ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Solar System planets

Okay kiddo, let's learn about the solar system and its planets.

First, imagine the solar system as a big, huge playground, where the sun is the big kid in the middle, and the planets are all his friends playing around him.

There are eight planets in total, and they all have different names. The first planet is called Mercury, the second is Venus, the third is Earth (that's where we live!), the fourth is Mars, the fifth is Jupiter, the sixth is Saturn, the seventh is Uranus, and the last one is Neptune.

Each planet is different from the other, just like how each of your friends might be different from each other. Some planets are bigger, some are smaller. Some orbit closer to the sun while others are further away.

Mercury is the smallest planet and also the closest to the sun, so it gets really hot there, like standing under the sun's rays all day! Venus is the hottest planet because it has lots of clouds that trap the sun's heat. Earth is just right for us, neither too hot nor too cold, and it has an atmosphere that protects us from the sun's harmful rays.

Mars is like a rusty old rock, but it might have had water and life on it a long, long time ago. Jupiter is the biggest planet, it's like the big, friendly giant of the playground. Saturn is famous for its beautiful rings made up of rocks and ice. Uranus and Neptune are both cold and windy planets, and they are really far away from the sun.

Now, here's a fun fact – all of the planets in the solar system orbit, or travel around, the sun in an oval-shaped path called an orbit. And it takes them different amounts of time to complete their orbits based on how far away they are from the sun. For instance, Mercury takes only 88 days to orbit the sun, while Neptune takes almost 165 years!

So, there you go, little buddy – that's a quick and simple explanation of the solar system and its planets. Now, it's time to go out and explore your own playground!