The stars and the Moon we see in the night sky, and the Earth we live on, are all in vast space.
The Earth is one of eight planets that go around the Sun, a star that makes its own light.
In order from the Sun, Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune go around it, each with its own size and look.
Choose a planet in the picture to see its place and a fact about it; the spacing and sizes in the picture are not to scale.
Exploring the solar system
If you only look up at night, the bright dots can seem stuck on one flat sheet. Near lights and far lights feel like they sit at the same height, so you need a picture that puts the Sun in the first seat and lines up the 8 planets by distance. Memorizing names alone quickly mixes up whether the Moon belongs in that row, and whether the Sun takes a planet seat. Once the seats are sorted, a ring or a size gap can sit on top without scrambling who stands where. Counting from the Sun, instead of from the sky you see tonight, keeps the row from folding back into one glowing pile.
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The Sun and the eight planets lined up in order from the Sun
The Sun sits on the left of the picture, and the 8 planets sit in one row to its right, nearer ones closer in. When you pick one with the slider, only that circle is drawn a bit larger and darker, and its name plus a one-line note appear at the top. The ones you did not pick stay small and faded, so you can compare who sits nearer the Sun in the same row. Pick Saturn and an oval ring is drawn around that circle. The tiny background dots are stars sitting still; they do not change place. Nothing in this picture shows a planet circling the Sun.
Earth
🚀 What is the solar system?
①The Sun, the eight planets that go around it, and other bodies such as moons together make up the solar system
②In order from the Sun: Mercury → Venus → Earth → Mars → Jupiter → Saturn → Uranus → Neptune
③The Earth is the third planet from the Sun
④The picture spaces the planets evenly to show their order; in reality the outer planets are much farther apart
Every planet is different
A common mix-up is dropping the Moon into the planet row. The Moon is a satellite that goes around Earth, so it sits on a different layer from seats lined up from the Sun. If you think Earth must sit in the middle of the picture because we live there, the starting point flips from the Sun to Earth. Calling a star that makes its own light and heat by the same name as a body that only shines with that light tilts the whole list to one side. Keeping those two kinds of objects apart is what stops the row from swallowing everything that glows.
☀️ The Sun: a star that shines by itself
①The Sun is not a planet but a star that makes its own light and heat
②Its surface is about 5,500 degrees Celsius
③Most of the light and warmth the Earth gets comes from the Sun
🌍 The Earth: a planet with life
①It has liquid water on its surface, so living things can live there
②Its atmosphere (air) blocks harmful light and keeps the temperature just right
③It has one moon, the Moon, that goes around it
🪐 Fun planet facts
①Jupiter is so big that about 1,300 Earths would fit inside it
②Saturn is lighter than the same amount of water
③Mars has a volcano (Olympus Mons) about 2.5 times as tall as Mount Everest
④On Neptune the wind blows faster than 2,000 km/h
Summary
🎯 Space adventure in short
①The solar system is made up of the Sun, eight planets and more
②A sentence like "My Very Educated Mother Just Served Us Noodles" helps you remember the order
③The Sun is a star, not a planet, and the Moon is a moon that goes around the Earth
④Of all the places we know, the Earth is the only one where life has been found
Examples and Unit Test
Example 1
Name the 8 planets of the solar system in order from the Sun. Which number is the Earth?
1
In order from the Sun: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune.
2
The Earth is the third planet from the Sun.
▸ Mercury · Venus · Earth · Mars · Jupiter · Saturn · Uranus · Neptune / Earth = third
The sentence "My Very Educated Mother Just Served Us Noodles" makes the order easy to remember.
Example 2
Is the Sun a planet? Why do you think so?
1
The Sun is a star that gives off its own light.
2
Planets do not make their own light; we see them by the Sun's light, and they go around the Sun. So the Sun is not a planet.
▸ The Sun is not a planet but a star that shines by itself
Thanks to the Sun, the Earth has light and warmth.
Unit Test
Which planet is third closest to the Sun?
①Mercury
②Venus
③Earth
④Mars
⑤Jupiter
▸ ③ Earth
1
In order from the Sun come Mercury, Venus, then Earth.