Grade 6 · Science · Lesson 30

Solar System and Scale

Our solar system is the Sun and everything that orbits around it: eight planets, dozens of moons, millions of asteroids, comets, and tiny bits of dust. Everything in the solar system is held in place by the Sun\u2019s gravity. The Sun is so heavy that even Neptune, billions of kilometers away, still travels in a giant slow circle around it.

What this lesson teaches

1List the eight planets of the solar system in order from the Sun
2Describe one key feature of each planet
3Compare the size of the Sun, the gas giants, and the rocky planets
4Explain how distances in space are measured in astronomical units

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