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See more great educational videos from explore.How the Solar System was Formed: Big Bang Theory
Posted on 17. Nov, 2009 by Dee in Science
Our bright sun lies at the center of the solar system, and kept in place by the gravitational pull of the sun, eight planets revolve around the sun in set paths. In order of their distance from the sun these planets are: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. The first four planets are similar in structure to our earth – they are made of rock and stone and called the terrestrial planets. The rest are called the gas giants, because they are thousands of time bigger than the terrestrial planets and are made almost entirely from helium and hydrogen gas.
Between the Mars and Jupiter, almost forming a boundary between the terrestrial and the gaseous planets, is the asteroid belt. This belt of rocks which also circle around the sun are made from bits of rock that were pushed out during the formation of the terrestrial planets over 4.5 billion years ago. Most of the planets have natural satellites, or moons that revolve around them – exactly like the way our moon revolves around the earth.
Did you know? Even though Jupiter is millions of times bigger than Earth, if put in a giant swimming pool; the planet would float because it is only made from gases!
