The Solar System consists of the Sun and planets that orbit it. A planet is a large celestial body that orbits a star. The planets formed around 5 billion years ago from dust and gases swirling around the young Sun. Earth formed as dust and gases collided in the heat and hardened into a ball of rock. Planets orbit the Sun due to the Sun's strong gravitational pull. Earth's distance from the Sun of 150 million kilometers means water can exist as a liquid, allowing life to develop.
2. Sun Mercury Venus Earth Mars Jupiter Saturn Uranus Neptune Pluto
Order
3. The Solar System consists of the Sun and the planets that move
around the Sun in oval paths called orbits. A planet is a vast
ball of rock or gas that travels in a orbit around a star. There
are other objects in our Solar System such as moons and
asteroids.
What is the Solar System?
4. Earth and the other planets formed about 5 billion
years ago. Our planet was born from dust and
gases whirling in the orbit around the Sun as it was
forming. In the intense heat, the dust and gases
collided and hardened into a ball of rock. Even
today, Earth is still hit by dust from space and the
occasional large piece of rock.
When did the Earth Form?
5. The planets move around the sun because the sun is so big that
its gravity is very powerful. Gravity is the force that pulls the
planets towards the sun. It is strong enough to hold all the
planets in the Solar System in their orbits, moving around the
sun in the same direction.
Why do Planets Orbit the Sun?
6. Earth is 150 million kilometres away from the Sun. This means
our planet is far enough away from the Sun for water to be
liquid. If Earth were closer and, therefore, warmer, water would
turn into gas, and if it were farther away, water would become
ice. It is Earth’s distance from the Sun that makes it the only
planet in the Solar System that is known to support life.
How Far are we from the Sun?
7. The Sun is so far away that if you tried to drive there,
traveling at 100 kilometres an hour, it would take you 170
years to reach your destination!
The Sun is about five billion years old and it is more than
one million kilometres wide. It is so big it can fit more
than one million Earths inside it.
Some of the stars we can see in the night sky are so far
away that the light coming from them has taken millions of
years to reach earth.
Did You Know?
8. Consists : Be composed, made up, be formed etc.
Orbit : Course, path, circuit, track, trajectory, rotation, revolution,
circle, cycle or round.
Collided : Crash, come into, collision, bang, slam, impact.
Gravity : Attraction, attracting force, downward force, pull, weight,
heaviness.
Meanings of Words
9. Thank you for watching my slide show on the
Solar System. I hope you all learnt something
new.
Thank You