Introduction to the Planets
Lesson for 4th Grade
Created By:
Megan Andersen
Mercury
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Closest planet to the sun
58 million kilometers
from the Sun
Small, rocky planet that is
covered with craters
Mercury is about the same
size as the moon
Makes one complete orbit
around the Sun every
87.97 days – a year on
Mercury
Mercury has no moons
Venus
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Closest planet to the Earth
Covered with a carbon
dioxide atmosphere that
makes it extremely hot
108 million kilometers
from the Sun
Makes one complete orbit
around the Sun every
224.7 days
Venus has no moons
Earth
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Earth is the planet that we
live on
 76% of the Earth is
covered in water
 3rd planet from the Sun
 150 million kilometers
from the Sun
 Makes one complete orbit
around the Sun every
365.27 days
 Earth has one moon
Mars
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Called the Red Planet
 228 million kilometers
from the Sun
 Makes one complete
orbit around the Sun
every 686.98 days – a
year on Mars is almost
twice a year on Earth!
 Mars has two moons
Jupiter
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Jupiter is the largest of
all the planets
 780 million kilometers
from the Sun
 Makes one complete
orbit around the Sun
every 11.86 years
 Jupiter has 16 moons
Saturn
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Second largest planet in
our solar system
1.4 billion kilometers from
the Sun
Makes one complete orbit
around the Sun every
29.46 years
Saturn has many rings
around it
Saturn has 21 moons
Uranus
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Made up of hydrogen and
helium gases
2.9 billion kilometers from
the Sun
Makes one complete orbit
around the Sun every 84
years – one year on
Uranus is an average
lifetime on Earth!
Uranus has 15 moons
Neptune
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4.5 billion kilometers from
the Sun
Makes one complete orbit
around the Sun every
164.79 years
Has very active storm
systems that can get up to
400 mph and last hundreds
of years
Neptune has 8 moons
End of the Planet Introduction
Return to my web page to see a
spreadsheet about the planets in our
solar system