The Solar System

The Milky Way Galaxy

Our solar system is part of a family

of stars called a “galaxy.” Our

galaxy is called the Milky Way. Our

sun is only one of about 100 billion

stars in the Milky Way Galaxy!

The Milky Way is a giant spiral of stars with arms that curve

outward. Our solar system lives in one of these arms.

The following picture is what the Milky

Way Galaxy looks like…

Interesting Fact

The Milky Way is shaped like a

pancake. From the side, it looks

like a flat tire. You can sometimes

see its shape in the night sky.

The Solar System

The solar system is made up of the

sun and all of the different bodies

that travel, or revolve, around it.

This includes asteroids, comets,

meteors, moons, and planets.

The Sun

The sun is a star. It is a hot ball of

fiery gas that is very big. The sun is

the largest object in our solar system.

The following are pictures of what the

sun looks like…

Interesting Fact

The sun is so large one million

Earths could fit inside of it.

Asteroids

Asteroids are relatively small, rocky and

metal objects that orbit the sun.

Asteroids are made up of left over

materials from the formation of the solar

system. Millions of asteroids exist in the

solar system.

The following are examples of asteroids…

Most of the asteroids in the solar

system are found in the asteroid belt.

The asteroid belt is made up of millions

of asteroids that continuously revolve

around the sun. The asteroid belt is

located between the planets Mars and

Jupiter.

The asteroid belt is divided into an inner belt and an outer belt. The inner belt, which is made up of asteroids that are within 250 million miles of the sun, contains asteroids that are made of metals.

The outer belt, which includes asteroids 250 million miles beyond the sun, consists of rocky asteroids. These asteroids appear darker than the asteroids of the inner belt, and are rich in carbon.

The following is a picture of the

asteroid belt…

Interesting Fact

The asteroid Ida is as long as Manhattan

Island and moves within the asteroid belt.

Comets

Comets are small, orbiting bodies

that are made of dust, ice, and

frozen gases.

The following are examples of comets…

Interesting Fact

As comets move within the

solar system, they have

flashing tails.

Meteors

Meteors are chunks of matter that

enter Earth’s atmosphere and are

heated by friction with the air. For

a few moments, these chunks burn

as they fall, appearing as streaks

of light across the dark sky.

The following are examples of meteors…

Interesting Fact

Many people think that the dinosaurs died out as a

result of an enormous meteor hitting the Earth

about 65 million years ago.

Planets

A planet is a large body that

revolves around the sun. There are

eight planets in our solar system.

They are Mercury, Venus, Earth,

Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and

Neptune.

The first four planets from the sun are Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars. These planets are called the

inner planets because they are closer to the sun than the other planets are. The inner planets have

certain characteristics in common. They are rocky and much smaller than most of the other planets.

Mercury

Mercury is the smallest of the inner

planets. It is 36 million miles from

the sun, making it the closest planet

to the sun. It can reach

temperatures of over 800° F!

Mercury is a rocky planet that is covered in huge dents, called craters. Craters are made when asteroids crash into a planet or other celestial body.

The following are pictures of the planet

Mercury…

Interesting Fact

The hottest surface temperature

on Mercury is 801° F.

Venus

Venus is the second planet from the

sun and the planet that is nearest to

Earth. It is 67 million miles from the

sun, yet it is hotter than Mercury is.

Venus can reach temperatures of

over 900° F.

The following are pictures of the planet

Venus…

Interesting Fact

The planet Venus was named

after the Roman goddess of love.

Earth

The third planet from the sun is Earth.

Earth is approximately 93 million miles

from the sun. It is the only planet we

know of that has life on it.

The following are pictures of what

planet Earth looks like from outer

space…

Interesting Fact

In the center of the Earth is a iron

core where temperatures reach up

to 10,832 ° F! This is as hot as the

surface of the sun.

Mars

Mars is the fourth planet from the

sun and is nicknamed “The Red

Planet.” It is orangey-red in color

because of rusty iron in the huge

rocks that cover it.

Mars is 141 million miles from the sun. It has

canyons, which may have once been rivers. It also

has the biggest volcano ever found in space,

Olympus Mons. The volcano is the size of Texas!

The following are pictures of what

planet Mars looks like…

Interesting Fact

You can spot Mars in the night sky

because it shines a slightly red color.

The outer planets are Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. These planets are called the outer planets because they are farther away from the sun than the inner planets are. The outer planets are larger than

the inner planets and made up mostly of gas.

Jupiter

Jupiter is the largest planet in the

solar system. It is so big that all the

other planets could fit inside of it.

Jupiter is approximately 483 million

miles from the sun and has 63 rocky

moons that orbit it.

Jupiter is well known for its Great Red

Spot. This gigantic storm is visible on

the surface of the planet. Jupiter is the

first of the gas planets, and has bright

yellow and red clouds that swirl around

it. Jupiter has no surface at all! If you

were to fly to Jupiter, you would have

nowhere to land.

The following are pictures of what the

planet Jupiter looks like…

Interesting Fact

Jupiter was the king of the Roman Gods

and is 11 times bigger than Earth.

Saturn

Saturn is the sixth planet from the

sun and is 890 million miles from

Earth. It is a huge ball of gas that

has no hard surface. Saturn has 62

moons and is famous for the

amazing rings that surround it.

The rings of Saturn are made up of billions of pieces of ice. Some are the size of a tiny speck of dust while others are as big as a car!

The following are pictures of what the

planet Saturn looks like…

Interesting Fact

Saturn’s rings are only about ½ mile thick,

but they are approximately 180 miles wide.

Uranus

Uranus is the seventh planet from the

sun. It is 1.784 billion miles from the

sun, 19 times farther away from the

sun than Earth is. Like Saturn,

Uranus has a band of rings around it.

Uranus is known as the “Blue Planet.” It is a giant ball of gas and liquid. One of the gases is methane, which makes the planet look blue. Uranus has a total of 27 different moons.

The following are pictures of what the

planet Uranus looks like…

Interesting Fact

Scientists think the rings around

Uranus could have once been

moons that were smashed to

pieces by huge falling asteroids.

Neptune

Neptune is the eighth and farthest

planet in the solar system. It is

2.792 billion miles from the sun.

Neptune is a giant ball of liquid and

gas. Neptune has 13 moons.

Neptune also has the most violent weather in the solar

system. Storms the size of Earth swirl around at huge

speeds ten times faster than our worse hurricanes.

The following are pictures of what the

planet Neptune looks like…

Interesting Fact

Neptune was discovered when a

scientist figured out that Uranus was

being gravitationally pulled by

another object, which turned out to

be Neptune.

Kuiper Belt & Pluto

Beyond Neptune is an area known as

the Kuiper Belt. Millions of icy bits

and pieces float together around the

sun. The dwarf planet Pluto lies in

the Kuiper Belt. Pluto is the largest

object in the belt, but is smaller than

our moon.

The following are pictures of what the

dwarf planet Pluto looks like…

Interesting Fact

Pluto has a moon called Charon.

Pluto and Charon always face each

other. It appears as if they are

dancing through space together.

Our solar system is a beautiful place. I

hope you enjoy looking at the following

pictures of it…

The End