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Science · The Sun, the Earth and the Moon

The Solar System and the planets

Explore the order of the eight planets, their sizes and their distances from the Sun. If the Sun were a beach ball, how big would the Earth be? Use scale to grasp how empty and how vast space really is.

  • 18 min
  • 1 simulation
  • Mini quiz

Updated:

Preview

The question

Have you ever looked up at the night sky and noticed that some "stars" shine with a steady, calm light instead of twinkling? Some of them are not stars at all but planets. So how many planets go around the Sun, which one is the biggest, and how far apart are they really? Could you fit the whole Solar System into a school playground?

Try it yourself

No account needed: change the values and check your answer. Some simulations ask for a prediction before they start; it doesn't matter whether it's right or wrong.

Planet observatory

Planet observatory: the largest planet

Tap the planets to look at their information. Use it to decide which planet is the largest, then select it and submit your answer.

Prediction

Predict first

What do you think the largest planet in the Solar System is like?

It doesn’t matter whether you’re right; the simulation opens once you choose.

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Embed the simulation on your site

Paste this code into the HTML of your blog or school site. Visitors try the simulation without an account; no progress is saved.

The embedded page sets no cookies and does no tracking. A small link back to Kuazara sits underneath.

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Frequently asked

5 questions

How many planets are there in the Solar System?

There are eight. From nearest to the Sun to farthest: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune.

Why is Pluto no longer counted as a planet?

In 2006 the International Astronomical Union agreed on a definition of a planet. Pluto orbits the Sun and is round, but it has not cleared other objects from the neighbourhood of its orbit, so it was classified as a dwarf planet.

Which planet is the largest, and which is the hottest?

Jupiter is the largest. The hottest is not Mercury, the planet closest to the Sun, but Venus: its thick carbon dioxide atmosphere traps heat and its surface reaches about 460 °C.

How far is Earth from the Sun?

About 150 million kilometres on average. Light from the Sun takes about 8 minutes to cover that distance, so the Sun you see is the Sun of 8 minutes ago.

Is the Sun a star?

Yes. The Sun is a medium-sized star. More than 99 percent of all the mass in the Solar System is in the Sun, and the planets orbit it because of its gravity.