THE SOLAR SYSTEMPlanets and the Sun
THE SUN
The Sun’s diameter is approximately 864,938 miles (1,391,980km). This
makes it close to 10 times larger than Jupiter, the biggest planet, and 109
times larger than Earth- approximately 1,300,000 earth’s make up the entire
sun’s volume. Compared to other large stars however, the Sun is of an
average size.
DID YOU KNOW:
The sun contains 99.8% of all of
the mass of the Solar Systemhowever, it is decreasing over
time, as fusion reactions
convert hydrogen into helium.
MERCURY
With a diameter of only a mere 4879 kilmoetres, Mercury is the smallest
planet in the Solar System, being not much bigger than Earth’s moon. At
57,910,00km away, Mercury is the first planet from the sun, and
approximately 77 million kilometres away from earth.
DID YOU KNOW:
Mercury is the hardest planet to
see out of the five brightest
naked-eye planets. This is due
partly to its size and partly to
how far away it is from the eart
VENUS
At 108,200,000 kilometres, Venus is the second planet from the sun. Being
only slightly smaller than Earth, it has a radius of 6,052 kilometres, and at its
closest, is approximately 41,840,000 kilometres away from the Earth. Along
with this, it is also the brightest planet, making it the easiest to see at night.
DID YOU KNOW:
You are lighter on Venus than
you are on Earth? For example,
if you weigh 45 kilograms on
Earth, you will only weigh 39
kilograms on Venus?
EARTH
At 149,600,000 kilometres, Earth is the third planet from the sun. It has an
average radius of 6,371 kilometres- however, unlike the other planets, it is not
a perfect sphere, as the planet’s rotation causes it to bulge at the equator.
DID YOU KNOW:
Earth is the fifth largest planet?
It comes after Jupiter, Saturn,
Uranus, and Neptune.
MARS
At 227,900,000 kilometres, Mars is the fourth planet from the sun. It has an
average radius of 3,390kilometres- close to half the size of Earth. Along with
this, it is also very difficult to measure Mars’ distance from Earth, as they
have slightly different orbits.
DID YOU KNOW:
It takes 150 days to get to Mars
from Earth.
JUPITER
At 778,500,000 kilometres, Jupiter is the fifth planet from the sun. It has an
average radius of 69,911 kilometres, making it the largest planet in the Solar
System, and is approximately 591 million kilometres away from the Earth.
DID YOU KNOW:
Jupiter is so large that it could
fit 1,300 planet earth’s inside of
it.
SATURN
At 1,433,000,000 kilometres, Saturn is the sixth planet from the sun. It has an
average radius of 58,232 kilometres, making it the second largest planet in
the solar system after Jupiter. It is approximately 1.2 billion kilometres away
from the Earth.
DID YOU KNOW:
Saturn is one of three planets
with rings? Saturn’s are made
mostly of dust and ice.
URANUS
At 2,977,000,000 kilometres, Earth is the third planet from the sun. It has an
average radius of 25,362 kilometres, making it the third largest planet after
Jupiter and Saturn. It is around 2.57 billion kilometres from the earth.
DID YOU KNOW:
Due to a collision during early
formation, Uranus is the only
planet that spins lying on its
side. It was also the first planet
to be discovered by telescope.
NEPTUNE
At 4,503,000,000 kilometres, Neptune is the eighth planet from the sun, and
the last. It has an average radius of 24,622 kilometres, and is between 4.3
and 4.7 billion kilometres from the Earth.
DID YOU KNOW:
Neptune suffer the most violent
weather out of all the planets in
the Solar System.