has been
raging for 300 years. Three Earths
would fit inside of the storm.
Eight spacecraft have visited Jupiter
so far. Juno arrived on Jupiter on
July 4, 2016.
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SATURN
6TH PLANET
FROM THE SUN
29.5 EARTH
YEARS TO ORBIT
SUN (YEAR)
- 139° C
- 218.2° F
120,536 KM
WIDE
10.5 EARTH
HOURS TO
ROTATE (DAY)
62 MOONS
30+ RINGS
Saturn is almost entirely made of
hydrogen.
Saturn gives off more energy than it
receives from the Sun due to its
gravitational compression.
Saturn has the most extensive ring
system of the planets. Its rings
stretch more than 120,000 km from
the planet.
Saturn has the fastest winds of any
planet in our solar system, with
winds as fast as 1,100 miles per hour.
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URANUS
7TH PLANET
FROM THE SUN
84 EARTH
YEARS TO ORBIT
SUN (YEAR)
- 197° C
- 322.6° F
51,118 KM
WIDE
NO DAYS
27 MOONS
13 RINGS
Uranus was discovered by Sir William
Herschel in 1781.
Uranus is often referred to as an “ice
giant” due to its icy mantle and core
that give the planet its blue color.
Uranus rotates on its side. Uranus’
north pole points at the Sun for half
the year, while the south pole points
at the Sun for the other half.
Voyager 2 is the only spacecraft to
visit Uranus. In 1986 it returned the
first close-up images of the planet.
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NEPTUNE FARTHEST
PLANET FROM
THE SUN
165 EARTH
YEARS TO ORBIT
SUN (YEAR)
- 214° C
- 353° F
48,682 KM
WIDE
16 EARTH
HOURS TO
ROTATE (DAY)
14 MOONS
5 RINGS
Neptune has two storm spots, similar
to Jupiter’s Great Red Spot.
Neptune has the second largest
gravity of any planet in the solar
system, second to Jupiter.
Neptune completed its first full orbit
of the Sun on July 11, 2011 since its
discovery by Jean Joseph Le Verrier
in 1846.
Neptune’s distance from the Sun is
30 times Earth’s distance from the
Sun.
SUN
4.6 BILLION
YEARS OLD
5,500° C
9,932° F
1,392,684 KM
WIDE
YELLOW DWARF
One million Earths could fit inside the
Sun.
It takes the Sun 225-250 million
years to complete an orbit of the
Milky Way galaxy.
After the Sun has burned all of its
Hydrogen, it will begin to expand
while burning Helium and engulf
Mercury, Venus, and the Earth.
Light from the Sun takes eight
minutes and 20 seconds to reach the
Earth.
The Sun contains 99.86% of the mass
in the Solar System.