Space and Solar System Worksheets

The solar system is filled with a ton of cool things to learn about. Planets, moons, comets, asteroids, and stars are just some of the fun things you will learn in this set of worksheets.

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Bulletin Boards Images

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Space and Solar System Writing Paper

All about Space and the Solar System

If you look up at the night sky, you will see hundreds of stars. They are all part of the area called space- which is just outside our planet. Astronauts can go into space with space crafts, but it's not easy to reach that area. It might look closely, but it's super far away! The planet we live on is called Earth, but it is not the only planet around. Learning about the solar system is incredible. This article will teach you about space and the solar system.

What is 'Space'?

To us, space looks black and empty. It's dark, but it's not empty. This is because there's no air in space! Light particles are carried through the air. This also means that there is no oxygen, so we can't go into space without special suits. Space is like a vacuum. It is entirely silent because sound particles are also carried through the air.

What else is there in Space?

We said space isn't empty because Earth is in it! So are the moon and all the other planets. Here are some lesser-known objects in space that you probably didn't know about.

Comets

A comet is a tiny piece of icy dust that travels around the sun. There are many comets in space but only few of them are close to our planet. One of the comets that's near Earth is called "Halley's Comet". You can see it every 76 years!

Asteroids

If a comet was dust and ice then an asteroid is basically rock and metal. These are the big floating rocks of space. One even hit the earth thousands of years ago, which led to all the dinosaurs dying. However, every type of asteroid can't cause an impact on the Earth's surface, only a big one can.

Dwarf Planets

These are like the other planets but they're smaller because they're really far away. Pluto is a dwarf planet that's removed and re-added to the solar system a lot because it's so tiny.

Why do Astronauts go to Space?

An astronaut's job is to find out about space and other planets. Astronauts even go to the moon so they can collect information about it for scientists. Being an astronaut isn't easy, you need to be really strong because it includes a lot of physical work.

What is the Solar System?

The Solar System is all about the sun! It includes the sun and all the planets that revolve around it. The asteroids and comets in this area are also part of the solar system. Jupiter is the biggest plan in the solar system. And the biggest of all is the sun! There are eight planets belonging to the solar system, and each of them is unique!

Mercury

If Jupiter was the biggest, then Mercury is actually the smallest planet that is part of our solar system. It's super close to the sun but it's still not as hot as Venus. It doesn't have any moons! And it can sometimes be seen even without a telescope so even ancient scientists knew about it.

Venus

This planet is the hottest and it isn't even the closest to the sun! This is because its atmosphere is full of greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide. A cool fact about this planet is that it actually rotates backward, which means that the sun rises in the west! It also doesn't have moons.

Mars

Mars is a really cold planet because it's a desert. From far away, it looks red because it has iron all over it. It's one of the planets that could've had other species living on it because there is some sign of water flooding. Everyone is curious about if we will be living on Mars in the future.

Earth

This is the planet we live on! It has all the right conditions for our daily business. It has food, water, oxygen and gravity! Which we need so we don't float in the sky and can walk on the ground. There is one moon revolving around the earth.

Jupiter

Jupiter is a massive planet. It has many moons. It doesn't have any solid surface though and is mostly gas. Scientists think it might have a core right at the center just like Earth does!

Uranus

If Saturn was red, then Uranus is blue! This planet is made up of water, hydrogen, and ammonia. Methane is also part of its atmosphere and is responsible for giving it its blue color. Just like Saturn, it also has rings! 13 rings at that.

Saturn

This planet is known for its rings! You'd be surprised to discover that these rings are actually made of ice and rock.

Neptune

This is also an extremely cold planet. But unlike Mars, it's dark too. It's actually a lot like methane because it's made up of the same elements. Just like with Uranus, methane is what gives Neptune its lovely dark blue color.

Pluto

Before it was recently considered a dwarf planet, Pluto went from being considered a planet to being considered not a planet almost every year. It is now officially a dwarf planet. It's an icy place floating in space, as part of our solar system.

Learning about the solar system teaches us more about the world outside our planet. Scientists have gathered so much information now. Who knows? There could even be aliens living on other planets. But we would never know if astronauts didn't explore space. How else would we know about the moon being dust and not cheese? Still, learning about the solar system in middle school can expand our knowledge in a big way.