Planets of the Solar

System

Each planet in our solar system orbits the sun at a different distance.

The four planets that orbit closest to the sun are Mercury, Venus,

Earth and Mars.

Earth is the only planet with flowing water.

Planets are surrounded by atmospheres, or layers of air.

The planet closest to the sun is Mercury.

Venus is Earth’s closest neighbor. The atmosphere on Venus has

yellow-white clouds of acid.

Earth is the only planet we know that has life.

Mars has plains, sand dunes, craters, and volcanoes. It has ice caps around

both its north and south poles.

Mars has two moons that orbit it.

All of the inner planets have atmospheres. But people can only breathe the air on

Earth. Why do you think this is so?

Astronomers call the outer planets “giants”.

Jupiter is the largest planet in the solar system.

More than one thousand Earths could fit inside Jupiter.

Clouds and wind make Jupiter’s atmosphere look red, yellow, brown and white.

One storm of winds, called the Great Red Spot, has been blowing

for more than 300 years.

Jupiter has rings around it as well as 16 moons.

Saturn is almost as big as Jupiter.

Saturn has at least 18 moons.

Uranus looks blue-green in color to astronomers because of the gases

in its thin atmosphere

Uranus has 15 moons.

Neptune looks blue.

Neptune has rings and 8 moons.