Planets are celestial bodies in the universe. There are millions of planets in the entire universe. Some of them are discovered and some are yet to be discovered. Some are far from us and some are near. Some are large in size and some are small. According to NASA, For a celestial body to be called as Planet, It should fulfill following criteria:-
- It must orbit a Sun
- It must be big enough to have enough gravity to force it into a spherical shape.
- It must be big enough that its gravity cleared away any other objects of a similar size near its orbit around the Sun.
This criteria was in 2006, So – During that time, the label of planet was removed from Pluto and it was designated as a dwarf planet.
Under the Milky Way Galaxy, We have our solar system. Solar system consists of eight planets in order, the natural satellite of each planet, stars and Many More.
Earlier, there were 9 planets in the Solar System. But, NASA removed Pluto. Most of us have knowledge about all the eight planets in our solar system. However, We don’t know the names of Planets in order. So, In this article we will be learning about the planets in order with reference to distance from the sun and their size.
Knowledge Hunt:- The first four planets in the Solar System (Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars) are called terrestrial planets because of their rocky surface.
The last four planets (Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune) are called Jovian planets because of their large size resembling Jupiter. Jovian means Jupiter like.
Planets in Order of Distance From The Sun
The sun is the major source of heat and light energy for all the planets in the Solar system. It is like the father and planets are like children. All the planets revolve around the sun. But, Do you know, one year isn’t 365 days in all the eight planets. This is because Planets are at variable distance from the sun. Due to this distance, Planets are at different levels of temperatures and radiation. Here, We have listed all the eight planets in order of distance from the Sun (Nearest to Farthest):-
1. Mercury
Mercury is the nearest planet to the sun. The distance between Mercury and Sun is 58 million kilometres (36 million miles or 0.39 AU). Though it is nearest to the Sun, it is not the hottest planet in the solar system. Being nearest from the sun, the orbital length is less which makes a year equals to 59 Earth days in mercury. The plant is primarily composed of rock and iron Ore. The temperature of Mercury is -180°C (Night) to 450°C (Day).
Knowledge Hunt: AU = Astronomical Unit , 1 AU = 1.495978707×1011 m
2. Venus
Venus is the hottest planet reaching temperature up to 462°C. It comes after mercury and the distance between Venus and Sun is 108 million kilometres (67 million miles or 0.72 AU). It is called the twin/sister planet of the earth. One year on Venus equals Earth days. It is also called morning and evening stars because it is brighter than other planets and can be seen from earth during morning and evening time.
3. Earth
In our list of Planets in order according to the distance from the sun, third position is secured by our home planet, Earth. It is the only planet supporting life. 72% of Earth is covered by water. The distance between Earth and Sun is 150 million kilometres (93 million miles or 1 AU). The creator of the universe has placed Earth at a perfect distance from the sun. The temperature is perfect, season change occurs due to orbital distance. One year on Earth equals 365 Earth days. It is the first planet in our order to have a natural satellite i.n Moon.
4. Mars
Mars is probably the top planet in the solar system having human interest. The race of reaching Mars is peaking. Richest people are buying land and NASA is planning on doing space tourism from 2024 AD. The reason behind this area:- It has somehow similar climate like Earth, Time, Temperature, Degree of tilt is near to that of Earth. Mars is also known as the Red Planet because of its reddish surface (Which is due to Iron Oxide). The distance between Mars and the Sun is 228 million kilometres (142 million miles or 1.52 AU). One year on Mars equals Earth days. It is the last terrestrial planet.
5. Jupiter
This is the first Jovian Planet in the list of Planets in order according to the distance from the sun. It is the largest planet in the solar system. It is 317 times larger than Earth. The distance between Jupiter and Sun is 778 million kilometres (484 million miles or 5.2 AU). One year on Jupiter is equal to 12 Earth Years. The planet is second in having a number of satellites i.e. 79 satellites. The temperature of Jupiter is -148°C.
6. Saturn
Saturn is the second largest planet after Jupiter. It is the planet with maximum satellites, i.e. 82 Satellites. It is a plant with seven rings which makes it unique from others. The distance between Saturn and the Sun is 1.4 billion kilometres (886 million miles or 9.5 AU). One year on Saturn equals to 30 Earth Years. The temperature of the planet is -178°C.
7. Uranus
The planet at second last distance from the sun is Uranus. The planet looks blue due to the presence of Methane. The distance between Uranus and the Sun is 2.9 billion kilometres (1.8 billion miles or 19.19 AU). The temperature is -224°C. At this temperature, all the elements are in frozen condition. One year on Uranus equals to 84 Earth Years. It has 27 satellites.
8. Neptune
Neptune is the last in order of planets of distance from sun according to the distance from the sun. The distance between Neptune and Sun is 4.5 billion kilometres (2.8 billion miles or 30.07 AU). The temperature is . One year on Neptune equals to 165 Earth Years. It has 14 moons.
Also Read: 5 Layers of Atmosphere in Order
Planets In Order According To The Size
We can also arrange Planets in order according to their size. The composition of every planet is different which makes each of them of different sizes. We have arranged the planets from smallest to largest as shown below:-
1. Mercury
Mercury is the closest to the sun and the smallest planet in the solar system. The diameter of the planet is 4878 kilometres (3031 miles). The size of mercury is 0.38 times the size of Earth. One day on Mercury equals 1,408 hours . Mercury is larger than our Moon and Smaller than Jupiter’s moon, Ganymiles). The density of this planet is 5.43 g/cm³.
2. Mars
Mars is the second smallest planet in the solar system. The diameter of the planet is 6779 kilometres (4212 miles). The size of Mars is 0.53 times the size of Earth. One day on Mars equals 25 hours. The density of this planet is 3.93 g/cm³.
3. Venus
Venus is the third smallest planet in the world with a diameter of 12104 kilometres (7521 miles). The size of Venus is 0.95 times the size of Earth. One day on this planet equals 5,832 hours. The density of this planet is 5.24 g/cm³.
4. Earth
Earth lies at fourth in order of planets from smallest to largest but largest among terrestrial planets. The diameter of the planet is 12742 kilometres (7917.5 miles). One day of the plant equals 24 hrs. The density of this planet is 5.51 g/cm³.
5. Neptune
Neptune is the fifth smallest or fourth largest planet in our solar system. It is the smallest among Jovian planets. The diameter of the planet is 49244 kilometres (30599 miles). The size of this planet is 3.85 times the size of Earth. One day on the planet equals 16 hours. The density of this planet is 1.64 g/cm³.
6. Uranus
Uranus is the sixth smallest or third largest planet in the solar system. The diameter of the planet is 50724 kilometres (31518 miles). The size of the planet is 4 times the size of Earth. One day on Uranus equals 17 hours. The density of this planet is 1.27 g/cm³.
7. Saturn
Saturn is the seventh smallest or second largest planet in the solar system. The diameter of the planet is 116464 kilometres (72367 miles). The size of the planet is 9 times the size of Earth. One day on Saturn equals 11 hours. The density of this planet 687 kg/m³.
8. Jupiter
Jupiter is the eight smallest or Largest planet in the solar System. The diameter of the planet is 139822 kilometres (86881 miles). The size of the planet is 11 times the size of Earth. One day on Jupiter equals to 10 hours. The density of this planet is 1.33 g/cm³.
Planets in Order Acronym/Mnemonic
Sometimes, It gets difficult for us to remember the names of planets in order. To deal with this problem, we have created an acronym that will definitely help you to master the all eight planets name order-wise.
The Acronym for nearest to farthest planets order from the Sun is: My(Mercury) Very(Venus) Eager(Earth) Mother(Mars) Just(Jupiter) Served(Saturn) Us(Uranus) Nachos(Neptune) and the Acronym for smallest to largest planets order is: Many(Mercury) Men(Mars) Value(Venus) Each(Earth) New(Neptune) Unique(Uranus) Scientific(Saturn) Journey(Jupiter).
Final Verdict
To sum-up, The planets in order of distance from the Sun are Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. Similarly, From smallest to largest the order is Mercury, Mars, Venus, Earth, Neptune, Uranus, Saturn and Jupiter. Planets are interesting to explore. There are many things to know about them like their origin, past and what will happen to them in future. Knowing their names in proper order is the first step to go and we hope this article has assisted you on that.