The Nine Planets Interactive Solar System Field TripWelcome to the Interactive Solar System Field Trip! In this activity, you will visit the planets of our solar system. You might wonder why Pluto is no longer considered a planet. I hope you enjoy this activity and learn a little bit more about our solar system.

Directions: First, you will need to visit the website https://nineplanets.org/tour/. Scroll down until you see a graphic that looks like this. Click on the Sun.

This will be the interactive place where you can explore all of our planets. As you explore our solar system, you will answer some questions related to the system we call home!

Step One: Click on the Sun in the right-hand corner. It will show you an up-close view of the Sun. There are two areas to explore:

Encyclopedia and Structure. Click on each one and answer these questions.

1. Stars have different classifications. What is our Sun classified as?

2. Click on Encyclopedia. How long does it take for our sun to make one complete rotation (rotation period)?

3. Click on Structure. Look at the picture of the Sun on the right. What are the four layers of the sun? (Hint: the first one is the photosphere).

You can continue to explore the other facts related to our Sun.

Step Two: In the left-hand corner, click “Switch Planet.” Click on Mars.

1. Click on Mars, then click on Orbit. What are the two names of the moons of Mars?

2. Scroll back out and click on Structure. What are five of the things that can be found in the structure of Mars. (Hint: silicon is one of them).

3. Under the title “Core,” you’ll find that Mars is similar to Earth. However, one element, Sulfur, is more abundant. This means that Mars’ care is different from Earth’s. How is it different?:

Step Three: Click the back arrow and select the planet Saturn.

1. Use the scroll feature to look more closely at Saturn’s moons. List two of them. (Hint: the more you scroll in, the more moons you’ll find).

2. Click on Encyclopedia. Write two interesting facts about the planet Saturn.

3. Look at the word “Ring.” What makes up Saturn’s rings?

Step Four: Click back out to Solar System. Pick one of the remaining planets we didn’t explore (Mercury, Venus, Earth, Jupiter, or Uranus.

1. What planet did you pick, and why?

2. Does the planet you pick have any moons?

3. Write three interesting facts about the planet you selected.

I hope you enjoyed this short exploration of the Solar System. Who knows? Maybe you will be one of the first humans to colonize Mars!