All About

the
Planets
Ms. O’Neill
 Table of Contents
This book is
dedicated to
Yamy What makes a planet, a planet?

Is the Sun a planet?

What planets are in the solar system?

What other things are in outer space?

Keep Researching

Sources

Glossary

All About the Planets

Loras College Inc.
Dubuque, Iowa
Published in Wahlert Hall
Text Copyright 2019 by Sami O’Neill
All rights reserved
 2. A planet must be large enough
What makes a that its own gravity molds it into a
planet, a planet? spherical shape

There are three requirements

that an object needs to check
off in order to be a planet:

1. A planet must orbit the Sun

3. A planet needs to have a

gravitational force on the objects
around it
 Light from the Sun
Is the Sun a takes eight minutes to
travel through space
planet? and reach Earth. On
Earth sunlight is very
important. It is not
too hot or too cold
which allows there to
be life on Earth.
Sunlight provides
plants and animals
with the food they
need to live and grow.

The Sun’s
energy is
also used to
make
The Sun is not a planet. It is a electricity.
star that is made up of This is done
burning gases. It is not a very through solar
old star at about 5 billion panels which
years old. store the
electricity.
What planets are
in the solar
system?
To help people remember the
order of the planets there is a fun
There are eight planets saying: My Very Excited Mother
in our solar system! In Just Served Us Nachos. The first
order from closest to letter of each word represents
the Sun to the farthest the first letter of each planet in
they are: Mercury, the order from closest to the Sun
Venus, Earth, Mars, to the furthest. This way of
Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, remembering is called a mnemonic.
and Neptune.

Click the video above to hear

The Planet Song!
 Mercury Fun Facts About
Mercury
1. Mercury is only slightly
larger than Earth’s moon.

2. One year on Mercury takes

88 Earth days.

3. Mercury is a very rocky

planet and has many craters.
Mercury is the smallest
4. It has no moons.
planet in our solar system. It
is also the closest planet to
5. If you were looking at the
the Sun. Although it is so
Sun from Mercury, it would
close to the Sun it is not the
look three times bigger than
hottest planet. During the
on Earth.
day it can be about 800
degrees Fahrenheit and
during the night about 290
degrees Fahrenheit.
 Venus
Venus is the second planet from
the Sun. It is about the same
size as Earth. Its atmosphere
traps heat making Venus the
hottest planet. The temperature
can get warmer than 880
degrees Fahrenheit.
Fun Facts About
Venus
1. Venus spins in the opposite
direction of Earth and most other
planets. The Sun rises on the west
and sets on the east.
2. One year on Venus lasts 225
Earth days.
3. Venus has a solid surface that
has a volcanic landscape with high
mountains.
4. Venus is named after the Roman
goddess of love and beauty.
5. It has no moons.
 Click the video below to learn
Earth about the Earth’s movements!

Earth’s structure is made of four

layers, starting with an inner core at
the center! Surrounded by the outer
Earth is the planet you core, mantle, and crust. On the surface
live on! It is the third there are many different types of
planet from the Sun and terrain. Earth has volcanoes,
the only known planet mountains, valleys, and oceans.
that is inhabited by
living things. Earth is
special because it is an
ocean planet. Water
covers 70 percent of the
Earth’s surface.
 Fun Facts About
Mars Mars
1. A day on Mars is a little over 24
hours, but year on Mars would be
687 Earth days.

2. Mars has two moons named

Phobos and Deimos.

Mars is sometimes called the Red

Planet. It is this red color because
3. Scientists and astronauts are
of rusty iron in the ground. Mars is
doing experiments to see if humans
the fourth planet from the Sun and
can one day visit mars.
it is half the size of Earth.
Click the
Mars is a cold desert world. Just video to the
like Earth, Mars has seasons, left to learn
volcanoes, canyons, and weather. how scientist
drive the
Mars Rover video Mars Rover!
 Jupiter Fun Facts About
Jupiter
1. A day on Jupiter lasts about 10
hours and a year takes about 12
Earth years.

2. Jupiter has rings, but they are to

faint too see very well.

3. Jupiter has more than 75 moons!

4. Galileo Galilei first observed

Jupiter is the fifth planet
Jupiter and its largest moons in
from the Sun and the biggest
1610 using an early version of a
planet in the solar system. It telescope.
is covered in swirling cloud
stripes and has big storms.
One storm has been name
the Great Red Spot, which has
been going on for hundreds of
years. This storm is bigger
than Earth!
 Saturn
Saturn is the sixth planet
from the Sun and the
second largest in the solar
system. Saturn is unique
due to its ringlets. They are
made of chunks of ice and
rock. Similar to Jupiter,
Saturn is a massive ball
made mostly of gases.
Fun Facts About
Saturn
Twice every 29 and
a half years, it
looks like the
ringlets around
Saturn disappear.
This image is an
optical illusion.
Although the
ringlets have not
actually
disappeared,
scientists think
that in the next 100
million years the
rings will disappear.
Saturn also has many moons in its
orbit. There is a total of 62 moons!
Although Saturn cannot support
life. Scientist are investigating if
some of its moons are habitable.
 Uranus Fun Facts About
Uranus
In 1781, astronomer William
Herschel discovered Uranus with
a telescope. This was the first
planet discovered using a
telescope.

What do the clouds of Uranus

have in common with rotten
eggs?
Uranus is the seventh planet
from the Sun. It is made of
water and other gases. One of
the gases, methane, makes
Uranus light blue. Uranus also
has faint rings around it. Like
Venus, Uranus rotates in the
opposite direction as earth. And
A molecule in Uranus’ atmosphere
unlike any other planet, Uranus
is hydrogen sulfide. This is the
rotates on its side.
same molecule that makes rotten
eggs smell bad.
 Neptune Fun Facts About
Neptune
1. One Neptune year takes about
165 Earth years.

2. Neptune has 13 confirmed

moons, which are all named
after sea gods in Greek
mythology.
Neptune is the last planet in
our solar system. It is more 3. Neptune is the windiest
than 30 times as far from planet. Winds whip clouds at
the Sun as Earth is. Neptune speeds of more than 1,200 miles
is made of similar liquids and per hour.
gases as Uranus. Neptune
also has the gas methane
which turns it the blue color.
It has six rings, but they’re
very hard to see.
 What other things Asteroids

are in outer Asteroids are

space? small, rocky
objects that
orbit the sun.
They are much
Dwarf Planets smaller than
planets.

International Space Station

Pluto is no longer considered a

planet because it does not meet the
The ISS orbits Earth and is
three requirements to be a planet.
where astronauts live and work
This isn’t a sad thing though because
in space. There are currently six
Pluto has helped scientist learn even
astronauts on the ISS.
more about what is in outer space.
Keep Researching

Click on the links to

keep researching!

Check out this video to learn more

NASA Website
about the solar system!

Save the
Earth!

NASA TV
What is a
Planet?
Sources

https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/

https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/planets/en/

https://kids.nationalgeographic.com/explore/space/what-is-a-
planet/#planetary-lineup.jpg
 Glossary
Mnemonic- to help with
remembering
Atmosphere- a layer of gas
that surrounds Earth
Optical Illusion- something
that tricks the eye by
appearing different
Force-

Orbit- to move in a circle

around a center point

Habitable- able to live on

Spherical- having the

Inhabited- to live in shape of a sphere

Iron- a heavy magnetic metal Terrain- the features of the land