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Hello and welcome to our Thinkquest Junior site.  We chose to make a site about Our Solar System.  We hope you enjoy this site.

 Our Solar System

The Sun    

 The Sun is at the center of our solar system.  It is a star. It has gravity which pulls the planets towards the Sun.  The planets counter the sun’s gravity with their own, so that they don’t fall into the sun or fly out into space.  The planets orbit around the sun.

The Inner Planets

There are nine planets, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Earth, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto. There are inner and outer planets.  The inner planets are closest to the sun.  They are made of rock and metal.  They are the most likely planets to sustain life.  Only Earth seems to be thriving with life.  The inner planets are Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars. 

**To remember the order of the inner planets remember the following sentence.  The first letter or two of each word should remind you of a planet. 

    Meet very exciting Martians.   (Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars)

The Asteroid Belt    

Between the inner and outer planets lies the Asteroid Belt.  It is made of different sized metal and rock bodies.  The largest is 600 miles in diameter. 

The Outer Planets   

Beyond the Asteroid Belt are the outer planets.  Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto make up the outer planets.  These planets are much colder because they are farther away from the Sun.  Four of the five outer planets, 

Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune, are called the Gas Giants and have rings around them. Most of each planet is made up of gases.  These planets cannot be landed on because they don’t have a solid surface.  

The farthest planet, called Pluto, is different from the other planets.  It is a very small rocky planet that has a different kind of orbit.  Instead of a circular orbit like the other planets, it has an oval shaped orbit.  Scientists wonder if it is a planet.

**To remember the order of the inner planets remember the following sentence.  The first letter or two of each word should remind you of a planet. 

Jet the spacecraft under the nine planets.  (Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto)

The Oort Comet Cloud  

Beyond our solar system is the Oort Comet Cloud.  It is made up of small bits of ice and rock.  These might be remains of what did not become planets.  Beyond that is space and stars.  Anything other than that out in space still remains a mystery to humankind.     

To learn more about the Sun and Planets in our Solar System click on the bars below.