Our Solar System  Our solar system has 8 planets and 1 dwarf planet.  Our sun is in the middle of the solar system.

Our Sun  The sun is made up of hydrogen and helium.  The sun is the biggest star in the solar system.

Mercury  Mercury is the closest planet to the sun.  1 year in Mercury is 88 days.

Venus  Venus rotates is counter clockwise.  The Russians first mission was to Venus.

Earth  Earth is the planet we live on.  Earth is the only planet with life on it. 

Mars Mars is named after the Roman god of war and also known as the “Red Planet”. Olympus Mons a shield volcano could still be active today.

THE ASTEROID BELT  The Asteroid Belt has lots of rocks covered in dust.  The Asteroid Belt sets in between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter.

Jupiter  The ancient Babylonians were the first to record the sights of Jupiter. Jupiter was named after the king of Roman gods.

Saturn  Saturn has rings that are made up of ice and dust  Saturn is the flattest planet and it turns on its axis every ten hours and 34 minutes.

Uranus  Uranus is the coldest planet and referred as the Ice Giant.  The voyager 2 spacecraft was the only spacecraft the flew by Uranus.

Neptune  One storm in Neptune lasted for 5 years and it was called the Great Dark Spot.  Neptune is named after the Roman God of Sea.

The Dwarf planet Pluto  Pluto was named after the Greek God of the Underworld.  No spacecraft has visited Pluto yet.

Galaxy  There is probably more than 170 billion galaxies in the universe.  A galaxy has gas and dust in it.

Comets  Comets usually come from two areas the Oort Cloud and the Kuiper Belt.  Comets are ice, dust, and rocks.

Universe  Our universe has an unimaginable expanse of dust, gas, stars, clouds, galaxies, and life.  The universe began in a Big Bang.

Dwarf Planets  There are 5 recognized dwarf planets in our solar system Ceres, Pluto, Haumea, Makemake, Eris.  The largest dwarf planet is Eris.

Constellation  A constellation is a group of stars the form a pattern in the night sky.  There are 88 official constellations recognized by the international Astronomical Union.  This constellation is  The form of Orion.

Stars  A star is a bright hot gas called a plasma which is held together by it’s own gravity.  Stars radiate energy created by nuclear fusion which is a process that takes the place in the star’s core and involves hydrogen.