ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Table of physical properties of planets in the Solar System

Okay kiddo, today we're going to talk about something really cool - planets! You know how we have eight planets in our solar system? Well, each of these planets has certain qualities or features that make them unique. Scientists, who are like super smart detectives, have made a list of all the important features of these planets and put it in a special table called 'A Table of Physical Properties of Planets in the Solar System'.

This table has different columns that show different things, such as the size of the planet (how big or small it is), its mass (how much it weighs), its temperature, and a lot more. Now let's take a closer look at some of the things that are on the table.

First, there's the Size column. This column tells us how big or small each planet is. You might think that Jupiter, which is the biggest planet, is also the heaviest, but that's not true. The Mass column shows us that Saturn is actually heavier!

Another important column is the Temperature column. This tells us how hot or cold each planet is. For example, Mercury, which is the closest planet to the sun, is really hot because it's so close to the sun. But Pluto, which is really far away from the sun, is really cold.

There's also a column called 'Atmosphere'. This shows us what gases are present in the planet's atmosphere. For example, Earth has a lot of oxygen and nitrogen in its atmosphere, which is why we can breathe! But Mars has only a little bit of oxygen and a lot of carbon dioxide, which means it's not a great place for us to live.

Finally, there's a column called 'Moons'. This tells us how many moons each planet has. Some planets have a lot of moons, like Jupiter, which has 79! But other planets, like Mercury, don't have any moons at all.

So you see, kiddo, this table gives us a lot of information about the planets in our solar system. By studying these physical properties, scientists can learn more about each planet and figure out what makes them unique. Isn't science awesome?