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The Sun and the planets fact cards Image courtesy NASA Image courtesy NASA © www.teachitprimary.co.uk 2012 17845 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. Page 1 of 5 The Sun and the planets fact cards Image courtesy NASA Image courtesy NASA © www.teachitprimary.co.uk 2012 17845 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. Page 2 of 5 The Sun and the planets fact cards Image courtesy NASA Image courtesy NASA © 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. Page 3 of 5 The Sun and the planets fact cards Image courtesy NASA Image courtesy NASA © 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. Page 4 of 5 The Sun and the planets fact cards Image courtesy JPL/NASA 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 © 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. Page 5 of 5