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MERCURY

CLOSEST

PLANET TO SUN

88 EARTH DAYS

TO ORBIT SUN

(YEAR)

- 170° C - 430 °C

- 280° F - 800° F

4,879 KM WIDE

SMALLEST PLANET

176 EARTH DAYS

TO ROTATE

(DAY)

0 MOONS

Mercury is the second densest planet

after Earth.

Only two spacecraft have ever

visited Mercury because of how

close it is to the Sun.

Mercury has 38% of the gravity of

Earth meaning it cannot hold onto

the gases it needs to have an

atmosphere.

Mercury is named after the Roman

messenger of the gods (also known

by his Greek name, Hermes).

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VENUS

2ND PLANET

FROM THE SUN

225 EARTH DAYS

TO ORBIT SUN

(YEAR)

462° C | 863° F

HOTTEST PLANET

12,104 KM

WIDE

243 EARTH DAYS

TO ROTATE

(DAY)

0 MOONS

Venus is the second brightest natural

object in the sky (after the Moon).

Venus is called Earth’s sister planet

because of its similar size and core

and its proximity to Earth.

Billions of years ago, Venus’s climate

may have been very similar to Earth’s

current climate, and the planet may

have been covered by water.

Venus rotates clockwise on its axis,

in the opposite direction to most

other planets.

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EARTH

3RD PLANET

FROM THE SUN

365 EARTH DAYS

TO ORBIT SUN

(YEAR)

- 88° C - 58° C

- 126° F - 136° F

12,756 KM

WIDE

1 EARTH DAY

TO ROTATE

(DAY)

1 MOON

Earth is the densest planet in the

solar system.

Earth is the only planet not named

after a god. “Earth” comes from the

English word “ertha” meaning land.

The rotation of the Earth is gradually

slowing by 17 milliseconds every

hundred years. In 140 million years,

our day will be 25 hours.

70% of Earth’s surface is covered by

water. The first life on Earth

developed in the Earth’s oceans.

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MARS

4TH PLANET

FROM THE SUN

687 EARTH DAYS

TO ORBIT SUN

(YEAR)

- 87° C - - 5° C

- 124.6° F - 23° F

6,755 KM

WIDE

1 EARTH DAY

TO ROTATE

(DAY)

2 MOONS

After Earth, Mars is the most

hospitable planet for life.

The tallest mountain in the solar

system is on Mars. Olympus Mons is

a volcano which is 13 miles high.

Mars has seasons just like Earth

because Mars is tilted on its axis at a

similar degree as Earth. Mars’ seasons

last twice as long as Earth’s seasons.

Mars experiences the largest dust

storms in our solar system due to

the elliptical shape of its orbit.

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JUP I TER

5TH PLANET

FROM THE SUN

11.9 EARTH

YEARS TO ORBIT

SUN (YEAR)

- 108° C

- 162.4° F

142,984 KM

WIDE

10 EARTH

HOURS TO

ROTATE (DAY)

67 MOONS

4 RINGS

Jupiter has a faint ring system around

it made of dust particles.

Jupiter has the largest magnetic

field of any planet in the solar

system.

Jupiter’s Great Red Spot is an

enormous storm, which has been

raging for 300 years. Three Earths

would fit inside of the storm.

Eight spacecraft have visited Jupiter

so far. Juno arrived on Jupiter on

July 4, 2016.

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SATURN

6TH PLANET

FROM THE SUN

29.5 EARTH

YEARS TO ORBIT

SUN (YEAR)

- 139° C

- 218.2° F

120,536 KM

WIDE

10.5 EARTH

HOURS TO

ROTATE (DAY)

62 MOONS

30+ RINGS

Saturn is almost entirely made of

hydrogen.

Saturn gives off more energy than it

receives from the Sun due to its

gravitational compression.

Saturn has the most extensive ring

system of the planets. Its rings

stretch more than 120,000 km from

the planet.

Saturn has the fastest winds of any

planet in our solar system, with

winds as fast as 1,100 miles per hour.

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URANUS

7TH PLANET

FROM THE SUN

84 EARTH

YEARS TO ORBIT

SUN (YEAR)

- 197° C

- 322.6° F

51,118 KM

WIDE

NO DAYS

27 MOONS

13 RINGS

Uranus was discovered by Sir William

Herschel in 1781.

Uranus is often referred to as an “ice

giant” due to its icy mantle and core

that give the planet its blue color.

Uranus rotates on its side. Uranus’

north pole points at the Sun for half

the year, while the south pole points

at the Sun for the other half.

Voyager 2 is the only spacecraft to

visit Uranus. In 1986 it returned the

first close-up images of the planet.

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NEPTUNE FARTHEST

PLANET FROM

THE SUN

165 EARTH

YEARS TO ORBIT

SUN (YEAR)

- 214° C

- 353° F

48,682 KM

WIDE

16 EARTH

HOURS TO

ROTATE (DAY)

14 MOONS

5 RINGS

Neptune has two storm spots, similar

to Jupiter’s Great Red Spot.

Neptune has the second largest

gravity of any planet in the solar

system, second to Jupiter.

Neptune completed its first full orbit

of the Sun on July 11, 2011 since its

discovery by Jean Joseph Le Verrier

in 1846.

Neptune’s distance from the Sun is

30 times Earth’s distance from the

Sun.

SUN

4.6 BILLION

YEARS OLD

5,500° C

9,932° F

1,392,684 KM

WIDE

YELLOW DWARF

One million Earths could fit inside the

Sun.

It takes the Sun 225-250 million

years to complete an orbit of the

Milky Way galaxy.

After the Sun has burned all of its

Hydrogen, it will begin to expand

while burning Helium and engulf

Mercury, Venus, and the Earth.

Light from the Sun takes eight

minutes and 20 seconds to reach the

Earth.

The Sun contains 99.86% of the mass

in the Solar System.