SPACE The Moon The Sun Stars Planets Mercury Venus Earth Mars Jupiter Saturn Uranus Neptune Pluto Comets Meteors Astronauts

neighbour in space. It seems bigger and brighter than the The Moon The Moon is our closest neighbour in space. It seems bigger and brighter than the stars, but really its much smaller. It only seems bigger because it is closer to us than the stars. There is no water or air on the moon. Our moon travels around the earth just as the earth travels around the sun. back

The Sun The Sun is a star. Of all the stars, the sun is closest to us. Because it is near, it seems to be the biggest and brightest star but it isn’t. Its really only a medium sized star. back

Stars Stars are huge balls of glowing gases. Astronomers are not sure why stars twinkle. They think it’s because the Earth’s air is moving. When light from a star passes through moving air, the stars appear to twinkle. Very hot stars are blue to bluish white. Cool stars are red. The sun is a medium-hot star. Stars stay in the same place in the sky. back

Planets Planets move around the sun. Most planets would not be good to live on. Mercury and Venus are too hot. Mars is too cold and covered in red dust. Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto are also too cold. But Earth is just right! Mercury is the closest planet to the sun. Apart from the moon, Venus is the brightest object in the night sky. Mars is known as the red planet. Over 1000 earths could fit inside Jupiter. next

Planets Pluto is the smallest planet. Uranus and Neptune are nearly 4 times as big as the Earth. back

Mercury Mercury is the planet closest to the sun. It is very hot on Mercury, because it is so close to the sun. It is too hot for plants or animals to live there. • Mercury is very hot during the day and very cold at night. • On the planet Mercury, a year only has 88 earth days. Mercury is the fastest planet orbiting the sun. • It has no water, no air, and no moons. • Mercury is a small planet with craters and cliffs.. back

Venus Venus is the hottest planet. • Venus is hotter than Mercury because it is covered with thick yellow clouds. These thick yellow clouds keep in the heat like a blanket. • The thick yellow clouds have a poisonous acid in them. • The air has enough heat and pressure to crack spaceships. • Venus has many storms with thunder and lightning. • Venus spins backwards. • Venus is the brightest planet that can be seen from earth. back

Earth on it – people, animals, and plants. • Earth is the only planet with life on it – people, animals, and plants. • It is the only planet in the solar system That has life on it. • It is in the perfect place. It is not too close to the sun and not too far away. • Earth is called the “Water Planet” because it is the only planet with the water we need to live. • Earth has a thin layer of gases around it. This is the air we breathe. • It is a very rocky planet covered with water. back

Mars Mars is often called the “Red Planet” because red is its color. It is covered with rocks and sand. • Mars has dusty red soil. The red dust in the air makes the sky look pink. Sometimes Mars has dust storms that last for months. • Mars has a huge volcano called Olympus Mons. • Scientists think Mars used to have water in rivers or oceans. It still has ice at the poles, but it is a desert planet now. • Mars orbits our sun in 687 days. One year on Mars has 687 days. One year on Earth has 365 days. • Mars spins like a top at the same time it is orbiting the sun, just like Earth does. back

Jupiter Jupiter is the biggest planet in the solar system. • Jupiter is made mostly of gas. • It has clouds and storms. There is a very big storm on Jupiter called the “Red Spot”. • Jupiter has a thin ring system made of dust. • Jupiter has 16 moons. • Jupiter orbits the sun very slowly. It takes Jupiter 12 Earth years to orbit the sun one time. • One day on Jupiter is only 10 hours long. back

Saturn Saturn is a big planet, and people can see it without a telescope. • Saturn is made of gas. • It has pretty rings around it made of rocks and ice. • The rings get their pretty colors, because the sun shines on them from far away! • Saturn has more than 20 moons. • Saturn takes almost 30 Earth years to orbit the sun! back

Uranus Uranus is tilted on its side. It looks like a spinning top that fell down. Scientists think that a big asteroid could have knocked it over. • The whole planet is covered by a thick blue-green fog. • Uranus has rings like Saturn. The rings of Uranus are not as pretty or easy to see as Saturn’s rings. Its rings are made of chunks of black rocks. • Uranus is made up mostly of ice. It is very cold on Uranus. • Uranus has 18 moons. • A year on Uranus is very long. It takes Uranus 84 Earth years to orbit our sun. back

Neptune Neptune is a blue color. It is made mostly of gas. • Neptune has white clouds that Look like stripes. • Neptune has a spot called “The Great Dark Spot”. It is a huge storm. • It has the fastest winds on any planet. The winds can reach 700 miles an hour. • It takes Neptune 165 years to orbit the sun one time. • Neptune has 8 moons. back

Pluto Pluto is the very smallest planet. It is the last one in the solar system. • It is very cold on Pluto because it is so far from the sun. The temperature on Pluto may be -300 degrees. • Scientists think that there is no life on Pluto. • Pluto has one big moon called Charon. • We have not learned much about Pluto, because it is so far away. back

A comet has an icy inside and is covered by black dust. Comets A comet has an icy inside and is covered by black dust. As a comet gets closer to the Earth, the ice begins to change from a solid to a gas. The gas spreads out in a large cloud called a Coma. Comets are only able to be seen in the sky once or twice in 100 years. They stay visible for several days and even weeks. back

Meteors Meteors start out as bits of rock or metal that travel around the sun. But sometimes they plunge into Earth’s atmosphere. The friction makes them glow red hot and they are then called meteors. Meteors flash in the sky every night. They are sometimes called shooting stars, but they are not stars. We see the bright flash for only a few seconds. back

Astronauts On July 20th, 1969, Neil Armstrong and Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin became the first men to set foot on the moon. Astronauts eat special food in space. You have to be careful when you drink in space or the liquid will just float away. back