Facts About the Planets

Number of Planets in Solar System — Eight (8)*
(*The number of Planets in Solar System was decided 8 by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) on August 24, 2006. Pluto has been removed from our Solar System by IAU)
Largest Planet — Jupiter
Nearest to the sun and fastest Planet — Mercury
Brightest, hottest and nearest to earth — Venus
Planet surrounded by a five faint rings — Uranus
Least Dense Planet — Saturn
Most dense Planet — Earth
Evening star and Morning star — Venus
Red Planet — Mars
Green Planet — EarthGreat Red Spot Planet, Giant Planet — Jupiter


Here are some facts to help you out when teaching or learning about the planets in our solar system. There may even be a 10th planet coming soon!

There are currently nine planets in our solar system. Each planet orbits around the Sun. When a planet makes a complete path around the Sun, it is called a revolution. Our planet, Earth, takes approximately 365.25 days to make a revolution. Planets that are farther away from the Sun take longer to make a revolution. Planets spin on an axis, which is an imaginary line that goes through the center of the planet. The time it takes Earth to rotate on its axis equals one day or 24 hours.

Here are some interesting facts about each of the planets:

(Day = midday to midday)

MercuryDistance from Sun : 36 million miles
Diameter : 3,032 miles
Average Temperature : 333° F
Surface : Silicate rock
Revolution : 88 days
Day : 175.94 days
Number of moons : 0
Neat Fact : Closest planet to the Sun.

Venus
Distance from Sun : 67 million miles
Diameter : 7,521 miles
Average Temperature : 867° F
Surface : Silicate rock
Revolution : 224.7 days
Day : 116.75 days
Number of moons : 0
Neat Fact : Rotates in the opposite direction from the other planets.

Earth
Distance from Sun : 93 million miles
Diameter : 7,926 miles
Average Temperature : 59° F
Surface : Water, basalt, and granite rock
Revolution : 365.25 days
Day : 24 hours
Number of moons : 1
Neat Fact : Travels around the Sun at a speed of >66,000 miles per hour.

Mars
Distance from Sun : 142 million miles
Diameter : 4,213 miles
Average Temperature : -81° F
Surface : iron-rich basaltic rich
Revolution : 687 days
Day : 24 hours 39 minutes 35 seconds
Number of moons : 2
Neat Fact : The largest volcano in the Solar System is on Mars. It is called Olympus Mons.

Jupiter
Distance from Sun : 484 million miles
Diameter : 88,732 miles
Average Temperature : -162º F
Surface : Liquid hydrogen
Revolution : 11.9 years
Day : 9 hours 55 minutes 30 seconds
Number of moons : 63
Neat Fact : The four largest moons were found by Galileo in 1601; the others were discovered in 2003.

Saturn
Distance from Sun : 887 million miles
Diameter : 74,975 miles
Average Temperature : -218º F
Surface : Liquid hydrogen
Revolution : 29.5 years
Day : 10 hours 39 minutes 23 seconds
Number of moons : 47
Neat Fact : Galileo discovered the rings around Saturn with a simple early telescope.

Uranus
Distance from Sun : 1.8 billion miles
Diameter : 31,763 miles
Average Temperature : -323º F
Surface : Liquid hydrogen and helium
Revolution : 84 years
Day : 17 hours 14 minutes 23 seconds
Number of moons : 27
Neat Fact : Its north pole stays dark for 42 years at a time.

Neptune
Distance from Sun : 2.8 billion miles
Diameter : 30,603 miles
Average Temperature : -330º F
Surface : Liquid hydrogen and helium
Revolution : 164.8 years
Day : 16 days 6 hours 37 minutes
Number of moons : 13
Neat Fact : Neptune can have winds up to 2400 miles per second.

Pluto
Distance from Sun : 3.6 billion miles
Diameter : 1,485 miles
Average Temperature : -369º F
Surface : Rock and frozen gases
Revolution : 247.7 years
Day : 6 days 9 hours 17 minutes
Number of moons : 3
Neat Fact : Some scientists do not consider Pluto to be an actual planet.

More Planet Facts
Largest Planet : Jupiter
Smallest Planet : Pluto
Fasting Orbiting Planet : Mercury
Slowest Orbiting Planet : Pluto
Hottest Planet : Venus
Coldest Planet : Pluto
Shortest Day : Jupiter
Longest Day : Mercury

New Planet Coming Soon
Xena was discovered in 2003. Astronomers in 2006 stated that it is an object that is bigger than Pluto and located about 9 billion miles from the Sun. Could this one day be considered the 10th planet? Time will tell.

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