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THE SOLAR SYSTEM |
AN INTRODUCTION... |
In our solar system, nine planets circle around our Sun. |
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The Sun sits in the
middle while the planets travel in circular paths (called orbits) around
it.
These nine planets travel in the same direction (counter- clockwise). |
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The Sun is the heaviest, largest, and hottest body in the Solar System. |
The solar system is made up of two parts: |
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The inner planets are separated from the outer planets by the Asteroid Belt |
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Each of the nine planets has two ways of moving. |
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The time it takes for a planet to rotate is known as a "day". Since the Earth spins on its axis every 24 hours, OUR day is 24 hours long. A day on Jupiter is the shortest - a little less than 10 hours. However, the planet Venus travels very slowly. One day on Venus would last for 243 of our Earth days! |
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The time needed for a planet to make one trip around the Sun is called a "year". You know that a year on Earth is about 365 and one-fourth days. Since Pluto's orbit is so far from the Sun, its year lasts for 247 of our years. |
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Besides the planets, there are countless smaller bodies that are part of our Solar System. |
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