OUR SOLAR SYSTEM Our solar system has 8 planets and many other dwarf planets. We live in the Milky Way Galaxy. If we didn’t have the sun our Solar System would be super dark.

THE SUN  The sun is our source of heat and light.  Our sun will explode in 500 billion years.  Stars may be bigger or brighter or smaller or duller.

MERCURY  When Mercury orbits around the sun it takes only 88 days.  Mercury moves at a speed of 107,372 miles an hour!  From the sun to Mercury, it is 36 million miles.

VENUS  Venus is the brightest planet of all the 8 planets.  One year on Venus is equal to 262 days.  Venus was the Roman God of love and beauty.

EARTH  Earth is the only planet that can support life.  Earth’s diameter is seven thousand, nine hundred twenty-six miles.  Earth is not a perfect circle because of Earth’s equator.

MARS  Mars has a mountain three times the size of Mount Everest and the name of this mountain is Olympus Mon.  Mars has a 4,000 kilometer canyon that is called Valles Mariner.  Mars has two moons that orbit around it.

ASTERIOD BELT  An asteroid named Galileo was discovered to have a moon named Dactyl in  There is an asteroid named Ceres which is 600 miles across.  If we put all the asteroids together it would still be smaller than our moon.

JUPITER  To the Greeks Jupiter is the home on which Zeus lives.  Jupiter is 483 miles from the sun and is the 5 th planet from the sun.  Jupiter spins so fast that a day is 9.84 hours!

SATURN  One of Saturn’s moons is called Titan and is the 2 nd largest moon in the Solar System.  The distance from the sun to Saturn is 886 miles.  Saturn has 53 moons and still might be growing.

URANUS  Unlike any other planets, Uranus spins on its side.  Scientists believe there is water on Uranus and think there might be an ocean that is 5,000 degrees Fahrenheit.  In 1781 Uranus was seen by a man named William Herschel.

NEPTUNE  Up until 1846 Neptune wasn’t even known to have existed.  Neptune has a dark spot like Jupiter.  Neptune has 13 moons and 6 rings.

DWARF PLANT PLUTO  Pluto has been a dwarf planet ever since  On July 14,2015, a mission to fly by Pluto was a success.  Pluto is the name of a Roman God of the underground.

Asteroid  Asteroids are leftovers from the solar system creation.  The average temperature of an asteroid is minus 73 degrees C.[ 100 degrees F]

Telescopes  In 1608 a person called Hans Lippershey invented the telescope.  Using glass the first telescopes were made.

Stars  A star is made of very hot gas and holds together with it’s own gravity.  The most common star we know is the Red Dwarf.

Galaxy  Our Solar System is in range of the Milky Way.  We are about 27,000 light years from the Galactic Center.

Black Hole  Black holes form when a star runs out of energy and can’t carry it’s own weight  A black hole can have gravity so powerful that not even light can escape.

Sorry Mr. DeHaan, Eagles rule the NFL.