The Solar System
Our Solar System is an amazing place. Not only is it home to eight planets, it also hold several dwarf planets, hundreds of moons, and thousands of stars and asteroids.
The eight planets in our Solar System are Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. These planets orbit the Sun.
Here is a funny song to help you remember the planets
The Sun is the center of our Solar System. It is because of the Sun that our solar system gets its name. Sol is the Roman name for Sun.
The Sun is the largest object within the Solar System - it makes up more than 95% of all the matter! It is because of the Sun's large size that the rest of the objects within the Solar System orbit around it.
The Sun is very, very hot. It is 10,000 degrees Fahrenheit on its surface.
Mercury is the closest planet to the Sun, making it the first planet in the Solar System. It is named after the Roman messenger god. In mythology, the god was known for being quick - Mercury is the fastest of all the planets to orbit the Sun, because it has the smallest route it has to take!
Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is named after the Roman goddess of beauty and love. Venus is almost the same size as Earth, but other than size the two planets are very different!
Earth is the only known planet that has any life forms in the Solar System. It is the third planet from the Sun. It is the only planet that is not named after a god.
This a video showing the many different life forms that Earth has
Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun. Named for the Roman god of war, it is also known as the "Red Planet". It is the last of the inner planets.
Jupiter is the first of the outer planets, and the fifth planet from the Sun. It is named for the king of the Roman gods. It is the largest of all of the planets.
Learn more about the Great Red Spot!
Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun. It is named for the Roman god of agriculture. It is most well known for its highly visible rings.
Uranus is the seventh planet from the Sun. The only planet named for a Greek god, its name comes from the god of the sky.
Neptune is the eighth and furthest planet from the Sun. It is named for the Roman god of sea. It is the smallest of the outer planets, and a gas giant.
There are many other exciting elements in the Solar System. Here are a few.
Asteroids are rocky bodies in the Solar System that are too small to be considered actual planets. In between Mars and Jupiter lies the Asteroid Belt, containing well over 90,000 asteroids. 
Comets are ice and rock that grow tails the closer they get to the sun. The hotter they get, the longer this "tail" becomes. The sunlight makes comets glow, which causes them to be visible on Earth.
Dwarf planets are bodies that orbit the sun that are not considered large enough to be actual planets. The most famous dwarf planet is Pluto, which was considered an actual planet up until 2006.
Satellites are machines put into the Solar System by scientists in order to find out more about the Solar System, and what is in it. These machines take pictures, perform experiments, take data, and much, much more. Without them, we wouldn't have the vast amount of information that we have today.
The Solar System is a fascinating place. Each of the eight planets have their own unique features, but are also similar in some ways - much like people! It is amazing to think that the Solar System has been around for more than 4.6 billions years. Each of the eight planets orbits the sun in the same direction, and in their own time. We have so much more we can learn about the Solar System, and so much we have learned already today.
sit this page to learn more interesting facts about the Solar System!
Want to get an idea of how far apart the planets are? Click here!
Resources
Our Solar System. Retrieved from http://www.kidsastronomy.com/solar_system.htm
Solar System. Retrieved from http://science.nationalgeographic.com/science/space/solar-system