2. Your Mission You will take a journey through outer space. Along the way you will learn about our solar system and the objects in it. Be sure to keep an eye out for space creatures along the way. Click the shooting star to navigate through the pages. Hang on tight and lets go!
3. Discovery of the Solar System A model where the earth and other planets travel around the sun. What does Heliocentric mean?? Click the sun to find out! Nicolaus Copernicus discovered that our solar system was Heliocentric.
4. Discovery of the Solar System Click on the telescope to view more! Galileo Galilei made great improvements on the construction of the telescope.
5. Discovery of the Solar System A telescope magnifies objects that are far away and allows us to see them clearly. Click on the magnify glass to see some object through a telescope.
6. Now that we know a little about how the Solar System was discovered, let’s see what we can find on our exploration! Hop aboard the rocket and get ready for take off! First stop—The Sun!
7. The Sun Answer the following questions about our sun. Click on the answer you think is correct. The sun is by far the largest object in the solar system. Our Sun is actually the closest star to Earth. The sun's strong gravitational pull holds Earth and the other planets in place. True False True False False True
8. The TerrestrialPlanets A terrestrial planet is a planet that is primarily composed of rocks and/or metals. Click on the rock to see the terrestrial planets in our solar system. Earth Mercury Venus Mars Hey! Those are also the four planets closest to the sun!
9. The GaseousPlanets A gaseous planet is a planet that does not contain any of rocks and/or metals. Click on the gas flame to see the gaseous planets in our solar system. Uranus Jupiter Saturn Neptune Hey! Did you know that gaseous planets are also called Jovian planets, named for the gas giant Jupiter?
10. The DwarfPlanets A dwarf planet is a object that is too small to be categorized as a planet but too large to be categorized as any other object. Three of the larger dwarf planets are found below. Pluto Ceres Eris Hey! Did you know that the dwarf planet Pluto was the only planet to be named by a kid? Pluto used to be classified as a planet. It wasn’t until 2006 that it was changed to a dwarf planet.
11. Can you guess the order of the planets? Click on the planet name to see where it goes! Let’s take a closer look at each of the planets in the solar system. First stop -- Mercury! Saturn Jupiter Uranus Earth Mars Neptune Mercury Venus
12. Mercury is the planet nearest to the sun. The sun appears 2 and a half times larger in Mercury's sky compared to the Earth's. Mercury
13. Venus is the hottest planet in the solar system. The brightest of all planets, Venus, is also known as the Morning Star and the Evening Star. Venus
14. Earth is an oasis of life in an otherwise desolate universe. The Earth's temperature, weather, atmosphere and many other factors are just right to keep us alive. Ear t h
15. Mars excites scientists because its mild temperament is more like the Earth's than any of the other planets. Mars has two moons, their names are Deimos and Phobos. Mars
16. Jupiter is by far the largest planet in our Solar System. The Earth could fit inside Jupiter more than 1000 times. Jupiter has 50 official moons. Jup i t er
17. Saturn is the lightest planet in our Solar System. It is made up of mostly hydrogen and helium. Sa t urn
18. Uranus spins on its side. Uranus is an very cold planet. It is believed that Uranus is made up of rock and ice. Uranus
19. For many centuries people did not know that Neptune even existed. It was discovered by Johann Galle and Heinrich D'Arrest in 1846. Nep t une
20. Congratulations! Your space odyssey has come to an end. It is now time to return home. If you want to continue your exploration, click on the link for these websites. The are out of this world! Nasa Kids Club Astronomy for Kids
