Our solar system is the sun and everything that travels around it. That includes eight planets, their moons, dwarf planets, asteroids and comets. The sun holds them all with its gravity. Earth is the third planet from the sun.
Peabody: Hi, I am Peabody! Welcome to space. In the middle is the sun. It is a star, and it is so big that a million Earths could fit inside it.
Crumb: I am Crumb! What keeps everything from floating away? Gravity! It is a pull. The sun pulls on everything near it, and everything goes around in a path called an orbit.
Peabody: Close to the sun are four small, rocky planets: Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars. Earth is the one with us on it.
Crumb: Farther out are four giants: Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. Jupiter is the biggest. Saturn has bright rings. The giants are made mostly of gas and ice.
Peabody: Many planets have moons. Earth has one. There are also dwarf planets, rocky asteroids and icy comets. They all travel around the sun too.
Crumb: Earth is just the right distance from the sun. Not too hot, not too cold, with liquid water. That is our home. Let us take care of it!
Crumb: Here is a recap! One sun, eight planets, and many moons, asteroids and comets. Gravity keeps them all in orbit. Next time you look up, you will know what is out there!
Quiz: five questions
Tap an answer. Stuck? Tap the hint. Nothing is scored or saved.
Question 1 of 5
What is at the center of our solar system?
The words
orbit
the path one thing takes around another
gravity
a pull between things; it holds planets near the sun
planet
a big round world that orbits a star
moon
a small world that orbits a planet
asteroid
a rocky space object, smaller than a planet
Make it: put the explainer in order
Tap the scenes in the order they happen. Which comes first?
Try it without a screen: A walk through the planets
You need: a long hallway or yard, paper, tape.
Make eight small signs with the planet names. Make one for the sun.
Put the sun sign at one end.
Tape Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars close together near the sun.
Spread Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune far apart down the path. Walk it and notice how far space is.
For the grown-up
This explainer names the sun, the eight planets, moons, dwarf planets, asteroids and comets, and uses gravity and orbit in a simple way. Pluto is a dwarf planet; kids ask. The walk-through activity shows how empty space is, which a poster hides. Nothing here is saved or shown to anyone.