THE

PLANETS
OF THE
SOLAR SYSTEM

Lesson One: Formation, the Sun

Most astronomers agree that our

solar system is about 4.6 billion years
old, which is much younger than the
estimated age of our universe. (13.7
billion)

solar nebula

The Sun and the solar system formed

from a giant cloud of gas and dust

This molecular cloud, the solar nebula, collapsed into a

flat disc of matter that began forming our enormous
Sun and all the other bodies in our solar system.

The 8 planets all revolve counter-clockwise

along the plane of this disc, which is no
coincidence. Many of the dwarf planets revolve

The Solar System is defined as the Sun and

everything that revolves around it.

The Sun and these 8 planets are the most popular objects
in the solar system. But there are many other things in our
solar system like satellites (moons), dwarf planets,
asteroids, asteroid belts, comets, and more!

The Sun is located at the center of our Solar System.

The Sun contains almost all of the mass in the Solar System.
In fact, it contains 99.8 % of the mass in our Solar System,
and most of the other .2 % is contained in the mass of
Jupiter, the largest gas giant.

Sun facts
Objects orbiting: 8 major planets, 5 dwarf
planets, at least 600,000 minor planets, and
trillions of other objects like asteroids,
meteoroids, comets, and large collections of
gases and dust.
Surface Temperatures: 5,600* C (10,000* F)
Core Temperatures: 15 million* C (27 million* F)
Star Classification: yellow dwarf
Width: 1,390,000 km (864,000 miles)
Distance from Earth: 150 million km, or 93
million miles (One astronomical unit, or 1
A.U.)

The 8 Planets are all in their own orbit around the

Sun.
Mercury
Jupiter
Venus
Saturn
Earth
Uranus
Mars
Neptune

This is not a true scaled model of the Solar System. In

fact you may never see a true (to scale) model of the
Solar System because of how vast the distances are
between each planet.

The 8 Planets are all in their own orbit around the

Sun.
Mercury
Jupiter
Venus
Saturn
Earth
Uranus
Mars
Neptune

terrestr
planets
ial

gas

gia
nts

terrestrial planets: rocky, mineral filled, Earth like

planets
gas giants: large bodies made mostly of gases like hydrogen &
helium

Mercury is the closest planet to our Sun.

Mercury

Venus
Earth

Jupiter

Mars

Saturn
Uranus
Neptune

Mercury facts
Orbital Period: 88 Earth days
Satellites (moons): none
Named after: Mercury, the Roman messenger to the
gods
Temperatures: -173* C at night, 427* C during the day
(-280* F)
(800* F)

Venus is next, it is the hottest planet in the

Solar System.
Venus

Venus facts:
Orbital Period: 225 Earth days
Satellites (moons): none
Named after: Venus, the Roman goddess of love
Temperatures: 462* C average temperature (863* F)
The atmosphere consists almost entirely of carbon
dioxide and is about 100 times thicker than Earths
habitable atmosphere.

Earth is the third planet from the Sun.

Earth

Earth Facts:
Orbital Period: 365.25 days (we add another day
every four years)
Satellites (moons): one (The Moon)
Name: the only planet not named after a god
Temperatures: -88* C to 58* C (-186* F to 136* F)
The surface of Earth consists of about 75% water.

The Circumstellar Habitable Zone (CHZ) is

where Earth is fortunate enough to reside in
relation to our Sun.
Habitable
zone

This zone is sometimes called the Goldilocks

Zone. Venus is very similar to Earth in many
ways, but it is far too hot for life, due to how
close it is to the Sun and the thickness of its
atmosphere. Mars is much too cold to support
an atmosphere capable of sustaining water and

Mars, the little red planet, is our closest

neighbor
Mars

Mars Facts:
Orbital Period: 687 Earth days (almost 2 Earth years)
Satellites (moons): 2 (Phobos & Deimos)
Named after: Mars, the Roman god of war.
Temperatures: -87* C to -5* C
(-123* F to -23* F)
Mars gets is reddish color from its high levels of iron
oxide on the crust

Jupiter is the largest and most massive

planet in the Solar System.
Jupiter
Earth

Mars

Jupiter Facts:

Orbital Period: 11.86 Earth years

Satellites (moons): 67 known moons
Named after: Jupiter, the king of the Roman gods
Average temperature: -108* C
(-162* F)
Jupiter is most well known for its big red spot which is
actually a seemingly endless storm that is bigger than the
size of Earth.

Saturn, the second biggest planet, is the

sixth planet from the Sun.
Saturn
Earth

Mars

Saturn Facts:
Orbital Period: 29.5 Earth years
Satellites (moons): 62 known moons
Named after: the Roman god Saturnus
Average temperature: -139* C
(-218* F)
Saturn is most well known for its enormous and beautiful ring
system. However, most people dont know that Jupiter,
Neptune and Uranus all have a ring system as well! (Much
smaller than Saturns ring system.)

Uranus, the seventh planet from the Sun, is

the third largest planet.
Uranus

Uranus Facts:
Orbital Period: 84 Earth years
Satellites (moons): 27 known moons
Named after: Ouranos, a god from ancient Greece
Average temperature: -197* C
(-322* F)
Uranus has 13 rings, and is tilted on its side at 98
degrees. Because of this, there are parts of Uranus that
have daytime (and nighttime) for 42 years straight!

Neptune is our most distant planetary

neighbor
Neptune

Neptune Facts:
Orbital Period: 165 Earth years
Satellites (moons): 14 known moons
Named after: Neptune, the Roman god of the sea
Average temperature: -201* C
(-330* F)
Neptune has a moon called Triton that is home to a
frozen sea of ice that is thought could support small life.
Jupiter and Saturn also have a similar moon to Triton.

What
About
Pluto?

In 2006, astronomers decided that Pluto is not a

traditional planet, but a dwarf planet, because it crosses
the orbit of Neptune.

A PLANET OR NOT?
To be a planet, a celestial body must:
Be revolving around the sun
Have a nearly round shape
Have its own orbit
(It cant cross the orbit of another
planet).

4-3-2-1:
BLASTOFF!
4) List four terrestrial planets and
four gaseous giants in our Solar
System. (All 8 in order)
3) List three things that a celestial
body must have to be considered a
planet.
2) Two things that you still wonder
about space.