OUR SOLAR SYSTEM
READ ABOUT THE SOLAR SYSTEM, THEN TAKE THE
TEST BELOW. HAVE FUN
MERCURY
Mercury is the first planet from the sun, 36 million miles away
from the sun and it has no moons. It is a small, rocky planet and
very hot. It has dusty surface filled with craters. Mercury looks
a lot like Earth's moon. A year is 88 days long and one day
on Mercury is as long as 59 days on Earth.
VENUS
Venus is the second planet from the sun, 67 million miles away from
the sun and has no moons. Venus is almost as big as the Earth and you can find it shining in the night sky. There is strong winds that blow Venus's thick, yellow clouds around. A year on Venus is 225 days long and one day there is as long as 243 Earth days.
EARTH
Earth is the third planet from the sun, 93 million miles away
from the sun and has one moon. Earth is a ball of rock almost
covered by oceans. It is not too hot and not too cold, just right
for us to live on it. From space Earth looks like a blue ball
covered with white clouds. Under the clouds you can see blue
oceans and brown and green land. A year on Earth is 365 long and
one day on Earth is 24 hours long.
MARS
Mars is the fourth planet from the sun. 141 million miles from
the sun and has 2 moons. Mars is desert except for the ice caps
at each end of the planet. It has tall mountains and deep canyons. The soil is full of rust and Mars looks red. Strong winds blow up big storms of red dust that makes the sky look pink. The nights are very cold on Mars. A year on Mars is 687 days long and one day is 24 1/2 hours long.
JUPITER
Jupiter is the fifth planet from the sun. 483 million miles from
the sun and has at LEAST 15 moons. Jupiter is the biggest planet
in the solar system. It is a giant ball of gass with a rocky center. No one has ever seen the surface of Jupiter, it is covered with thick clouds. These clouds are white,
yellow,
tan,
orange, and
red.
Strong winds blow the clouds around. It is freezing cold at the
top of the clouds and boiling hot in the center of Jupiter. There
is a large red spot on Jupiter that scientists think is a giant
storm. One year on Jupiter is as long as 12 years on Earth and
one day is almost 10 hours long.
SATURN
Saturn is the sixth planet from the sun and is 885 million miles
from the sun. Saturn has at LEAST 22 moons. Saturn is a giant
ball of colored gas with a rocky center. It is covered with a
haze of clouds. Scientists don't think it has a solid surface.
Saturn has many pretty rings around it. These rings are made out
of bits of ice and rock that go around the planet. Saturn is
freezing cold at the top of the clouds and very hot in the center.
A year on Saturn is as long as 30 years on Earth. A day is only
10 1/2 hours long.
URANUS
Uranus is the seventh planet from the sun and 1 billion 779
million miles from the sun. It has 5 large ooms and 10 small
ones. Uranus is a giant gas ball with a rocky center. It has
rings that are thin and dark. Uranus looks blue-green in color.
A thick haze covers the planet. Uranus tilts over on its side,
and moves around the sun like a rolling ball. One year on Uranus
is as long as 84 years on Earth. One day is 16 hours long.
NEPTUNE
Neptune is 2 billion 780 million miles from the sun and has
at least 2 moons. Neptune is a large ball of gass with a center
of rocks and iron. It looks greenish in color. This planet is
covered with clouds and is very cold. A year on Neptune is as
long as 164 years on Earth and one day is about 17 hours long.
PLUTO
Pluto is 3 billion 656 million miles from the sun and has 1 moon.
Pluto is the smallest planet, and is the coldest spot in our
solar system. A year on Pluto is as long as 250 years on Earth.
A day is as long as 6 days on Earth.
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