The solar system is a system in space which is made up of the sun and planets. Asteroids and other smaller objects also orbit the sun. Our solar system is shaped like an egg. The solar system is 4 billion years old.
The centre of our solar system is the Sun. There are eight planets in our solar system. The closest to the Sun is Mercury, the smallest planet, followed by Venus the brightest, Earth the blueplanet, Mars the red planet, Jupiter the biggest planet, Saturn the most beautiful planet, Uranus the upside-down planet and Neptune the coldest planet.
Earth is the third planet from the Sun and supports life. Pluto is not included because it is a dwarf planet. Planets orbit the Sun. A planet is large enough so that its own gravity moulds it into a round shape. Planets are not satellite or moons.
There are other objects parts of solar system.The most popular are moons. Most planets have moons. Moons are referred to as natural satellites. Comets are objects that are rock. Most of the asteroids orbit Mars and Jupiter. This area is called the Asteroid Belt.
The Sun is a star. A star is a body of hot gases that makes its own light and heat. The Sun is at the centre of our Solar System and all planets orbit around it. It is the largest body in our Solar System.
The Sun is the closet star to the Earth, but is still about 93 million miles away. The Sun is made up burning gases. It is made mostly of hydrogen and helium gases. Inside the Sun, the gases go through changes, which give off a lot of energy.
The outer part of the Sun is about 5000 degrees Celsius. But the core, or centre of the Sun, is a lot hotter. It’s about 15 million degrees Celsius.
Lakshmita Vigneswaran
Methodist Girl’s School,
Ipoh Perak, Malaysia
