Put the Planets in Order

Build a solar-system lineup, starting nearest the Sun.

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Read the planets outward from the Sun: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. The Sun is a star, not another planet. This lineup shows order, not sizes, distances or the planets' positions today.

Worked example

Earth is third and Mars is fourth in this order. To find the planet between Earth and Jupiter, follow the lineup one place at a time: Earth, Mars, Jupiter. The answer is Mars.

Ordered planet labels from nearest to farthest: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune. Sizes and gaps are not to scale. — Order only: not to scale and not the planets' positions today.

Would you believe it?

Venus is hotter at its surface than Mercury, even though Mercury is closer to the Sun. Venus has a thick atmosphere that traps heat. Distance alone does not explain every planet property. A simple lineup leaves out important information about each world.

NASA: Venus

Make a Paper Solar System

Write the eight planet names on separate pieces of paper. Place a Sun label first, then arrange the planets outward from it. Say which planet comes before and after Earth. A straight row is a useful model of order, but real planets move around the Sun and are not usually lined up this way.

Question 1 How many planets are in our solar system? Answer

Question 2 Which planet is nearest the Sun? Earth Mercury Neptune

Question 3 Which planet is between Earth and Jupiter in the lineup? Venus Saturn Mars

Question 4 Which planet is eighth in the lineup? Neptune Uranus Jupiter

Question 5 What does this evenly spaced picture show accurately? The exact distances The order of the planets The planets' positions today

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