The solar system is a group of celestial bodies orbiting around the dwarf star called the Sun. The main members of the solar system are eight major planets, and their satellites. Other interesting members are comets, meteors and meteorites and dwarf planets. The order of the planets from the Sun from nearest to the farthest is Mercury, Venus, earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn Uranus, and Neptune.
1. The nearest planet to the Sun is Mercury. Though it is very near to the Sun, it is not the hottest planet at all. The smallest among the inner planets has actually temperature of 450 degrees Celsius during day time while it drops to a very frigid negative 170 degrees Celsius at night. It is named after the Roman messenger of the Gods as it orbits the Sun once every 88 days.
2. The second planet from the Sun is named after the Roman Goddess of Beauty, Venus. True to its name, this beautiful planet is also called the evening star. It is also the hottest planet in the solar system due to clouds of toxic gas with temperatures over 460 degrees Celsius. It rotates backward and makes one complete revolution around the Sun in 225 days.
3. The third planet from the Sun is Earth, the beautiful blue planet blessed with a diversity of living organisms of varying shapes and sizes. It is the only planet known to sustain life. It makes a complete revolution around the Sun for 365 days. It has one satellite called the Moon.
4. Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun. It is named after the Roman God of War. It is usually called the red planet. A Martian year is equivalent to 687 Earth days. It is usually the third brightest object of the night sky after Earth’s moon and Venus. The possibility of life on Mars is still a subject of probes and studies. By the way, Mars has similar seasons as here on Earth.
5. The biggest planet, Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun. Although it has the greatest volume among the planets, it has the lowest density. It is separated from the inner planets by the asteroid belt where many other interesting heavenly bodies orbit around the Sun.
6. Saturn is the second of the outer planets and is the sixth in order from the Sun. Many astronomers tag it as the most beautiful planet because of its prominent rings made up of ice, dust, gas, and other particles.
7. Uranus is the third of the outer planets, the seventh in order from the Sun. This planet has a very low density and is made up of a large proportion of gas. It is also referred to as an ice giant because a decent percentage of its gases are trapped in ice form. It has faint rings.
8. Neptune is the fourth among the outer planets and the farthest planet away from the Sun. It is also made up of frozen gases like its neighboring planet Uranus. A great percentage of these gases are methane making it appear as a blue planet.
What was once recognized as the ninth solar planet, Pluto, was just recently reclassified as a dwarf planet. It was placed in this category along with Eris, Vespa, and Ceres.