Download Our solar system includes the sun and the eight

The Sun and the planets fact cards
Image courtesy NASA
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Image courtesy NASA
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© www.teachitprimary.co.uk 2012
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Our solar system includes the sun and the
eight planets that are closest to it.
The furthest planet is over four billion
kilometres away from Earth, but all eight
planets can be seen in the night sky, using
a telescope or binoculars.
The Sun is a star, not a planet. It is the
only star we see in the daytime.
The Sun is enormous. You could fit more
than one million earths inside it!
The centre of the Sun is very hot – about
15 million degrees Celsius. It is so hot
that planets millions of kilometres away
can feel its heat.
Without the Sun there would be no
sunlight and all life on Earth would end.
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The Sun and the planets fact cards
Image courtesy NASA
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Image courtesy NASA
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© www.teachitprimary.co.uk 2012
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Mercury is the closest planet to the Sun.
It is a small, rocky planet, much like our
Moon.
It is covered with craters and has changed
very little from when it first formed.
The temperature on Mercury in the daytime
is more than 400 degrees Celsius. At night,
it is -200 degrees Celsius.
Venus is a small, rocky planet covered in a
thick layer of yellowish clouds. These
clouds are formed from a poison called
sulphuric acid.
Venus is very hot – about 400 degrees
Celsius.
Venus was first visited by a spacecraft in
1962. It has since been visited by more
than 20 spacecraft – none of the spacecraft
had people on board.
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The Sun and the planets fact cards
Image courtesy NASA
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Image courtesy NASA
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© www.teachitprimary.co.uk 2012
17845
Earth is a small, rocky planet which has a
wide variety of life. It is the only planet
known to support life.
Its distance from the Sun means it is not
too hot, nor too cold to support liquid
water which is very important for life.
It is the fifth largest planet in the Solar
System.
Earth is orbited by one moon.
Mars is a small, rocky planet which is cold
and lifeless.
Strong winds and large dust storms
sometimes blow through the planet for
months.
It has volcanoes, valleys, deserts and polar
ice caps on its surface.
Mars is sometimes called ‘The Red Planet’.
This is because it has a reddish colour.
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The Sun and the planets fact cards
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Image courtesy NASA
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Image courtesy NASA
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© www.teachitprimary.co.uk 2012
17845
Jupiter is the largest planet in the Solar
System – it is about 1,000 times bigger
than Earth!
Jupiter has high-speed winds and a storm
called the ‘Great Red Spot’. This is a storm
of swirling gas that has lasted for hundreds
of years.
Jupiter does not have a solid surface - it is
made up of gases. The bands that we see
when looking at Jupiter are the tops of
clouds high in its atmosphere.
Saturn is the second largest planet in the
Solar System.
It has wide rings around its centre. These
rings are made up of water ice.
Saturn is made up of materials which are
lighter than water. If you placed Saturn in
the sea, it would float!
Saturn has ‘spots’ which are areas where
there are big storms.
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The Sun and the planets fact cards
Image courtesy JPL/NASA
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Uranus was discovered in 1781 by a
famous astronomer, William Herschel.
Uranus is a giant gas planet made up of
rock and ice.
It is the third largest planet in the Solar
System.
Uranus spins differently from other planets
– it is tilted on its side.
Image courtesy JPL/NASA
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© www.teachitprimary.co.uk 2012
17845
Neptune is covered by icy bright blue clouds
of a gas called methane.
It is the fourth largest planet in the Solar
System.
Neptune has fast winds and large storms.
Its winds are the fastest in the Solar
System.
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