Our solar system has a central star the sun. It is a monster; in fact it makes up 98% of the matter in our solar system. The gravity created by the large body exerts itself on the 8 planets that rotate around it in orbits. The solar system is thought to have formed 4.6 billion years ago. The closer a planet is to the sun, the hotter the average surface temperature on that planet. Each planet has a bit of personality itself. The solar system also has piles of rocks floating around in the form of meteoroids. There are also a little bit of sparkle going on across the solar system in the form of comets. There are just under two hundred moons in our solar system. Earth’s moon (Luna) is not the only one out there. The four inner planets are mostly composed of metal and rock, while the four outer planets are much larger. From what researchers can tell so far Earth and the elements it is composed of is pretty rare. The elements we commonly find on Earth are only found in trace amounts in other locations of our solar system.

You will find a lot of work on planets, the sun and our moon (Luna). As the sheets progress we look at space exploration. We begin by exploring our moon and learn the phases of the moon. We look at the names of the planets and then break it apart into inner and outer planets. We dissect the sun and comets and look at what it is made up of. We explore the asteroid belt located between Mars and Jupiter. We go on to learn about the Space Shuttle the fastest engineered vessel to transport humans. As you scroll down you will notice the worksheets get much more colorful.