Sun Mercury Venus Earth Mars Jupiter Venus is the hottest planet in our solar Mercury is the planet closest to the sun. The sun is a star. It is the closest star system. The thick clouds on Venus It is the smallest of all the big planets. to Earth. hold the heat in. During the day on Mercury it gets very The sun is very hot. Its warmth and The sun’s lights reflect off Venus’s hot and at night it is very cold. light keep plants and animals alive on clouds making it look like the brightest Earth. star in the night sky. It takes only 88 days for Mercury to go around the sun. The sun is about 93 million miles away Venus is the closest planet to Earth. from Earth. Most of Venus is covered in lava and The sun is at the center of our solar volcanos. system. The planets in our solar Venus spins clockwise, the opposite system travel around the sun. It takes direction to Earth. 1 year or 365 days for the Earth to go around the sun. Venus spins slower than Earth. Jupiter is the biggest planet in our solar Mars is the most like Earth of all the Most of the Earth is covered with system. planets. oceans. Jupiter has a huge storm that’s been Mars has huge volcanoes. Earth is the 5th largest planet. blowing for hundreds of years called Mars has two small, funny shaped Earth has 1 moon. the Great Red Spot. moons called Phobos and Deimos. Earth is the only planet which has life Jupiter spins very fast which makes it Scientists think there may have been on it. looked striped from the clouds being flowing rivers on Mars long ago but pulled into bands. The Earth is tilted. When your part of they’re gone now. the Earth is tilted toward the sun, it’s Jupiter is a big ball of gas and does not Scientists have sent up robots called summer. When it’s tilted away from the have a solid surface. rovers to roll across Mars taking pic- sun it’s winter. Jupiter has at least 63 moons. Four tures and studying the planet. Earth spins counter-clockwise. are called Europa, Callisto, Io and Ganymede. Saturn Uranus Neptune Moon Ceres Pluto Neptune is the farthest planet from the Uranus is tipped onto its side. Saturn has thousands of rings. The sun out of the big planets. Scientists think that a huge space ob- rings are made up of billions of bits of Neptune is made up of gas. ject hit it long ago. icy rocks. Some bits are as tiny as dust and others are as big as mountains. Winds on Neptune blow more than a Uranus spins in the opposite direction thousand miles an hour. to Earth. Saturn is a gas planet with no solid surface. It takes Neptune 165 years to travel Uranus is the coldest of the eight big around the sun. planets. Saturn has at least 53 moons. Saturn’s Uranus has 13 rings. biggest moon is called Titan. 4 other Neptune has a big storm called the moons are Rhea, Iapetus, Dione and Great Dark Spot. Uranus has at least 27 moons. One is Tethys. Neptune has at least 13 moons. Triton named Miranda. is Neptune’s largest moon. Proteus is Uranus is a gas planet. the second largest and Nereid the third largest. Pluto is a dwarf planet. It is in the Ceres is a dwarf planet. The moon travels around Earth. It Kuiper Belt. takes about 27 days for the moon to go Pluto used to be considered a regular around the Earth. planet but scientists now call it a dwarf The moon is actually dark, it looks planet. bright because the sun reflects off it’s Pluto spins clockwise. surface. The shape of the moon that we see Pluto has a moon called Charon. from Earth changes because the Earth casts a shadow on it. The same side of the moon always faces earth. Astronauts landed on the moon 6 times. Haumea Makemake Eris Phobos Deimos Europa Eris is the largest of the dwarf planets. Makemake is a dwarf planet. Haumea is a dwarf planet. It takes Makemake 310 years to travel Haumea is an unusual shape. around the sun. Scientists think something smashed into Haumea long ago. This may have created Haumea’s two moons, Namaka and Hi’iaka. Europa is one of Jupiter’s moons. Deimos is one of Mars’s moons. It is Phobos is one Mars’s moons. It is very Europa may have deep, ice-covered very close to Mars. close to Mars. oceans. Deimos has a funny shape, like a Phobos has a funny shape, like a potato. potato. Callisto Io Ganymede Titan Rhea Iapetus Ganymede is one of Jupiter’s moons. Io is one of Jupiter’s moons. Callisto is one of Jupiter’s moons. It is the biggest moon in our solar Io is covered by volcanoes. Callisto is about the same size as system. Mercury. Iapetus is one of Saturn’s moons. Rhea is one of Saturn’s moons. Titan is Saturn’s biggest moon. Titan is bigger than Mercury. Dione Tethys Miranda Triton Proteus Nereid Miranda is one of Uranus’s moons. Tethys is one of Saturn’s moons Dione is one of Saturn’s moons. Miranda has canyons 12 times deeper than the Grand Canyon on Earth. Nereid is Neptune’s third largest moon. Proteus is Neptune’s second largest Triton is Neptune’s largest moon. moon. Triton is one of the coldest places in our solar system. Triton has volcanos that burst and freeze instantly. The gas and dust falls back to the surface like snow. Charon Vesta Asteroid Ida Asteroid comet spiral galaxy stars Ida is an asteroid. Asteroids are made Vesta is an asteroid. Asteroids are Charon is Pluto’s moon. up of leftover bits and pieces of rock made up of leftover bits and pieces of The same side of Charon always faces and metal in space that did not rock and metal in space that did not Pluto. become planets or moons. become planets or moons. Charon is about half as big as Pluto. There are millions of asteroids in our There are millions of asteroids in our solar system. Many are in the asteroid solar system. Many are in the asteroid belt. belt. Asteroids orbit the sun. Asteroids orbit the sun. Ida has it’s own moon called Dactyl. On a clear night you can see 3,000 A galaxy is a group of stars, gas and A comet is made up of icy gas and stars with your eyes. But there are dust held together by gravity. rock. billions more that you cannot see. Spiral galaxies are the shape of a When a comet gets too close to the sun Stars are made up of hot gases. pinwheel. it begins to melt which forms a tail The hottest stars shine blue, the We live in a Spiral galaxy. behind it. The tail can stretch for coolest stars shine red. millions of miles. After the sun, the closest star to Earth There are billions of comets in the is Proxima-Centauri. Light from this Kuiper Belt. star takes 4 years to reach Earth. irregular galaxy Helix Nebula Bug Nebula meteoroids Pillars of Creation elliptical galaxy When some stars die they explode. A When some stars die they explode. A A galaxy is a group of stars, gas and nebula is the leftover start dust after nebula is the leftover start dust after dust held together by gravity. this explosion. this explosion. An Irregular galaxy does not have a New stars are born inside the nebula. New stars are born inside the nebula. particular shape. Gas and dust pull together and create Gas and dust pull together and create young stars. young stars. The Bug Nebula looks like a butterfly. The Helix Nebula looks like an eye. A galaxy is a group of stars, gas and When some stars die they explode. A A meteoroid is a small piece of rock or dust held together by gravity. nebula is the leftover start dust after metal flying through space. It is much An elliptical galaxy is the shape of an this explosion. smaller than an asteroid. ellipse. New stars are born inside the nebula. When a meteoroid enters Earth’s Gas and dust pull together and create atmosphere it begins to burn and glow, young stars. looking like a streak or shooting star. Pillars of Creation is part of the Eagle Most burn up before they hit earth but Nebula. some don’t. If they survive and hit earth they are called meteorites. .