Planets That Are in Our Solar System

by Sol Saray, age 7

Our solar system is made of nine planets. The sun uses its gravity to keep the planets circling around it.

The Sun is much bigger than Earth. Did you know that 1.3 million Earths can fit inside of the Sun? If the Sun was a beach ball, the Earth would be the size of a tiny pea and the moon would be the size of a pinhead.

The four planets closest to the sun are balls of rock. They are Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars. The other planets are gas and liquid. Those are Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. Pluto used to be a planet. Scientists decided that it would be best to exclude it from the solar system due to its size. Some planets have moons that circle around them. Earth only has one moon; Pluto also has one moon. Mars has two tiny moons. And Mercury and Venus have no moons

There are still many planets out there to discover in other solar systems.

[Source: 100 Things You Should Know About Space]

Nice article Sol! Did you know that the first four inner planets are known as the terrestrials, the outer planets being called the Jovian? This is very well written. – Leilani, Madison (2019-10-26 11:54)

I enjoy reading your work, Sol! Keep it up! Can't wait to see what's next. – Cristian Cruz, Madison West High School (2019-10-29 16:44)

Good work Sol! I always like to learn more about the solar system and our place in the universe. Keep it up! – Leila Fletcher, Madison West High School (2019-10-29 16:44)

This is a great article Sol! The solar system is so complex and interesting, I'm glad you decided to write about this! – Virginia Quach, UW-Madison (2019-11-06 18:42)