Do you think our planet is the only

place in the universe where there is

life?

Until 1995, astronomers had never
found a solar system like ours.

A solar system is made up of a star
surrounded by planets and other
objects.

In 1995, astronomers found a planet
orbiting (going around) a distant star
like our Sun.

Since then, they have found other solar
systems.

Astronomers now think that there are
many solar systems in the universe.

They do not know whether there is life
in any of these other solar systems.

Our solar system is the one we
know the most about.

Sun is at its center. Our solar
system includes everything that
orbits around the Sun.

Planets, moons, asteroids, comets,
gas, and dust are all part of the
solar system.

The Sun, like other stars, is a hot ball
of gas.

Hydrogen and helium are the main
gases in the Sun.

Almost all the energy in our solar
system comes from the Sun.


The Sun changes hydrogen into
helium to create light and heat.

These changes take place deep
inside the Sun.

Daytime temperatures on Mercury
can increase to 430 Celsius.

That is hot enough to melt some
metals!

Mercury gets so hot because it is so
close to the Sun

Earth is about three times farther
from the Sun.

It really cools off at night on Mercury.

The temperature can drop as low as -180
Celsius after the Sun goes down.

It also gets colder! It gets so cold partly
because Mercury has almost no
atmosphere.

An atmosphere is the gases around a
planet.

On Earth, the gases act like a blanket
that holds in heat.


Venus is more like Earth in some
ways than any other planet.

It is almost the same size as Earth.

It is made mostly of rock and has an
atmosphere.

But Venus has no moon.
Earth has just the right conditions
for life.

It is not too hot or too cold.

Earth has lots of liquid water and
an atmosphere (gases) that can
support life.

Mars is a small, rocky planet much like
Earth. Pictures of the surface of Mars sent
back by spacecraft look like deserts on
Earth.

Mars is about half the size of Earth, but its
land area is about equal to Earths land
area.

Thats because Mars has no oceans.

Mars does have water, however, Some of
the water is frozen in icecaps at the
planets north and south poles.

Scientists also think there may be a
lot of water frozen underground.

A day on Mars is just a bit longer than
a day on Earth.

Mars even has seasons!

Mars is much colder than Earth, on the
warmest summer days it gets up to
about 15 Celsius.
You could never land a spacecraft on
Jupiter. Jupiter does not have a hard
surface.

Astronomers (scientists who study
space) call Jupiter a gas giant
because its made almost entirely of
gas.

From space, Jupiter looks striped.

The stripes are actually bands of
colored clouds that circle the planet.

Big storms rage in the clouds around
Jupiter.

The biggest storm is called the Great
Red Spot.

Three planets the size of Earth could
fit across the Great Red Spot. This
storm may have lasted for hundreds of
years.

Deeper into the planet, the gas gets
thicker and heavier.


Saturn is the second largest planet in
our solar system, after Jupiter.

It is the sixth planet from the Sun.

Saturn is surrounded by spectacular
rings.

Italian astronomer Galileo was the first
person to see the rings around Saturn.

Galileo was looking at Saturn through
one of the first telescopes, in 1610.


Uranus is a huge planet.

It is the third largest planet in the solar system,
after Jupiter and Saturn.

Uranus does not have a solid surface.

The planet is made up mostly of gas.

It has clouds made of methane ice high in the
atmosphere.

The clouds get thicker and thicker.
The thick clouds blend into a liquid ocean.

Astronomers think the ocean on Uranus is made of
water and the chemicals ammonia and methane.

Astronomers found Neptune by
watching the planet Uranus.

A German astronomer finally saw
Neptune through a telescope in 1846.

Astronomers named the newly found
planet Neptune after the ancient
Roman god of the sea

Pluto is usually the farthest planet
from the Sun.

It goes around the Sun in an oval-
shaped path called an orbit.

It takes almost 248 Earth years for
Pluto to go around the Sun once.


In the 1600s, the famous Italian
scientist Galileo was the first person to
look at the Moon through a telescope.

He saw dark spots that he thought
were oceans.

Today, we know a lot more about the
Moon.

We know that nothing lives on the
Moon, and there are no oceans.


A star is a big ball of hot, glowing gas,
mostly hydrogen and helium.

Stars give off heat, light, and other
kinds of energy.

A star has several layers.

The part at the center of a star is
called its core.

A star shines because of its core.
Microsoft Encarta kids, (2007).
Microsoft corporation