Explore the Solar System with Us

Welcome to a mini-series where we are taking a journey through our amazing solar system, our giant neighborhood filled with planets, moons, asteroids and much more. Get ready to learn about each planet and some cool objects that race around in space. Who knows, maybe you’ll want to become a space explorer yourself one day.

The Solar System - What is it?

Imagine a huge family of planets, all revolving around a super hot bright ball called the Sun. That is our solar system. The sun sits right in the middle, and all the planets, moons, asteroids and comments dance around it

Fun Fact: Did you know that the Sun is over 4.6 billion years old? That is even older than the dinosaurs.

 Diagram of our Solar System. Image Credit: NASA

The Planets – Meet the Space Neighbors!

Let’s meet the planets! There are eight planets in our solar system, and each one is totally different from each other. Some are giant and made of gas, others are rocky, and one is just right for life (that is Earth!). Ready to blast off? Let’s go!

Mercury – The Speedy One

Mercury is the closest planet to the Sun and boy does it zoom around fact. It is the smallest planet and does not have an atmosphere to keep it warm. The temperature at the ground can be super hot during the day, above 100°C, and freezing cold at night, below 0°C. Talk about crazy weather.

Fun Fact: Mercury takes just 88 days to orbit the Sun, making it the fastest planet in our solar system.

Venus – The Hottest Planet

Venus is often called Earth’s twin because it is about the same size as Earth, but don’t be fooled because Venus is nothing like Earth. It is covered by thick clouds of gas that trap heat, making it the hottest planet in our solar system. In fact, it is so hot there that metal melts like butter!

Fun Fact: A single day on Venus is about the same as a single year on Venus. 

Earth – Our Home Sweet Home

Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only one known to have life. We have water, air, planets, animals, and of course, people! Earth’s atmosphere protects us from harmful space rays and keeps us at the perfect temperatures to live. Plus, it has the most beautiful blue oceans and green forests!

Mars – The Red Planet

Mars is sometimes called the Red Planet because of its rusty, iron-rich soil. The planet is a little smaller than Earth, but has the tallest volcano in the entire solar system, called Olympus Mons! Scientists are super curious about Mars and are even sending robots to explore it. Who knows – maybe humans will live there one day!

Fun Fact: Mars has seasons just like Earth, but they are twice as long because it takes Mars almost two Earth years to go around the Sun once.

Comparing the size and distances of each planet

Jupiter – The Giant Kind

Jupiter is the largest planet in our solar system – so big that all of the other planets could fit inside of it! It is mostly made of gas, with swirling storms that could swallow Earth whole. Jupiter’s most famous feature is the Great Red Spot, a storm larger than Earth that has been going on for over 300 years.

Activity for Home: Make your own Jupiter storm! Pour some milk into a plate and add drops of food coloring. Use a toothpick to swirl the colors and watch your very own mini-storm form.

Saturn – The Ringed Wonder

Saturn is famous for its stunning rings made of ice, rock and dust. These rings are huge and can be seen from Earth with a telescope. Saturn is also a giant gas planet, just like Jupiter, but it has over 80 moons orbiting around it! Imagine having that many moons lighting up the night sky.

Uranus – The Tilted One

Uranus is a chilly, blue-green planet that spins on its side. Most planets spin upright like tops, but Uranus is tilted so much that it almost rolls around the Sun. It is one of the ice giants and is made of cold gases like methane, which gives it its cool color.

Fun Fact: Uranus has 13 rings, but they are much fainter than Saturn’s rings, so you need a very powerful telescope to see them.

Neptune – The Windy One

Neptune is the farthest planet from the Sun and one of the windiest planets in the solar system! Winds on Neptune blow at speeds of 1900 kilometers per hour, which is faster than jet planets. Like Uranus, Neptune is also an ice giant, and its deep blue colour comes from methane gas.

Don’t Forget the Other Space Stuff!

Planets are cool, but our solar system is filled with more than just planets. Other amazing objects are zooming around up there too!

• Moons: Some planets such as our Earth, have a moon or smaller objects orbiting them. Earth has one moon, and Jupiter and Saturn have multiple moons orbiting them. Other planets like Mercury and Venus have no moons.
• Asteroids: Asteroids are rocky leftovers from the early solar system. Most of them hang out in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter
• Comets:  Comets are icy objects that fly through space. When they get close to the Sun, they get warm and have a bright glowing tail.

(Diagram of our solar system and all of the objects. Image Credit: Encyclopaedia Britannia Inc).

Activity for Home: Create your own solar system mobile! Cut out planets from colored paper, then hang them in order from the Sun using string. Can you remember the order of the planets? Here’s a hint: “My Very Educated Mother Just Served Us Noodles!”

Curious to know more about our solar system?  

Ask for our short series of science workshop at Nutty Science Lab for kids where we offer program with progressive learning every day- PLANET A DAY to explore each planet in our solar system. You can also join Nutty Scientist’s camp where you can be a junior space explorer! Learn more about planets, build your own planet and solar system model, and even do fun science hands on experiments that are out of this world!

      Nutty Scientists Canada