Major Components of the Solar System

Introduction
The Sun and the collection of all of its companions that
travel through space together along with it is known as
the Solar System. There are a variety of objects in the
Solar System.
•Planets: There are ten planets in the Solar System. Five of
them are visible from Earth without using a telescope.
Historically, the Sun, Moon and the five visible planets were
used as the sources for the names for the seven days of the
week.
•Satellites: Most of the planets have satellites. The satellite
that revolves around the Earth is called the Moon. Mars has
two satellites. Even some asteroids have satellites.
•Asteriods: Asteriods are smaller than planets. They are
•Comets: Comets are objects consisting of
frozen molecules of gases and other solid
materials.
•Meteoroids: A meteoroid is an interplanetary
particle in the Solar System. When a
meteoroid enters the Earth's atmosphere it
heats up and evaporates producing a streak of
light called a meteor. Sometimes they come
in groups called meteor showers. If a meteor
reaches the ground then it is called
a meteorite. Some really large meteors have
impacted the Earth. One produced the Meteor
PLANETS OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM
Mercury
•Mercury is the closest planet to the Sun.
•The mass of Mercury is much smaller than that of the Earth.
Mercury has about 1/9 of the mass of the Earth.
Venus
•Venus is the second planet from the Sun.
•The mass of Venus is almost the same as that of the Earth.
Venus has about 82% of the mass of the Earth.
Earth
•Earth is the third planet from the Sun.
•Earth has one satellite called the Moon. The mass of the Moon is
1/81 of the mass of the Earth.
Mars
•Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun.
•The mass of Mars is about 1/9 of the mass of the Earth.
Jupiter
•Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun.
•Jupiter is the largest planet. Its mass is 318 times
the mass of the Earth.
Saturn
•Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun.
•The mass of Saturn is 95 times the mass of the
Earth.
Uranus
•Uranus is the seventh planet from the Sun.
•The mass of Uranus is about 15 times the mass of
the Earth.
Neptune