Planet Facts Read some really neat facts about the planets in our solar system! © Contributed by Leanne Guenther Note: The fast facts on this page are appropriate for grades 1 to 3 while the "more about" links are appropriate for grades 4+. I've listed them in order from closest to furthest from the sun: Mercury Venus Earth Mars Ceres (dwarf planet found in the asteroid belt) Jupiter Saturn Uranus Neptune Pluto (Note: Pluto is considered a dwarf planet now) Eris, Makemake, Haumea, Sedna (also dwarf planets -- found past Pluto) Mercury takes 59 days to make a rotation but only 88 days to circle the Sun. Venus is the brightest planet in our sky and can sometimes be seen with the naked eye if you know where to look. Earth has more exposed water than land. On-Line Jigsaw Puzzles: Mars is the home of "Olympus Mons", the largest volcano found in the solar system. Between Mars and Jupiter, is a Dwarf Planet known as Ceres. more about Jupiter >(including actual photos) Neptune was discovered in 1846.
Fundación Oso Pardo Astronomy For Kids Kids' Club Skip to main content NASA Kids Club › Text Only Site Let's Go to Mars! Plan. Make a Galactic Mobile Decorate Your Space! Watch 'Ready Jet Go!' Ready Jet Go! Orion Puzzles and Coloring Sheets Print and Play. For Parents and Teachers Teach your kids and students safe surfing habits.› Children's Protection Act Learn about what you can do to protect your privacy online.› The Earth and Beyond Welcome to The Earth and Beyond Hello, my name is Tim O'Brien. I'm an astronomer working at The University of Manchester's Jodrell Bank Observatory. As an astronomer my job is to try and understand how the universe works and my main interest is why some stars explode - more about this later! Exploding stars You may know the names of some patterns of stars (called constellations) such as Orion or the Great Bear. This picture shows Orion the Hunter and Taurus the Bull with the position of an exploded star known as the Crab Nebula. We're all made of stars Understanding why stars explode is very important because most of the chemical elements (carbon, oxygen, nitrogen and so on) were made inside stars and are spread out into space when they explode. Billions of years ago the Sun, Earth and the other planets formed out of the leftovers from one of these gigantic explosions. Learn about astronomy Exploding stars is just one example of why astronomy is important and fun.
The Solar System Our solar neighborhood is an exciting place. The Solar System is full of planets, moons, asteroids, comets, minor planets, and many other exciting objects. Learn about Io, the explosive moon that orbits the planet Jupiter, or explore the gigantic canyons and deserts on Mars. What Is The Solar System? The Solar System is made up of all the planets that orbit our Sun. Everything in the Solar System orbits or revolves around the Sun. How Did The Solar System form? This is an important question, and one that is difficult for scientists to understand. Scientists believe that the Solar System evolved from a giant cloud of dust and gas. At the center of this spinning cloud, a small star began to form. Further away from the center of this mass where the star was forming, there were smaller clumps of dust and gas that were also collapsing. A Great Storm Once ignited, the Sun's powerful solar winds began to blow. The Solar System Has Over 100 Worlds It is true that there are only eight planets.
Stars Learn About Stars With KidsAstronomy.com This is an example of the Hertzsprung–Russell diagram (HR diagram), first used in 1912. Two astronomers, Ejnar Hertzsprung from Denmark and Henry Norris Russell from the Unites States, both discovered that the brightness of a star depends on the surface temperature of the star. They each made this discovery on their own separately. Together, they came up with this diagram that explains the brightness, temperature and classes of stars. The scale on the left shows how bright a star is. The letters across the bottom represent the spectral class of stars, or color of stars. O – Blue B – Blue/White A – White F - White/Yellow G – Yellow K – Orange M - Red The temperature of the stars measured across the bottom of the scale are measured in Kelvin. As you can see, there are only a few categories of stars. Can you find Sol?