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Science · Earth & Space Science

The Solar System

The Sun is the powerhouse of our neighborhood in space — rocky planets orbit close, giant gas planets orbit far, and Earth sits in the just-right zone for life.
🪐The Eight Planets — In Order
SUN ☀ INNER · ROCKY Mercury Venus Earth ⭑ Mars asteroid belt OUTER · GAS & ICE GIANTS Jupiter Saturn Uranus Neptune
🌍Two Families of Planets
🪨TERRESTRIAL (ROCKY)
(giant)
Made ofRock and metal — small, dense & solid
WhereClosest to the Sun, inside the asteroid belt
🪨 Mercury · Venus · Earth · Mars
🪐GAS & ICE GIANTS
Made ofMostly gases in a dense form — huge!
WhereFar from the Sun, beyond the asteroid belt
🪐 Jupiter · Saturn · Uranus · Neptune
Earth ✓
🌎 Earth — the "Goldilocks" planet
Too close to the Sun = too hot 🔥
Just right — liquid water, so life can thrive 💧
Too far from the Sun = too cold ❄️
☀️The Sun: Powered by Fusion
CORE ↑ sunspots = cooler patches In the core, FUSION joins atoms: H + H → He + huge energy 🔥 hydrogen → helium
🔑Key Terms
☀️Fusion Hydrogen atoms join in the Sun's core to make helium, releasing massive energy.
🪨Terrestrial Planet The 4 small, dense, rocky planets nearest the Sun: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars.
🪐Gas Giant A large outer planet made mostly of gases in a dense form: Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune.
📏Astronomical Unit (AU) The average Earth-to-Sun distance — about 93 million miles.
☄️Comet A loose ball of ice, dust, and rock with a long, narrow orbit around the Sun.
🌠Meteor The streak of light when a space rock burns up in Earth's atmosphere — a "shooting star."
⭐ Remember: Earth is the "Goldilocks" planet — not too hot, not too cold — so it has liquid water that lets life thrive!
✏️ ClickClass Anchor Chart · The Solar System
From ClickClass — hundreds of free printables at clickclassedu.com/printables