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Our solar system is a wondrous place, with eight major planets orbiting the Sun along with a multitude of smaller objects like dwarf planets, asteroids, and comets. Let’s take a tour of the major planets in their order from the Sun.
The Planets of the Solar System in Order
Mercury
The closest planet to the Sun is Mercury, a dense, rocky world just a little bit bigger than Earth’s Moon. Because it’s so close to the Sun, temperatures on its sunlight side can reach a scorching 800°F (427°C), while the night side plunges to -290°F (-179°C). It has a heavily cratered surface from billions of years of impacts.
![Mercury mind map](https://i0.wp.com/prashna-pravah.in/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Mercury.png?resize=895%2C571&ssl=1)
Venus
The second planet from the Sun is Venus, sometimes called “Earth’s twin” since the two are similar in size and composition. However, Venus has a choking atmosphere of carbon dioxide that traps heat, raising surface temperatures to around 900°F (482°C) – hot enough to melt lead. Its volcanic surface is shrouded in thick clouds of sulfuric acid.
![Venus mind map](https://i0.wp.com/prashna-pravah.in/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Venus.png?resize=895%2C570&ssl=1)
Earth
Our beloved home planet Earth is the third rock from the Sun. With abundant liquid water, a protective atmosphere, and a rocky surface capable of continual geological renewal, Earth is uniquely hospitable for life as we know it among the planets so far discovered.
![Earth mind map](https://i0.wp.com/prashna-pravah.in/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Earth.png?resize=881%2C620&ssl=1)
Mars
Moving outward, we come to the red planet Mars. With its rusty hue, rocky deserts, canyon systems, and ancient extinct volcanoes, Mars has a haunting resemblance to the more arid ecosystems of Earth. NASA’s rovers continue to explore this planet for signs of past microbial life.
![Mars mind map](https://i0.wp.com/prashna-pravah.in/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Mars.png?resize=881%2C470&ssl=1)
The Asteroid Belt
This region between Mars and Jupiter is populated by countless rocky asteroids in varying orbits. The largest is dwarf planet Ceres, which comprises about a third of the asteroid belt’s total mass.
Jupiter
Jupiter is a massive gas giant, the largest planet in our solar system, whose banded atmosphere showcases intense storms like the iconic Great Red Spot. Jupiter has a faint ring system and is orbited by dozens of moons, the largest being Ganymede which is bigger than the planet Mercury.
![Jupiter mind map](https://i0.wp.com/prashna-pravah.in/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Jupiter.png?resize=881%2C620&ssl=1)
Saturn
Next comes the ringed planet Saturn, one of the most beautiful sights in our cosmic neighbourhood. Its stunning rings are comprised of myriad chunks of ice and rock. Saturn has dense clouds of hydrogen and helium surrounding a relatively small rocky core.
![Saturn mind map](https://i0.wp.com/prashna-pravah.in/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Saturn.png?resize=881%2C569&ssl=1)
Uranus and Neptune
Distant, ice giant planets Uranus and Neptune complete the line up of the major eight planets. Their blue-green hues suggest they are comprised mainly of frozen compounds like water, ammonia, and methane over a rocky core. Neptune has supersonic winds of over 1,500 mph whipping across its atmosphere.
![Uranus mind map](https://i0.wp.com/prashna-pravah.in/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Uranus.png?resize=1024%2C600&ssl=1)
![Neptune mind map](https://i0.wp.com/prashna-pravah.in/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Neptune.png?resize=881%2C518&ssl=1)
Pluto and the Dwarf Planets
Once considered the ninth planet from the Sun, Pluto was reclassified in 2006 as a “dwarf planet” after other similarly sized objects were found in the outer solar system. Pluto resides in the Kuiper Belt, an icy region beyond Neptune filled with dwarf planets and small frozen bodies. With its reddish colour, Pluto has several moons including Charon which is about half Pluto’s size. In 2015, NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft revealed Pluto to be geologically diverse, with mountains, valleys, and hints of a subsurface ocean.
This ordering of the planets, while not corresponding strictly to size, does showcase the tremendous diversity of worlds that orbit our Star, ranging from rocky terrestrial planets close to the Sun to the gaseous behemoths of the outer solar system. It’s a cosmic neighbourhood well worth exploring in greater depth.
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