Let's learn together: The Planets 1

The Planets (Freepik).

Wow, this is a spectacular neighborhood! And I am referring to our solar system, where we have 7 neighboring planets, that is, there are 8 planets in total if we include our beautiful blue planet. Later I will explain to you why Pluto is not a planet.

And like in every neighborhood, there is everything, from huge neighbors to small ones, the rebel that advances differently, the blue or red ones, the rocky ones, or the gaseous ones. Phew! Each one has its particularities that make them unique and worth studying. So let's get started.

By the way, I invite you to review all the digital materials that Didactibox has prepared especially for you, whether you are a teacher, tutor, advisor, student, or homeschooler, I am sure that they will be beneficial to you to learn in an easy and fun way.

The first is a presentation of the planets you can print for your students to carry like a keychain, to learn all the important data about each.

And without further ado, let's go meet our neighbors. Remember that we know all this information thanks to the scientists who are dedicated to studying them, sending spacecraft to take samples, photos, and all the information possible.

Mercury

It is the closest planet to the Sun and also the smallest in our solar system, it is only a little larger than our natural satellite: the Moon.

Despite being so close to the Sun, curiously, it's not the hottest planet; that title goes to Venus. It's one of the three rocky planets in the solar system; its surface is covered with craters because many meteorites collide with it due to its lack of atmosphere—it only has a very thin exosphere. Also, Mercury doesn't have any moons.

A day on Mercury is equal to 59 days on Earth; it rotates very slowly! On the contrary, its year is very short, only 88 of our days to complete an orbit around the Sun. A child of 10 years old would have blown out the candles on their cake more than 40 times already on Mercury.

The temperature on its surface is extreme; during the day, it can reach up to 800°F, but at night, it can drop to -300°F. Because its rotation axis is nearly vertical, it doesn't experience seasons; however, there is ice at its poles.

Mercury owes its name to the Roman god Mercury, the swift messenger of the gods. Because this planet has such a short year, it was deemed fitting to name it after him.

Venus

It's the second planet in the solar system and curiously the hottest, due to its atmosphere filled with carbon dioxide and sulfuric acid, which creates a greenhouse effect, trapping heat like a blanket over the planet.

It's almost the same size as Earth and like Earth, it has mountains and volcanoes. However, it rotates very slowly and backward compared to our planet—that is, in the opposite direction.

A day on Venus equals almost 243 Earth days, and a year takes 225 Earth days; in other words, a year on Venus is almost equal to a day, and curiously, the year is a bit shorter. This means that on Venus, the Sun rises twice each year. And, by the way, the Sun rises in the west and sets in the east; remember, Venus rotates opposite to our planet. Venus also doesn't have any moons.

Its color and atmosphere make Venus visible to the naked eye from Earth; being so bright in the night sky, the Romans associated it with the goddess of beauty and love, Venus, and named it in her honor.

It's a rocky planet and sports a beautiful rust-red color, which makes it quite attractive. Despite its atmosphere being entirely toxic, it's also so dense that it can reach temperatures of 887°F, with so much energy accumulated that the atmosphere itself can complete a full rotation around the planet in just 4 days.

Wow! We've gotten to know the first two neighbors in this neighborhood called the solar system. We're almost home. Hurry, go to part 2 to continue getting to know the planets.