The solar system

The solar system

The solar system is the arrangement of the sun, moon and planets which revolve around the sun. The sun is a star and it is closer to the earth than the other stars. Since the sun is close to the earth, its light is more intense than that of the other stars. The sun is at the centre of the solar system and all planets revolve around it.

In the solar system there are eight planets: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. Each planet revolves around the sun in its elliptical path called an orbit. The time taken for a planet to revolve around the sun depends on the distance between the sun and that planet.

For example, Mercury completes its revolution around the sun in 88 days, while the earth revolves around the sun for 365 ¼ or 366 days. Each planet in the solar system has different characteristics.