The planets of our solar system

There are 8 planets that circle around our sun. The planets in order are Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune.

Mercury

Mercury is the closest planet to our Sun. It is also the smallest planet in our solar system. It is very hot in the day (up to 800F) and freezing at night (-280F). A year in Mercury is only 88 Earth days long!

Venus

Venus is the second planet from our Sun. It is Earth's sister planet because they are almost the same size. It's the hottest planet in our solar system. It rains acid and there are huge volcanoes there. It spins in the opposite direction as Earth and one day in Venus is 117 earth days

Earth

Earth is the only planet where humans can live in and survive. It is the only planet known to support life. One day is about 23 hours, 58 minutes, 4 seconds, so it's not exactly 24 hours. Earth has one moon and has 365 days in a year.

Mars

Mars is the 4th planet from the Sun. It has 2 moons. It has the tallest mountain in our solar system. There are 687 days in one year in Mars. It also has the largest dust storms in our solar system. There have been signs of liquid water on Mars.

Asteroid Belt

After Mars there are numerous irregular shaped bodies (rocks) called asteroids. Some call them minor planets. There are an estimate of 1.9 million asteroids in the belt.

Jupiter

Jupiter is the 5th planet from the Sun. It is the largest planet in our solar system. It has over 50 moons. The red spot is called the Great Red Spot and it is the biggest storm in our solar system. Jupiter is made mostly of gases and it's magnetic field is 14 times stronger than the Earth's.

Saturn

Saturn is the 6th planet from our Sun. It has beautiful rings made up of millions of crystals, some as big as a house. Saturn is not a calm planet as it has violent storms within it's atmosphere. Saturn has at least 150 moons. It is the second largest planet in our solar system.