Page 235 - DK Children's Encyclopedia

Solar system SEE ALSO

▸ ▸ Asteroids p.30
▸ ▸ Comets p.68
The solar system is made up of our star, the sun, and ▸ ▸ Earth p.83
everything that travels around it. This includes eight ▸ ▸ Jupiter p.141
planets and their moons, asteroids, and comets. Scientists ▸ ▸ Neptune p.183

think the solar system formed 4.6 billion years ago, ▸ ▸ Sun p.247
from a massive spinning cloud of gas and dust. ▸ ▸ Universe p.263

8

6

3
4
Sun 1 5
7 2

Asteroid belt

Orbiting planets 1. Mercury 2. Venus 3. Earth 4. Mars
The sun is the center of the Mercury is the The surface of Venus Earth has lots of Mars has a red,
solar system. Everything in smallest planet. is super-hot. liquid water. dusty surface.
the solar system travels
around, or orbits, the sun. 5. Jupiter 6. Saturn 7. Uranus 8. Neptune
Jupiter is the Saturn is famous for Uranus is thought to Neptune has strong
largest planet. the rings around it. be the coldest planet. winds and giant storms.

Types of planet
There are three types of planet in the solar system. Kepler-16b
The rocky planets orbit close to the sun, and the gas There are many other solar systems
and ice giants orbit farther away. in the universe. Scientists have even
found a planet, called Kepler-16b,
that orbits two suns.
Earth Neptune Jupiter

Rocky planets Ice giants Gas giants
Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Uranus and Neptune are Jupiter and Saturn
Mars are small and rocky with made of a mixture of gas are huge planets
solid surfaces. and icy materials. made of gas.
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