Written by: Manaswi Sapkota - 2025008, Grade VII
Posted on: 15 October, 2020
The Solar System formed 4.6 billion years ago. Our solar system consists of the sun, planets, stars, satellites, asteroids, comets, dwarf planets, black holes, and so many more undiscovered things. During our virtual tour which was a replacement for a field trip because of the coronavirus, we learned about Our Solar System.
Our Sun is a huge ball of fire. It’s also known as the closest star to our planet. All the other planets roam around The Sun. The smallest planet in our solar system and nearest to the Sun, Mercury is only slightly larger than Earth's Moon. It takes 88 earth days to take a complete round of the Sun. The second planet in orbit is Venus. Similar in size and structure to Earth, Venus has been called Earth's twin. These are not identical twins, however, there are really fewer differences between the two planets. It takes 225 earth days to complete a round of the Sun.
Our home planet is the third planet from the Sun, and the only place we know of so far that’s inhabited by living things. It takes 365 days to complete a round of the Sun. The fourth planet from the Sun, Mars is a dusty, cold, desert world with a very thin atmosphere. It takes 687 earth days to complete a round of the Sun. Fifth from the Sun, Jupiter is, by far, the largest planet in the solar system. It’s a ringed planet. It takes 4,333 earth days to complete a round of earth.
Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun and the second-largest planet in our solar system. It has a beautiful ring around it. It takes 10,759 earth days to complete a round of the Sun. Uranus is the seventh planet from the Sun. It’s known as the “sideways planet” because it rotates on its side. It takes 30,687 earth days to complete a round of the Sun. Our last planet is Neptune. It’s also a ringed planet. It’s one of the coldest planets and takes 60,190 days to complete a round of the Sun. There are 5 dwarf planets: Pluto, Ceres, Makemake, Haumea, and Eris.
Talking about moons in the solar system family, Earth has 1 moon, Mars has 2, Jupiter has 79, Saturn has 82, Uranus has 27, and Neptune has 14 moons. There are many more asteroids and comets in our Solar System which are yet undiscovered.
Source: NASA
