The 8 Planets of the Solar System: A Comprehensive Guide

Planet

There are eight planets orbiting around the Sun. Apart from the Sun, the largest members of the Solar System are these eight main planets. This planet consists of four inner planets and four outer planets. The inner planets include:

Mercury

Mercury is the closest planet to the Sun. This planet is so close to the Sun that it only takes 88 days to complete its orbit and is much hotter than Earth.

Venus

Venus is the next planet from the Sun after Mercury. Like Earth, Venus has an atmosphere (air) around it, but it is much thicker than Earth’s and Venus is permanently covered in clouds. Venus is the hottest planet and has an average temperature of 460 ° C. It takes 225 days to go around the Sun.

Earth

Earth is where humans live. Earth is made of rock and is the only planet where water is liquid. Other planets are too hot or too cold. Earth takes 365 days to go around the Sun.

Mars

Mars is slightly smaller than Earth, but much farther away. It used to have an atmosphere like Earth and Venus but now it doesn’t have much. Mars is reddish in color and is sometimes called the ‘Red Planet’. Mars takes 687 days to complete its orbit from the Sun and has an average temperature of -63°C.

While the outer planets in the solar system are:

Jupiter

Jupiter is the largest planet in the Solar System. Jupiter is even 1,321 times bigger than earth. This planet is made of gas and is one of the four ‘gas giants’. Jupiter is five times farther from the Sun than Earth and takes nearly 12 years to circle the Sun.

Saturn

Saturn is famous for its rings. Saturn is the second largest planet in the Solar System and is one of the ‘gas giants’ like Jupiter. It takes 29.5 years to go around the Sun.

Uranus

Uranus is one of the ‘gas giants’. You can fit 63 Earth-sized planets inside Uranus. Uranus takes 84 years to orbit the Sun and is the coldest planet, with an average temperature of -220°C.

Neptune

Neptune is the farthest planet from the Sun. It is 30 times the distance from the Sun to Earth and takes 165 years to go around the Sun. Neptune is the last of the four ‘gas giants’ and is 58 times the volume of Earth.