The Planets

There are four rocky planets in the Solar System. They’re called ‘terrestrial planets’ because they’re made of rock and have a hard surface to land on. These planets are Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars.

The Solar System’s habitable zone is close to Earth and Mars. The habitable zone is where living things can survive because it’s not too hot or too cold there.

Mercury is the closest planet to the Sun. It’s also the fastest-moving planet. At top speed, it travels 56 kilometers every second. Venus is the second planet from the Sun, but it’s the hottest. It’s about 460 degrees Celsius on its surface. Unbelievable!

After Earth and Mars, there are the four gas giants: Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. We call them ‘gas giants’ because they’re made of gas and they’re huge. You can fit 1,300 Earths in Jupiter. All the gas giants have got rings around them, but Saturn is special because its rings are huge. The rings make Saturn a beautiful planet to watch through a telescope. The gas giants also have lots of moons. As of 2019, we have discovered 82 moons around Saturn and 79 moons around Jupiter. That’s a lot of moons.