LThe smallest planet in our solar system and nearest to the Sun, Mercury is only slightly larger

than Earth's MoonMercury's surface temperatures are both extremely hot and cold. Because the
planet is so close to the SunMercury is the smallest planet in our solar system. It’s
just a little bigger than Earth’s Moon. Mercury itself, though, doesn’t have
any moons. It is the closest planet to the Sun, but it’s actually not the
hottest. Venus is hotter.
Along with Venus, Earth, and Mars, Mercury is one of the rocky planets. It
has a solid surface that is covered with craters. Instead of an atmosphere,
Mercury possesses a thin exosphere made up of atoms blasted off the
surface by the solar wind and striking meteoroids. Mercury's exosphere is
composed mostly of oxygen, sodium, hydrogen, helium, and potassium.
Mercury doesn’t have any moons.

Venus is the second planet from the Sun, and the sixth largest planet. It’s the
hottest planet in our solar system. Venus is a cloud-swaddled planet named for
a love goddess, and often called Earth’s twin

Earth – our home planet – is the third planet from the Sun, and the fifth largest
planet. It's the only place we know of inhabited by living things. While Earth is
only the fifth largest planet in the solar system, it is the only world in our solar system with
liquid water on the surface. Just slightly larger than nearby Venus, Earth is the biggest of the
four planets closest to the Sun, all of which are made of rock and metal.

Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun, and the seventh largest. It’s the only planet we know of
inhabited entirely by robots. It’s dry, rocky, and bitter cold. The fourth planet from the Sun, Mars is
one of Earth's two closest planetary neighbors (Venus is the other). Mars is one of the easiest planets
to spot in the night sky – it looks like a bright red point of light.

Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun, and the largest in the solar system – more than twice as
massive as the other planets combined. Jupiter's stripes and swirls are actually cold, windy clouds of
ammonia and water, floating in an atmosphere of hydrogen and helium. Jupiter’s iconic Great Red
Spot is a giant storm bigger than Earth that has raged for hundreds of years

Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun, and the second largest in the solar
system. It’s surrounded by beautiful rings. Saturn is a massive ball made
mostly of hydrogen and helium. The rings we see are made of groups of tiny
ringlets that surround Saturn. They’re made of chunks of ice and rock. Like
Jupiter, Saturn is mostly a ball of hydrogen and helium.
LThe smallest planet in our solar system and nearest to the Sun, Mercury is only slightly larger
than Earth's MoonMercury's surface temperatures are both extremely hot and cold. Because the
planet is so close to the SunMercury is the smallest planet in our solar system. It’s
just a little bigger than Earth’s Moon. Mercury itself, though, doesn’t have
any moons. It is the closest planet to the Sun, but it’s actually not the
hottest. Venus is hotter.
Along with Venus, Earth, and Mars, Mercury is one of the rocky planets. It
has a solid surface that is covered with craters. Instead of an atmosphere,
Mercury possesses a thin exosphere made up of atoms blasted off the
surface by the solar wind and striking meteoroids. Mercury's exosphere is
composed mostly of oxygen, sodium, hydrogen, helium, and potassium.
Mercury doesn’t have any moons.

Uranus is made of water, methane, and ammonia fluids above a small

rocky center. Its atmosphere is made of hydrogen and helium like Jupiter
and Saturn, but it also has methane. The methane makes Uranus blue.

Neptune is dark, cold, and very windy. It's the last of the planets in our solar
system. It's more than 30 times as far from the sun as Earth is. Neptune is
very similar to Uranus. It's made of a thick fog of water, ammonia, and
methane over an Earth-sized solid center. Its atmosphere is made of
hydrogen, helium, and methane. The methane gives Neptune the same
blue color as Uranus. Neptune has six rings, but they're very hard to see.

Our solar system has five dwarf planets. In order of distance from the Sun they
are: Ceres, Pluto, Haumea, Makemake, and Eris.

The Sun is the star at the heart of our solar system. Its gravity holds the solar
system together, keeping everything – from the biggest planets to the smallest
bits of debris – in its orbit.