Name: _ Date:

Facts about Mercury

• In Roman mythology Mercury is the god of

commerce , travel and thievery, the Roman
counterpart of the Greek god Hermes, the messenger
of the Gods. The planet received this name
because it moves so quickly across the sky.

• Mercury is a small planet which orbits closer to the sun than

any other planet in our solar system.

• Mercury has no moons.

• Mercury’s surface is very hot, it features a barren, crater

covered surface which looks similar to Earth’s moon.

• Mercury is so close to the Sun, the daytime temperature is scorching

reaching over 400 degrees Celsius.

• At night however, without an atmosphere to hold heat in, the

temperatures plummet, dropping to - 180 degrees Celsius.

• Mercury has a very low surface gravity.

• Mercury has no atmosphere which means there is no wind or

weather to speak of.

• Mercury has no water or air on the surface.

Mercury’s symbol
Name: _ Date:
Read each question.
Then, write your answer.

1. How many moons does Mercury have?

2. Why was the planet Mercury named after the Roman god?

3. Mercury’s surface looks similar to what moon?

4. What is Mercury’s temperature at night?

5. Why is there no weather or wind in Mercury?

6. What is Mercury’s temperature during daytime

Name: _ Date:

Facts about Venus

• Venus is named after the Roman goddess of

love and beauty .

• Venus is the second planet from the sun.

• Is the brightest object in the sky besides our

Sun and the Moon.

• Has no moons.

• It is also known as the morning star because at sunrise it appears

in the east. It is also known as evening star as it appears at sunset
when it is in the west. It cannot be seen in the middle of the night .

• Venus and Earth are close together in space and similar in size,
which is the reason Venus is called Earth's sister planet .

• Venus has more volcanoes than any other planet.

• It is the hottest planet in the solar system, even hotter than

Mercury, which is closer to the Sun.

• The temperature on the surface of Venus is about 460° Celsius.

• The atmosphere on Venus is composed of carbon dioxide. The

surface is heated by radiation from the sun, but the heat cannot
escape through the clouds and layer of carbon dioxide. (This is a
“greenhouse effect”).

Venus’ symbol
Name: _ Date:

Read each question.

Then, write your answer.

1. How many moons does Venus have?

2. Venus was named after the Roman goddess of ?

Circle your answer.

a. grace and peace b. love and beauty b. Hope and eternity

3. Venus is the planet from the sun.

4. What is the temperature of Venus surface?

5. Why is Venus called Earth’s sister planet?

6. What is the atmosphere of Venus composed of?

Name: _ Date:

Facts about Earth

• All of the planets, except for Earth, were

named after Greek and Roman gods and
goddesses. The name Earth is an Old English and
G erman name which simply means soil.

• Earth is the third planet from the sun.

• Has one moon.

• It is the only planet that has liquid water on its surface.

• It is the only planet in the solar system that has life.

• The Earth is fragile. Its surface is split into plates (tectonic plates)
which float on a rocky mantle – the layer between the surface of
the earth, its crust, and its hot liquid core. The inside of the Earth
is active and earthquakes, volcanoes and mountain building
takes place along the boundaries of the tectonic plates.

• The Earth is larger than Mercury, Venus and Mars, the planets
closest to it.

• The Earth differs from all the other planets because it has such a
wide diversity of life and intelligent beings. This has only been
possible because of the Earth’s atmosphere which has protected
the Earth and allowed life to flourish.

Earth’s symbol
Name: _ Date:

Read each question.

Then, write your answer.

1. What does the name Earth mean?

2. Earth is the planet from the sun.

Circle your answer.

a. second b. first b. third

3. Earth’s surface is split into plates. What are these plates called?

4. Earth is larger that what other three planets?

5. List two facts of how Earth is different from other planets.

6. How many moons does Earth have?

Name: _ Date:

Facts about Mars

• Mars was named after the Roman god of war,

it is also described as the “Red Planet” because it
is covered with rust -like dust.

• Mars is the fourth planet from the sun.

• It is the second smallest planet in the Solar System.

• Has two moons.

• Mars looks a lot like our home, though instead of blue oceans
and green land, Mars is home to an ever present red tint. This is
due to a mineral called iron oxide that is very common on the
planet’s surface.

• Mars has many massive volcanoes and is home to Olympus

Mons, the largest volcano in our solar system, it stands 21km high
and is 600km across the base.

• Mars has seasons like Earth too. These seasons are much longer
than Earth seasons because Mars is so much farther from the sun.

• Mars experiences violent dust storms which continually change its

surface.

• Mars has a very thin atmosphere made mostly of carbon dioxide.

It is not thick enough to trap the sun's heat like Venus, so the
planet is very cold. Temperatures range from -120 Degrees
Celsius on winter nights to 25 Degrees Celsius in the
summer.

Mars symbol
Name: _ Date:
Read each question.
Then, write your answer.

1. Because Mars has rust- like dust it is also known as?

2. What is Mars atmosphere mostly made up of?

3. Name the mineral that causes Mars to have an ever present red tint.

4. What is the name of the Solar System largest volcano?

5. Why do seasons last longer on Mars?

6. Mars is the smallest planet in the Solar System.

Circle your answer.
a. second b. first b. fourth
Name: _ Date:

Facts about Jupiter

• It is called after the ancient Roman sky -god,

Jupiter, known to the Greeks as Zeus.

• Jupiter is the fifth planet from the sun.

• Jupiter is the largest planet in our Solar system. It is

so big that more than 1300 Earths could fit inside it.

• Has 63 moons! The first 4 largest moons of Jupiter are called Galilean
moons but 46 of them are much smaller ranging.

• Jupiter is the stormiest planet in the Solar System. There is a permanent,

but ever-changing whirlpool of storms, known as Jupiter’s Great Red
Spot which can be seen using a telescope.

• The Red Spot was first seen by Robert Hooke in 1664.

• Jupiter is the first of the “gas giants”, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and
Neptune.

• Jupiter is made of hydrogen, helium, methane and ammonia. The

cloudy sphere has bright belts on it which change their shape.

• If you were to descend into Jupiter, the thin, cold atmosphere

becomes thicker and hotter, gradually turning into a thick, dark fog. In
the blackness about 1000km down the pressure squeezes the
atmosphere so hard that it becomes like liquid.

Jupiter’s symbol
Name: _ Date:
Read each statement.
Then, circle your answer.

1. Jupiter was named after the ancient roman sky-god.

True False

2. Jupiter is the smallest planet in our Solar System.

True False

3. Jupiter Red Spot can be seen without a telescope.

True False

4. The Red Spot was first seen by Robert Hookens.

True False

5. Jupiter is the stormiest planet in the Solar System .

True False

6. The four largest moons of Jupiter are called Galilean moons.

True False

7. Jupiter is the sixth planet from the sun.

True Fal
Name: _ Date:

Facts about Saturn

• Saturn was named after the ancient Roman
god of agriculture.

• Is the sixth planet from the sun.

• Saturn is the second largest planet in our Solar

System, after the giant Jupiter.

• Has 62 moons!

• Saturn is the last planet that can be seen without using a telescope or
binoculars and the planet was known in the ancient world before
telescopes were invented. The rings, however, can only be seen using
a telescope.

• The rings were first seen by Galileo in 1610 through a telescope.

• The rings are made up of millions of ice crystals, some as big as houses
and others as small as specks of dust.

• The four largest outer planets, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune, are
known as the “gas giants” since it is thought they are entirely made up
of dense layers of gas. Saturn is a great ball of hydrogen and helium.

• Saturn is very light as it is made up of more hydrogen that helium so it is

less dense.

• Saturn is not a peaceful planet. Storm winds race around the

atmosphere at 800kmp/h.
Name: _ Date:
Read each statement.
Then, mark your answer.

True False

1. Saturn is called after the ancient

Roman god of agriculture

2. Saturn rings are made up of millions

of water drops.

3. Saturn was known before telescopes

were invented.

4. Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune

are known as the “gas giants”.

5. Saturn is the second smallest planet

in the Solar System.

6. Saturn has 62 moons.

7. Saturn’s rings can only be seen with

a telescope.
Name: _ Date:

Facts about Uranus

• Uranus was named after the Greek god of the

sky.

• Is the seventh planet from the sun.

• Uranus was the first planet discovered by

telescope.

• Has 27 moons.

• Uranus was first seen by William Herschel in 1781 during a survey of the
sky using a telescope.

• Rolls like a barrel rather than spinning like Earth and the other planets in
our Solar System.

• Uranus is the coldest planet in our Solar System.

• Uranus is one of the “gas giants”, the four outer planets which are
entirely composed of gas, Jupiter, Saturn and Neptune.

• Uranus is the smallest of the four “giants”, but is still several times larger
than the Earth.

• Uranus’s atmosphere is mostly hydrogen but it also contains large

amounts of a gas called methane. Methane absorbs red light and
scatters blue light so a blue -green methane haze hides the interior of
the planet from view.
Name: _ Date:
Read each question.
Then, write your answer.

1. Why is Uranus considered a “gas giant” ?

2. What is Uranus atmosphere mostly made up of?

3. What is the name of the gas that makes Uranus seem blue-green?

4. Who first saw Uranus through a telescope?

5. Uranus is the planet from the sun.

Circle your answer.

a. sixth b. seventh b. eighth

6. Uranus was named after the Greek god of the .

a. water b.sky b. soil

Name: _ Date:

Facts about Neptune

• Neptune is named after the Roman god of the

sea.

• Is the eighth planet in the Solar System.

• Is the farthest planet from the Sun in the Solar

System.

• Has 13 moons.

• Neptune is one of the four “gas giants”. Like Jupiter, Saturn and Uranus,
it is composed only of gas. Neptune is a great ball of hydrogen and
helium.

• In the same year that Neptune was first seen, 1846, its first moon was
also spotted and named Triton. Triton is a most unusual moon since it
orbits Neptune in the opposite direction of Neptune’s own rotation on
its axis. All the other major satellites (moons) in the Solar System follow
their planets round as they turn.

• Neptune is a large, water planet with a blue hydrogen -methane

atmosphere and faint rings.

• Neptune suffers the most violent weather in our Solar System.

• Storms have been spotted swirling around its surface and freezing
winds that blow about ten times faster than hurricanes on Earth making
it the windiest planet in the Solar System.
Name: _ Date:

Read each statement.

Then, mark your answer.

True False

1. Neptune is the windiest planet

in our Solar System.

2. Neptune was named after the

Roman god of the sea.

3. Triton is the most unusual moon.

4. Neptune is known as one of the

“great giants”.

5. Neptune‘s atmosphere is made up

of hydrogen-methane.

6. Neptune is the ninth planet in the

Solar System.

7. Neptune suffers the least violent

weather in the Solar System.
Name: _ Date:

Our Solar System contains a total of 8 planets.

Here are some facts of the 8 planets in our Solar System:

Planet Fact
Mercury The closest planet to the sun.
Has more volcanoes than any other
Venus planet.
Is the only planet humans have
Earth walked on.
Mars Has the largest volcano in our Solar
System.
Jupiter Is the largest planet.

Saturn Is surrounded by rings.

Is the coldest planet in our Solar
Uranus System.

Neptune Has the most violent weather.

1. What planet is the coldest? _________________________________ _.

2. The largest planet is __________________________________ _.

3. __________________ has more volcanoes than any other planet.

4. Which planet is the closest to the sun?

.
5. The only planet where humans have walked on is ______________ _.
1. _.
Name: _ Date:
Name those Planets!

0
 Name: _ Date:

Cut and paste the planets name in order.

Earth
Mercury 1.
Neptune 2.
Venus 3.
Saturn 4.
Uranus 5.
Jupiter 6.
Mars 7.
8.
Name: _ Date:

Mercury Venus Earth Mars Jupiter Saturn Uranus Neptune

Solve each riddle.

1. I am between Earth and Saturn but I am not Mars.

Which planet am I?

2. Humans are constantly walking on me.

Which planet am I?

3. I have a huge “Red Spot” on me.

Which planet am I?

4. I have many rings. I sit between Jupiter and Neptune but I am not Uranus.
Which planet am I?

5. I am between Venus and Jupiter and I was named after the Roman god of war.
Which planet am I?
Name: _ Date:

Use the word bank to help you choose the correct

word to complete each sentence.

moons coldest Red Planet second

Galileo eighth third largest

1. Earth is the planet from the sun.

2. Jupiter is the _ planet in the Solar System.

3. Neptune is the _ planet from the sun.

4. Uranus is the _ planet in our Solar System.

5. Venus is the planet from the sun.

6. Mars is also known as the _.

7. Mercury has no .

8. The rings of Saturn were first seen by .

Name: _ Date:

Solar System Word Scramble

1.
nsu

2.
remcuyr

3.
svnue

4.
htera

5.
rsam

6. iptjeur

7. rnstau

8. sanuru

9.
teupnen
 The Solar System
The sun is very hot.
It gives us heat and light.

The first planet in order from the sun

is Mercury.

Mercury is the closest planet to the Sun.

The second planet in order from the sun

is Venus.

Venus is the hottest planet in the Solar System.

The third planet in order from the sun

is Earth.

Earth is the only planet in the Solar System

that has life.

The fourth planet in order from the sun

is Mars.

Mars is also known as the Red Planet.

 The fifth planet in order from the sun
is Jupiter.

Jupiter is the largest planet in our Solar System.

The sixth planet in order from the sun

is Saturn.

Saturn has many rings made up of ice crystals.

The seventh planet in order from the sun

is Uranus.

Uranus is the coldest planet in the Solar System .

The eight planet in order from the sun

is Neptune.

Neptune has the most violent weather.