The Solar System
The sun is a star at the center of the solar system. Nine big bodies,called planets travel around the sun in a counterclockwise (clock running backward direction).Starting from the sun,the nine planets of the solar system are Mercury,Venus Earth,Mars,Jupiter,Saturn,Uranus,Neptune and Pluto. The planets in order have the same first letters as the words of this sentence:My Very Educated Mother Just Sent Us Nine Pizzas.
Hanging Together
Gravity is a powerful natural force in the universe.It attracts,or pulls,all objects to one another.It keeps the various bodies in the solar system from flying off into space.The sun's gravity pulls on the planets and keeps them in their orbits.The planets' gravity pulls on the moons and keeps them moving around their planets. Gravity keeps the entire solar system from spinning out of control.
Huge Size
Everything about the solar system is Enormous.It is about 3.6 billion miles(5.8 billion KM) from the sun to the edge of the solar system.Light,moving at 186,000 miles a second(300,000 KMPH),takes about five hours to reach Pluto,the farthest planet from the sun.
Around and Around we go
Around and Around we go
The planets move in orbits,or paths,around the sun.But the solar system also contains many other smaller objects,called asteroids.Most orbit around the sun between Mars and Jupiter.Also,dozens of moons-some bigger,some smaller than our moon-are in our orbit around other planets.
