Solar System

THE SOLAR SYSTEM [basics for beginners]

Earth is just one of many objects which we know that orbit the star, called Sun. 

The Sun’s “family” consists of eight planets (Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune), five dwarf planets, hundreds of moons, millions of comets and asteroids, and lots of gas and dust. 

All these things together are called the Solar System.

The four small planets closest to the Sun are made of rock, while the four outer planets are a lot larger and made mostly of gases. 

Third in line from the Sun; is Earth and just the right temperature to support life.

The solar system is big—the Voyager spacecraft took 12 years to reach Neptune, 

the outermost planet. 

Luna 1 was the first spacecraft to reach the Moon. 

                          

Anything that travels through space at a  steady speed is weightless.

This is why things inside a spacecraft float, and astronauts are able to lift huge

satellites using just their hands.

The weightlessness disappears if the spacecraft either slows down or speeds up.

[Facts:: In the US, anyone who flies above an 

altitude of 60 miles (100 km) in a rocket or 

spacecraft gets a special badge called 

“astronaut wings."]

[images: google unknown]