The Sun
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The Sun is a great big fire ball of hydrogen. It is what gives the earth heat and the object that holds the planets together. I said it was a great big fire ball--it truly is, because it is 1.3 million Earths large and can, at its core, make it to 27 million degrees Fahrenheit. Wow, that's hot! To learn more about the sun, go to en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sun
The Planets
The planets are balls of gas or rock that orbit our sun.
Mercury
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Mercury is the first planet in the solar system. Mercury can get to 801 degrees Fahrenheit during the day and -279 degrees Fahrenheit at night. That's just crazy! Mercury has no moon, so you would see a big sun in the day and stars at night. Mercury's day is 58 earth days, 15 hours, and 30 minutes, but a year is only 88 Earth days. To learn more about Mercury, go to en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercury_(planet)
Venus |
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Venus is the second planet in the solar system. Venus is the hottest planet in the solar system. It gets to 872 degrees Fahrenheit and it doesn't vary much. Venus has lots of active volcanoes on its surface. Venus has no moon, either. Don't you think we should get it one? I think it would be wasted work, because Venus has such a thick atmosphere nobody on its surface could see it! Venus' day is 118 Earth days and 18 hours and a year is 225 Earth days. So, good luck trying to live there. To learn more about Venus, go to en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venus
Earth
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Earth is the third planet in the solar system. Earth is the only planet in the solar system that can sustain life. In fact, it is perfectly created to do that job. The hottest place on the Earth can get to 134 degrees Fahrenheit and the coldest can reach -50 degrees Fahrenheit. Earth has seven continents--North America, South America, Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, and Antarctica. On those continents are plains, mountains, deserts, lakes, and forests. A day on Earth as you may know is 24 hours and a year is 365 days. Earth has a moon, Luna, and we see it in the night sky. To learn more about Earth, go to en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earth
Mars
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Mars is the fourth planet in the solar system. It is a planet with all red rocks. Some people say it is red because it is rusty. I don't think so. Mars has both the tallest mountain and the longest canyon in the solar system. The tallest mountain, Olympus Mons, is about 88,600 feet tall! The longest canyon, Valles Marineris, is 2,500 miles long! Wow! Mars has two moons, Phobos and Deimos, which are both nearly asteroids, because they are only about 11 miles in diameter. Mars' temperature on average is -80 degrees Fahrenheit. So you should certainly bring a coat or two. To learn more about Mars, go to en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars
Jupiter
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Jupiter is the sixth planet in the solar system. It is a gas giant, meaning it has no surface to walk on. Instead it is made of gaseous hydrogen, helium, and ammonia. Jupiter has storms in its clouds. One of them, the great red spot, is 40,000 kilometers long! If Jupiter had a surface to stand on and you lived on it you would see beautiful auroras constantly throughout the day. Jupiter has 67 moons! Wow! The largest four, the Galilean moons, are Ganymede, Callisto, Io, and Europa. Jupiter's day is 9 hours and 56 minutes, and a year is 12 Earth years. Jupiter does have rings you just can't see them in the picture. To learn more about Jupiter and its fun facts, go to en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jupiter and to learn more about the Galilean moons, go to en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galilean_moons
Saturn
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Saturn is the seventh planet in the solar system. It, too, is a gas giant. Saturn has a noticeably large set of rings. Saturn has 7 rings which are named from closest to farthest A, B, C, D, E, F, and G. Saturn has 63 moons; the largest of which is Titan. Titan's terrain is similar to Earth's, except that Titan's oceans are made of liquid ammonia! Yuck! Saturn's day is 10 hours and 42 minutes. Saturn's year is 29 Earth years. I hope you're not getting too impatient for your birthday! To learn more about Saturn, go to en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saturn
Saturn is the seventh planet in the solar system. It, too, is a gas giant. Saturn has a noticeably large set of rings. Saturn has 7 rings which are named from closest to farthest A, B, C, D, E, F, and G. Saturn has 63 moons; the largest of which is Titan. Titan's terrain is similar to Earth's, except that Titan's oceans are made of liquid ammonia! Yuck! Saturn's day is 10 hours and 42 minutes. Saturn's year is 29 Earth years. I hope you're not getting too impatient for your birthday! To learn more about Saturn, go to en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saturn
Uranus
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Uranus is the eighth planet in the solar system. It, as well as Saturn and Jupiter, is a gas giant. I hope you're not getting too tired of gas giants, because there's still another one to come. Uranus has rings, but they are not as noticeable as Saturn's are. Uranus's rings spin around its equator just as Saturn's do, but, to us, it looks like they spin around the poles, because of Uranus's tilt. Uranus has 25 moons which are all named after characters in Shakespeare. As you can see in the picture Uranus is blue. Uranus's day is 17 hours and 14 minutes. Uranus's year is 84 Earth years. In your one year old portrait, you have gray hair! Haha! To learn more about Uranus, go to en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uranus
Neptune
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Neptune is the ninth planet in the solar system. I have already said that this is yet another gas giant, but it's your lucky day, 'cause this is the last one! Neptune is similar to Jupiter in that it has storms. The largest one, the great dark spot, is about 4,000 miles across! Neptune has 14 moons. All of Neptune's moons are icy cold. Neptune's day is 16 hours and 6 minutes. Neptune's year is 165 Earth years. Whew, we made it through the gas giants. Now prepare for the next planets with a coat, 'cause it's going to get chilly! To learn more about Neptune, go to en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neptune
Pronunciation
Sun: Sun
Mercury: Merk-yer-ee
Venus: Vee-nuss
Earth: Erth
Mars: Marz
Jupiter: Joo-pi-ter
Saturn: Sat-ern
Uranus: Your-on-ooss
Neptune: Nep-toon
Mercury: Merk-yer-ee
Venus: Vee-nuss
Earth: Erth
Mars: Marz
Jupiter: Joo-pi-ter
Saturn: Sat-ern
Uranus: Your-on-ooss
Neptune: Nep-toon