Let's Explore the Solar System From Right Here On Earth!
So What is a Solar System Anyway?
It is the place you and I call home! We all know that we live on the planet Earth, but the Earth is just one of the Eight planets in the solar system.
The center of our Solar System is our sun, and all of the planets travel around it in an elliptical shape. Everything in our solar system is constantly moving, even Earth, as it rotates around the sun.
Besides the planets and their moons, you can also find comets, asteroids and other objects orbiting the sun.
The Sun
Our sun is actually a star, and it is the closest one to our solar system. It what scientist call a "yellow dwarf star", which just means it is medium in size comapred to all the stars in the universe.
The sun is very hot, especially at it's center. That is what allows it to provide all of the heat, energy and light we have on Earth. This helps provide life on our planet.
The sun is the biggest thing in our solar system. All of the planets and more could fit into the sun, and there would be room for so much more.
Now let's take some time and do a little rhyme....
Planets
Here are eight planets that we know.
Round and round the Sun they go.
Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars,
These are the planets near our star.
Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, too.
Neptune, and even dwarf Pluto, we can't see you.
These are the eight planets that we know.
Round and round the Sun they go.
You can listen to the rhyme below!
Inner Planets
Planets are the large objects that revolve around the sun, like Earth. As we saw in our rhyme on the page before there are eight planets. There is a also a small planet called a "dwarf" planet the most popular being Pluto.
The Inner planets are the planets which orbit closest to the sun. These planets are made mostly of rock. They Are:
Mars
Earth
Venus
Mercury
The Outer planets are Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune.
Listen below about the Outer Planets!
The Earths' Moon
We learned that all of the planets have a moon, and some have more than one. The Earth has one moon and it travels around the Earth's orbit the same way the Earth travels around the sun.
The Moon is made up of mostly rock and craters and some ice. From Earth we always see only one side of the moon.
Cool Fact: The moon is the only place in our solar system humans have ever travelled to besides Earth. On July 20, 1969 astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin landed on the moon.
Comets and Meteorites...Oh My!
Most scientist believe that comets are made up of all the stuff left behind after the planets and sun were created. They are made of dirt, ice and debris. They too can orbit, and many orbit the sun!
Light bounces off the comet every now and then and let's humans on earth see them. For instance, Hailey's comet can be seen every 76 years!
Create your own map of the solar system. You can use this picture as a model, draw your own, make own on the computer or create a 3-D model!
Make sure to have the sun and all the planets represented and the orbit of the planets. If you want you can add in the moon and comets as well!
