About the Solar System

by Shahzadi P.

Published June 2022

This book was made as part of the Community Literacy Club from Florida International University.

Table of Contents 

       Solar System.......................................................... page 6

       Moon......................................................................... page 8

       Sun........................................................................... page 12

       Milky Way................................................................ page 14

       Planets.................................................................... page 16

       Glossary.................................................................. page 20

       References............................................................. page 22

       Text Structure Guide......................................... page 24

       Reader's Response................................................. page 26

           T

The Solar System, with the 8 planets, asteroid belt, and the sun.

What About the Solar System?

The Solar System has 8 planets. The Solar System is heliocentric which means the sun is in the middle. Some people think the Solar System was created out of a nebula. A nebula is a cloud of gas and dust. Other things that we can find in the Solar System are moons and asteroid belt. The Solar System is our home in the galaxy. 

New Moon

Waxing Crescent

First Quarter Moon

Waxing Gibbous

Full Moon

Waning Gibbous

Last Quarter Moon

Waning Crescent

The Moon

The moon is the brightest and biggest light in our night sky. The sun gives light to the moon. The moon is 238, 900 miles from Earth. The phases are new moon, waxing crescent, first quarter moon, waxing gibbous, full moon, waning gibbous, last quarter moon, waning, crescent, and new moon. You can see many craters, or deep holes, on the moon as a result of possible asteroid collisions. 

The Moon Landing

1959- Luna 3 sent to Earth the first pictures of the far

           side, or back, of the moon.

1961- JFK said he would send people to the moon before             the end of the decade

1966- Then the Surveyor 1 landed on the moon

1968- The first spacecraft with people on board orbited                the moon

1969- Men walked on the moon for the first time

1972- The last moon landing happened

The Sun

    The sun is in the middle of our Solar System, which means it is heliocentric. The sun is a star and it is the biggest and brightest, and the only star in our Solar System. Have you ever heard about a solar eclipse? The moon lines up right in front of the sun and covers it up. During a solar eclipse, you only see the outside of the sun. Solar winds that come from the sun defend our planet from radiation.  The sun is the most important star in our solar system. 

    The parts of Earth closest to the equator are the warmest. Plants need water and sunlight for photosynthesis. The sun is responsible for the water cycle. Did you know people used to think the sun went around the Earth? 

The Milky Way is a spiral type galaxy.

The Milky Way Galaxy

Our Solar System is located inside the Milky Way Galaxy. There are about 200 billion and 400 billion stars in the Milky Way galaxy. The Milky Way galaxy is a spiral type galaxy. It's a type of galaxy that moves like a pinwheel. Scientists believe there is a black hole in the center of the Milky Way galaxy. Since a star collapses, the result is a black hole. Nothing can escape a black hole because it has very strong gravity. 

Mercury

Venus

Earth

Mars

Jupiter

Saturn

Uranus

Neptune

The Planets

There are eight planets in our solar system. There are four terrestrial planets, which are Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars. The asteroid belt separates the terrestrial plants from the gas giants. The gas giants are Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. The planets in the solar system orbit the sun counterclockwise. The eight planets in our solar system are satellites of the sun. Earth is the third planet in our solar system, and it is our home.