What is a planet? What makes Earth a planet? Just like Earth, planets need to revolve around a star. Earth revolves around the Sun, making Earth a planet. Planets need to be big enough to make a spherical shape. Earth is a sphere, making Earth a planet. Planets also need to clear a path around the star they revolve around called an orbit. Earth orbits the sun, making Earth a planet. The planets are in a specific order while they revolve around the sun. The planet closest to the sun is Mercury. Mercury has a molten core. Mercury is the second hottest planet. Mercury does not have any moons or rings. The next planet it Venus. Venus is the second planet from the sun. Venus does not have any moons or rings.Venus is nearly as big as the Earth with a
Saturn is mostly made out of hydrogen. It exists in layers that get denser farther into the planet. Eventually, deep inside, the hydrogen becomes metallic. At the core lies a hot interior. Saturn has the most extensive ring system. Saturn has 150 moons and smaller moonlets. Saturn’s atmosphere is composed primarily of hydrogen (96%) and helium (3%) with traces of other substances like methane, ammonia, acetylene, ethane, propane, and phosphine. Winds in the upper atmosphere can reach speeds of 500 meters a second, these combined with heat rising from within the planet’s interior cause yellow and gold bands. Uranus is the 7th planet from the sun. Uranus rotates in a retrograde direction, opposite to the way the Earth turns. Uranus is the coldest planet in the solar system. Uranus does have rings but we can’t see them with the naked eye. There are 11 inner rings and 2 outer rings. Uranus’ rings are formed by dust particles and small boulders. Neptune is the eighth planet from the sun making it the most distant in our solar system. The gas giant may have formed close to our sun but migrated to its current position. Neptune spins on its axis very quickly. Neptune is the smallest of the gas