[ Mercury ] [ Venus ] [ Mars ] [ Jupiter ] [ Saturn ] [ Uranus ] [ Neptune ] [ Pluto ]

"This is how you can remember the planets in order from the sun:

My Very Educated Mother Just Served Us Nine Pizzas.

Did you notice that the first letter of each word represents the first letter of each planet in order? We will visit each of the planets, take an in-depth look into the discovery of Pluto, and see if there is life on Jupiter's moon, Europa. Discover which mission went to what planet and what their accomplishments were. You can also find out how each planet was discovered."

Mercury

Mercury, the planet nearest to the Sun, is the second smallest planet in our solar system. Only slightly larger than the Earth’s moon, Mercury’s surface is covered with craters. This tiny planet does not have any rings or moons.

Venus

Venus is one of the brightest objects in our sky, so it is clearly visible to the naked eye. It can be tricky to spot, however, because it is always near the Sun. It rises and sets with the Sun each day. Ancient civilizations believed Venus was actually two different objects, so they called the one that rose the Morning Star, and the one that set the Evening Star.

Mars

Mars is very bright, which makes it easy to spot in the night sky. It was named after the Roman god of war because its reddish color reminded the people of blood.

Jupiter

Jupiter, the fifth planet from the Sun, is the largest planet in our solar system. Jupiter is so big that over 1,000 planets the size of Earth could fit into it. It has 17 moons and 2 rings.  Can life exist on Jupiter's moon, Europa?

Saturn

Saturn, the sixth planet from the Sun, is the second largest planet in our solar system. It is often called the ringed planet because many rings of dust and rocks surround it. Saturn also has 22 moons.

Uranus

Uranus is a very unusual planet. It sits on its side with north and south poles sticking out the sides. It rotates around this axis, making it look like a ball rolling around in a circle around the Sun.

Neptune

Neptune, usually the eighth planet from the Sun, is a very cold place. Occasionally, Pluto crosses Neptune’s orbit and becomes the eight planet. Its bluish color comes from its atmosphere of methane gas.

Pluto

Pluto, usually the ninth planet from the Sun, is the smallest planet in our solar system. Some scientists believe that Pluto once was one of Neptune’s moons. It pulled out away from Neptune and made its own orbit. You can take an in-depth look into the Discovery of Pluto.

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[ Mercury ] [ Venus ] [ Mars ] [ Jupiter ] [ Saturn ] [ Uranus ] [ Neptune ] [ Pluto ]

Unless otherwise noted, all images courtesy of NASA. Permission for use at http://www.nasa.gov/gallery/photo/guideline.html.

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