Solar System Exploration
Your mission is to explore the Solar System. Journey to the website:
http://kids.nineplanets.org to begin your mission.
Click on the portal to explore the planets!
In our Solar System we have many different objects, the Sun and the planets are the most
well known. The Sun is the center of our Solar System and the planets journey around the
Sun in elliptical orbits (says circular but it’s more oval than circle). The planets orbit the
Sun in a ______________________ direction. Our Solar System is divided into two
systems: inner and outer systems. An ______________________ separates the two
systems.
The eight planets in our Solar System are _________________, _________________,
_________________, _________________, _________________, _________________,
_________________, and _________________. There once were nine planets but Pluto
was demoted to dwarf. You’ll learn more about Pluto as you continue on your journey.
CLICK ON THE ROCKET ICON
They are classified (or grouped) based on _________________ and
_________________.
The _____________ planets are made up mostly of _________________ and
_________________.
_________________, _________________, _________________, and
_________________ are rocky planets.
They move very ________, have _________ moons, and do/do not (circle one) have rings.
The _________________ planets are made up mostly of hydrogen and helium gases so
they are very light for their size. _________________, _________________,
_________________, and _________________ are gas planets. They move
_________________, have _________________ moons, and have _________________.
The _________________ planets have a diameter less than _________________.
____________, ___________, ___________, and _________________ are small planets.
The _________________ planets have a diameter greater than _________________.
_________________, _________________, _________________, and
_________________ are giant planets.
Before you actually begin your mission, you must gather background information. You
don’t want to be caught unaware out there.
CLICK ON THE ICON OF SATURN AND CLICK ON THE SUN
Our Sun
The Greeks called it _________________. The Romans called it _________________.
Draw the symbol for the Sun.
Let’s test your knowledge now. True or False – The Sun is a planet.
The Sun is a _____________ just like all the others we see in the night sky. It’s just a lot
closer to us. You could fit _________________ Earths inside the Sun.
CLICK AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PAGE “EXPLORE MORE PLANETS!”
Mercury
Who was Mercury?
Draw the symbol for Mercury.
Mercury is a _________________________ planet.
Mercury has ___________moons.
CLICK AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PAGE “EXPLORE MORE PLANETS!”
Venus
Who was Venus?
Draw the symbol for Venus.
Venus is a _________________________ planet.
What causes Venus’s hot temperature?
Venus has __________ moons.
CLICK AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PAGE “EXPLORE MORE PLANETS!”
Mars
Who was Mars?
The planet Mars is also known as the “______________________________________”.
Draw the symbol for Mars.
Mars is a _________________________ planet.
Mars has __________ moons.
CLICK AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PAGE “EXPLORE MORE PLANETS!”
The Asteroid Belt
Asteroids are _________________________________________________________.
The main asteroid belt is located between the planets ____________ and ____________.
The asteroid belt separates the _____________ planets from the _____________ planets.
Let’s test your knowledge now. True or False: If we put all the asteroids together, the
mass of the asteroids would be greater than the mass of the moon.
CLICK AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PAGE “EXPLORE MORE PLANETS!”
Jupiter
Who was Jupiter?
Draw the symbol for Jupiter.
Jupiter is a _________________________ planet.
Jupiter has ______ moons. There are _____ large “Galilean” moons and _____ small ones.
Jupiter is so large _______________ Earth’s could fit inside.
What do scientist believe “The Great Red Spot” is?
Jupiter has rings made of ____________________________________________.Jupiter is
_____________ hydrogen and _________ helium.
CLICK AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PAGE “EXPLORE MORE PLANETS!”
Saturn
Who was Saturn?
Draw the symbol for Saturn.
Saturn is a ___________________________________ planet.
Saturn has __________ moons.
Describe the rings of Saturn.
Saturn is _____________ hydrogen and _________ helium.
CLICK AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PAGE “EXPLORE MORE PLANETS!”
Uranus
Who was Uranus?
Draw the symbol for Uranus.
Uranus is a ________________________________ planet.
Uranus has __________ moons.
Uranus has rings made of _____________________________________.
What causes Uranus to be blue?
CLICK AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PAGE “EXPLORE MORE PLANETS!”
Neptune
Who was Neptune?
Draw the symbol for Neptune.
Neptune is a ____________________________________ planet.
Neptune has __________ moons.
Neptune has rings made of ________________________________________.
CLICK AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PAGE “PLANET PIT STOP”
Check in at the weighing station.
What is your weight on each of the 8 planets?
Why is it not the same on each planet? Before you say size, remember that Uranus is
larger than Neptune.
To continue on your journey, you must travel to the website:
http://www.cosmos4kids.com/files/solsyst_intro.html
Our Solar System is made of _____ star(s) and ______ planet(s). It was created over
___________ billion years ago.
CLICK ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE WEBSITE ON THE PLANET YOU NEED
Onward to Mercury
Temperatures on Mercury get as high as _____________ and as low as ___________.
One day on Mercury is ________ days on Earth.
Why does it have such a long day?
Why does Mercury have lots of craters like our moon but the Earth doesn’t?
Onward to Venus
Describe Venus.
Why is Venus yellow?
Why are Venus’s poles reversed when compared to Earth’s poles (the North is like our
South and vice versa)?
Onward to Earth
Everything in the Solar System orbits the __________. The Sun influences EVERYTHING
on Earth. The Earth’s _________________________________ creates the seasons.
Explain when we experience summer and when we experience winter. (As it relates to
Sun’s position and NOT the calendar.)
Let’s test your knowledge now. True or False: The Earth is the only planet in the Solar
System that has an atmosphere.
Our atmosphere is mostly _______________ gas. Nitrogen makes up ____% of our
atmosphere and oxygen only makes up _____%. In addition, we have a layer that
surrounds us that protects us from ultraviolet radiation. This layer is called the _________.
Onward to Mars
Mars is a lot like Earth. It has evidence of ______________________,
_________________________, and ____________________________.
Why do scientists have hope of life on Mars?
Onward to Jupiter
Jupiter is the largest of the planets. It is over ________ times as large as the Earth.
Jupiter is a ____________________ planet which means it’s a gas giant. Jupiter has a
diameter of ______________ while the Earth is only ________________.
Let’s test your knowledge now. True or False: The bigger the mass of an object the more
gravity an object has.
True or False: You would weigh the same on Jupiter as you do on Earth.
Onward to Saturn
Let’s test your knowledge now. True or False: If you could find a lake large enough, you
could float Saturn on the surface. Why?
How long is a day on Saturn?
Why is it shorter than on Earth?
Onward to Uranus
What is the surface of Uranus like?
What is unusual about Uranus’s rotation (as compared to the Earth)?
Onward to Neptune
How was Neptune discovered?
The Demotion of Pluto
Why is Pluto no longer considered a planet? (There are two reasons)
CLICK ON RIGHT SIDE OF WEBSITE ON SOLAR SYSTEM DETAILS
More Solar System
Asteroids
What is an asteroid?
What is the difference between an asteroid and a moon?
Where do we believe asteroids came from?
Comets
What is a comet?
What is the difference between a comet and an asteroid?
Where do we believe comets come from?
Describe the orbit of a comet.
What is the tail of a comet made of?
Let’s test your knowledge now. True or False: Comets are on fire.
Final Mission
As you travel through the Solar System, it is your job to collect data. Fill in the table below.
Planet
Orbit AKA Revolution
(Length of Year)
Rotation (Length of
Day)
Mercury
Venus
Earth
Mars
Jupiter
Saturn
Uranus
Neptune
List the planets in order of their size (diameter).
List the planets in order of their mass.