The sun is a star, a hot ball of glowing gases at the heart of our solar system. Its influence extends far beyond the orbits of distant Neptune and Pluto. Without the sun'sintense energy and heat, there would be no life on Earth. ... Average diameter: 864,000 miles, about 109 times the size of the Earth
Mercury
Mercury is the closest planet to the sun and the eighth largest. It has a diameter of 4,880 kilometers. Mercury has the widest temperature extremes in the solar system ranging from 90 degrees Kelvin to 700 degrees Kelvin. Mercury has a thick iron core and a thinner outer crust of rocky material.
Venus
Mercury is the closest planet to the sun and the eighth largest. It has a diameter of 4,880 kilometers. Mercury has the widest temperature extremes in the solar system ranging from 90 degrees Kelvin to 700 degrees Kelvin. Mercury has a thick iron core and a thinner outer crust of rocky material.
Earth
Earth, our home, is the third planet from the sun. It's the only planet known to have an atmosphere containing free oxygen, oceans of water on its surface and, of course, life. Earth is the fifth largest of the planets in the solar system.
Mars
Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and is the second smallest planet in the solar system. Named after the Roman god of war, Mars is also often described as the “Red Planet” due to its reddish appearance. Mars is a terrestrial planet with a thin atmosphere composed primarily of carbon dioxide.
Saturn
Saturn is a gas giant made up mostly of hydrogen and helium. Saturn's volume is greater than 760 Earths, and it is the second most massive planet in the solar system, about 95 times Earth's mass. The Ringed Planet is the least dense of all the planets, and is the only one less dense than water.
Uranus
Uranus is blue-green in color, as a result of the methane in its mostly hydrogen-helium atmosphere. The planet is often dubbed an ice giant, since at least 80% of its mass is a fluid mix of water, methane and ammonia ice.
Neptune
Neptune is very similar to Uranus. It's made of a thick soup of water, ammonia, and methane over an Earth-sized solid center. Its atmosphere is made of hydrogen, helium, and methane. The methane gives Neptune the same blue color as Uranus.
Pluto
Pluto is a dwarf planet in the Solar System. Its formal name is 134340 Pluto. The dwarf planet is the ninth largest body that moves around the Sun. ... Like other members of the Kuiper belt, Pluto is mainly made of rock and ice.
