There are eight planets that orbits the Sun: Mercury, Venus, Mars, Earth, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. On this site, each planet has its own facts page, with interesting and little known facts about each planet. Pluto has its own facts page too, even though it has been declassified as a planet.
Select Which Planet Facts Page You want to See:
If you are looking for Facts on Space and the Universe in general, then head over to the More Space Facts page
So What Defines A Planet?
The International Astronomical Union defines a planet as a celestial body that orbits around a star (like our sun) and is big enough that it forms into a shape of a sphere by its own gravity. But a planet cannot be big enough that it can cause thermonuclear fusion. It also has to have a clear orbit with no other bodies of comparable size influencing its gravitational force.
Did You Know There Are Two Categories of Planets?A Planet falls into two categories. It is either a Terrestrial Planet or a Gas Giant. Planets that have a body composed mainly of rock (like the Earth) is called a terrestrial planet. This would include Mercury, Venus, Mars and Earth. Gas Giants, however, are planets that are made of gas. They do not have a solid surface crust. Jupiter and Saturn falls into this category. Uranus and Neptune are also Gas Giants, but they also fall into sub category called Ice Giants because they contain a huge proportion of rock and ice as well.
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