Image that reads Space Place and links to spaceplace.nasa.gov.

Solar System

The perseverance rover lands on mars on february 18, 2021 experience a simulation of the landing below:.

The dwarf planet Pluto in the darkness of space.

Hello, Pluto!

A foil comet with streamers hanging off it on the top of wooden stick.

Answer your questions:

Link up and Listen!

This is the tooltip tooltip-description for the article you hovered over.

All About Pluto

Pluto is now categorized as a dwarf planet.

What Is an Orbit?

An orbit is a regular, repeating path that one object in space takes around another one.

Play Bingo While Watching the Psyche Spacecraft Launch!

During the launch broadcast, you can mark off the words that you hear!

Make a Colorful Crayon Europa with Textures!

Create your own colorful crayon Europa with textures!

What Is a Comet?

Learn all about comets!

Color Your Universe: Find the Hidden Objects

Can you find all the NASA and space-themed hidden objects?

Why Do We Care About Water on Mars?

Where there are signs of water, there might also be signs of life!

What Is an Impact Crater?

Learn about impact craters!

How Long is a Year on Other Planets?

You probably know that a year is 365 days here on Earth. But did you know that on Mercury you’d have a birthday every 88 days? Read this article to find out how long it takes all the planets in our solar system to make a trip around the Sun.

Explore Mars: A Mars Rover Game

Drive around the Red Planet and gather information in this fun coding game!

All About the Moon

The biggest planet in our solar system

What Is the Weather Like on Other Planets?

Each of the planets in our solar system experiences its own unique weather.

Is There Ice on Other Planets?

Yes, there is ice beyond Earth! In fact, ice can be found on several planets and moons in our solar system.

How Do We Weigh Planets?

We can use a planet’s gravitational pull like a scale!

What Is a Solar Eclipse?

Learn more about what happens when the moon passes between Earth and the sun!

How Is the Sun Completely Blocked in an Eclipse?

It all has to do with the distance between Earth and the sun and Earth and the moon.

Asteroid or Meteor: What's the Difference?

Learn more about asteroids, meteors, meteoroids, meteorites, and comets!

What Is an Asteroid?

And what can we learn from these space rocks in our solar system?

Make a Planet Mask!

Make a mask and pretend to be your favorite planet in our solar system!

The Mars Rovers: Perseverance

This future mission will try to find out if life ever existed on the Red Planet!

The Mars Rovers: Curiosity

Mars had water long ago. But did it also have other conditions needed for life?

The Mars Rovers: Spirit and Opportunity

What did these twin rovers teach us about the history of water on Mars?

The Mars Rovers: Sojourner

Learn more about the first rover to land on Mars!

The Mars Rovers

How do rovers help us learn more about the Red Planet?

All About Neptune

The coldest planet in our solar system

All About Uranus

The planet that spins on its side

All About Saturn

The planet with beautiful rings

All About Jupiter

All About Mars

The red planet

All About Earth

The planet with living things

All About Venus

The hottest planet in our solar system

All About the Planets

Learn more about the planets in our solar system

Make a Comet on a Stick!

A comet close to home

How Long Is One Day on Other Planets?

Learn to make a graph with the answer!

How Many Moons Does Each Planet Have?

We have one, but some planets have dozens.

Europa: Jupiter's Ocean World

Learn more about this icy moon of Jupiter!

Why Does the Moon Have Craters?

It's not because the Moon gets hit by meteors more often...

What Is the Kuiper Belt?

The icy bits past Neptune’s orbit

Where Does the Solar System End?

The Oort Cloud!

Why Are Planets Round?

And how round are they?

All About Mercury

The smallest planet in our solar system

Where Does Interstellar Space Begin?

Interstellar space begins where the sun’s magnetic field stops affecting its surroundings.

Jumping the Tallest Cliff in the Solar System

How far would we have to travel to get there?

What's It Like Inside Jupiter?

Jupiter's core is very hot and is under tons of pressure!

What Is a Planet?

The answer isn't so simple...

How Did the Solar System Form?

The story starts about 4.6 billion years ago, with a cloud of stellar dust.

Write your own zany adventure story!

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For the New Moon, you must eat all the creme filling!

Make No-Bake Moon Cookies!

These are yummy and need no baking!

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What causes them?

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Why does Saturn have rings?

And what are they made of?

Make a CD Saturn

Turn an old CD into Saturn's rings.

A Planet Without a Sun?

Astronomers may have found a planet without a sun!

Space Volcanoes!

Explore the many volcanoes in our solar system using the Space Volcano Explorer.

Thirsty? Have a comet!

Could they have brought the water to our planet?

Gallery of NASA Solar System Images

Glorious planets and moons to view or print.

Voyager 1 and 2: The Interstellar Mission

These spacecraft traveled to the outer planets!

High Tide on IO!

What do you get when you cross an earthquake with a tidal wave?

Play Solar System Switch-a-Roo!

Put clues together to find the planets and moons.

NASA Pumpkin Stencils

Paint pumpkins with space and Earth science designs

Printable Space Valentines

Share these with your friends and family!

What Is a Barycenter?

And how does it help us find new planets?

DSN Uplink-Downlink: A DSN Game

Help the big antennas gather data from the spacecraft.

Mission to Jupiter: Juno

Help Juno reveal Jupiter's true nature.

Build a model spacecraft to explore the solar system!

Paper models of your favorite solar system explorers. This link takes you away from NASA Space Place.

Illustration of a game controller that links to the Space Place Games menu.

Download SpacePlace iPhone Games!

Join the SpacePlace Community!

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solar system lesson presentation

Elementary School Science

Nygren Educational Resources

What Makes Up the Solar System?

This lesson contains affiliate links to products I have used and personally recommend. At no cost to you, I make a commission for purchases made through the links or advertisements. These commissions help to pay for the costs of the site and enable it to remain free for anyone who wants to use it. 

Objectives:

The students will learn about the Solar System.

The students will be able to define the terms: sun, planet, dwarf planet, satellite, asteroid, comet, and meteor.

The students will be able to name the planets of the Solar System.

The students will be able to explain how the sun is the center of the Solar System.

The students will be able to explain how the Solar System formed.

Questions that encompasses the objective:

Think about the night sky. When you look up at the sky at night, what do you see?

Now, think about Earth. What makes it possible for us to live on Earth?

Do you think the other planets have the ability to support life?

Do you think there is life on other planets?

Prepare the Learner: Activating Prior Knowledge. 

How will students prior knowledge be activated?

Warm up by asking students:

What do you know about Earth?

What do you know about the Earth as part of the Solar System?

Common Core State Standards:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.2.1

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.2.1 B

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.2.4

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.2.2

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.3.2

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.3.2 B

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.3.1

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.3.4

Materials and Free Resources to Download for this Lesson: ​  

"What I Know About the Solar System" worksheet.

“What I Learned About the Solar System” worksheet.

Video: “Solar System” by Jessica Wimmer  

"Solar System" Science Journal (Teacher Copy)

“Solar System” Science Journal (Student Copy)

Pages 3 & 4: Vocabulary

Page 5: Planets of the Solar System

Page 6: Introduction to the Solar System

Page 7: How Did the Solar System Form: The Nebular Theory

Video: “The Nebular Theory” by OHMS Science class videos

Page 8: What Will You Find in the Solar System?

“Welcome to the Solar System” activity materials:

Cardstock/ Construction Paper

Crayons/Marker/Colored Pencils

**When the unit is over, download the final space assessment for all of the lessons for free.

**Here's the answer key.

solar system lesson presentation

Space Lesson Plans: What Makes Up the Solar System?

solar system lesson presentation

Space Lesson Plans: How Big Is The Solar System?

Input: What is the most important content in this lesson? To reach this lesson’s objective, students need to understand:

How the Solar System formed.

The definitions to the terms: sun, planet, satellite, asteroid, comet, and meteor.

The names and order of the planets of the Solar System.

The sun is center of the Solar System.

How will the learning of this content be facilitated?

The teacher will begin the class by handing out the “What I Know About the Solar System” introductory worksheet. The students will write down everything they know about the Solar System. The students will have about 10 minutes to complete the worksheet. Once the students have completed the worksheet, the teacher should review. The worksheets should be collected and kept with the teacher until the final lesson of the unit.

**If the teacher prefers, a poster or bulletin board can be made with some of the responses the students wrote. Throughout the unit, the teacher could go to the poster or bulletin board and discuss the responses that are associated with the lesson that had just been presented**

Next, the teacher should introduce the “All About the Solar System” Science Journals. Each student will get a journal that they will work in throughout the entire unit. The teacher should review the journals with the students, allowing them to look through the journal for about a minute or two. The teacher should also review the unit outline, which is on page 2 of the journal.

After the journal is reviewed, the teacher should show the students the video “Solar System”. (Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M4W_aXPFkmE ). The video is about 5 minutes long and reviews the planets of the Solar System, facts about each planet, and the reason Pluto has been removed as one of the planets. After the video is over, the teacher should begin a discussion about the content. The teacher should facilitate a discussion about the characteristics of each planet and each planet’s distance from the sun. It is important that the teacher explain the lines that are shown surrounding the Solar System represent each planet’s orbit.

Next, the teacher will begin presenting the information on the Solar System. If it is possible, project each page of the teacher’s copy of the “All About the Solar System” Science Journal worksheet onto the board using a projector or put into a PowerPoint document and project.  The teacher’s copy of the journal has certain words/phrases that are bolded red and highlighted. It is important the teacher explain to the students those words/phrases are to be highlighted in their (students) journal. For this lesson, the teacher should review these pages:

**When reviewing the vocabulary, one idea for the teacher would be to go around the room and have each student read a key term and definition. Clarification should be provided for any key term that is unfamiliar or confusing to the students**

**The teacher should review the names of the planets. The teacher should teach the students the mnemonic: “My Very Easy Method Just Speeds Up Naming Planets” à Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto**

(Source: https://www.mnemonic-device.com/astronomy/mnemonic-device-to-remember-the-planets-orbiting-the-sun/)

Page 6: How Did the Solar System Form: The Nebular Theory

**This page is a cloze activity that is goes with the video “The Nebular Theory”**

(Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PL3YNQK960Y)

Page 7: What Will You Find in the Solar System?

**This page reviews the terms: sun, planet, dwarf planet, satellite, asteroid, comet, and meteor**

After the worksheet is completed, the students will break into pairs. The students will create a brochure describing the Solar System. Each pair will get a piece of cardstock or construction paper and crayons/markers/colored pencils. The students can use their science journal as a guide when creating the brochure. Allow the students to work for about 10-15 minutes. Reconvene and discuss when the students are finished.

**Each pair can either present the brochures or a gallery walk can be set up. For the gallery walk, each pair will place their brochure on desks throughout the room. The students will walk around and look at their peers’ brochure**

After the presentation or gallery walk is over, the students should reconvene and the teacher should discuss the activities. The teacher should review the vocabulary words with the students.

The students will then fill out the "What I Learned About the Solar System" worksheet. They will then share with the class, or with a partner, some things they wrote down in their “What I Learned About the Solar System” page.

The students should keep both of the "What I Know" and "What I Learned" sheets in a folder to put them all together into a book when the unit is finished.​

solar system lesson presentation

Space Lesson Plans:

The planets.

solar system lesson presentation

Space Lesson Plans: Astronauts & Space Exploration

solar system lesson presentation

Space Lesson Plans: Size & Scale of the Planets & Sun

solar system lesson presentation

Space Lesson Plans: Earth's Satellite - All About the Moon

solar system lesson presentation

Space Lesson Plans: Solar & Lunar Eclipses

Time/Application 3-5 minutes Guided Introduction

Review the class/ agenda with the students:

Introductory Activity: “What I Know About the Solar System” introductory worksheet

Introduce: “All About the Solar System” Science Journals

Discussion: Science Journal (Pages 3-8)

Activity: “Welcome to the Solar System”

Discussion of Activity

Introductory Activity: “What I Know About the Solar System” Introductory Worksheet

Give each student a “What I Know About the Solar System” worksheet.

Have the students write as much as they know about the Solar System.

Review once the students have completed the worksheet.

Solar System Science Journals | Video | Introduction to the Solar System

Give each student an “All About the Solar System” Science Journal.

Review the unit topics and the science journals with the students.

Project each page of the science journal onto the board either through a projector or PowerPoint presentation.

The teacher copy has bolded red and highlighted words. The students will highlight those words in their science journal.

Show the students the video: “Solar System” by Jessica Wimmer  

Begin presenting the information. The pages that will be presented include: pages 3-8.

Have the students break into pairs.

Give each pair a piece of cardstock or construction paper and crayons/markers/colored pencils.

The students can use their science journal as a guide when creating the brochure.

Allow the students to work for about 10-15 minutes.

Reconvene and discuss when the students are finished.  

Closure/Assessment 10 minutes

**The students should keep both of the "What I Know" and "What I Learned" sheets in a folder to put them all together into a book when the unit is finished.​**

Individualized Instruction/Scaffolding

English Language Learners will be supported in this lesson through data-based heterogeneous grouping, verbal and written repetition of new vocabulary words, and multiple representation of vocabulary words through printed images and video.

solar system lesson presentation

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solar system lesson presentation

Solar System

Solar System explores the world around Earth, particularly the planets and the asteroid belt. Students will discover interesting facts about each planet, including their orbit and rotation times and the elements from which they are made. They will also learn the order of the planets and be able to compare and contrast them.

The “Options for Lesson” section provides several suggestions for alternative or additional things to do during the lesson. One such suggestion is to have students use a multimedia presentation, such as PowerPoint, to present the information they researched for the second activity.

Description

Additional information, what our solar system lesson plan includes.

Lesson Objectives and Overview: Solar System teaches students about the eight planets and other parts that compose our solar system. Students will discover facts about each of the planets and learn about the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. This lesson is for students in 4th grade, 5th grade, and 6th grade.

Classroom Procedure

Every lesson plan provides you with a classroom procedure page that outlines a step-by-step guide to follow. You do not have to follow the guide exactly. The guide helps you organize the lesson and details when to hand out worksheets. It also lists information in the yellow box that you might find useful. You will find the lesson objectives, state standards, and the number of class sessions the lesson should take to complete in this area. In addition, it describes the supplies you will need as well as what and how you need to prepare beforehand.

The Solar Systems lesson plan requires quite a few extra supplies and some preparation. In addition to the handouts, you will need compasses, string, plain white paper, glue or tape, black construction paper, scissors, rulers with millimeter units, and other supplies students would need for their planet presentations. You also need to ensure they have access to the internet or other sources for research purposes.

To prepare for the lesson, create labels for the eight planets, the sun, and the asteroid belt. Locate an area to do a scale model of planet distances from the sun, such as a large field near the school. Collect compasses and string to draw circles with, and create a scale model of the sun to display in the classroom. Alternatively, you could ask for a student volunteer to create it during the lesson using yellow paper. Make sure the “sun” is 54.8 inches in diameter.

Options for Lesson

The “Options for Lesson” section of the classroom procedure page lists several suggestions for additional activity, alternate ways to approach aspects of the lesson, and so on. Most of the suggestions relate to the activities specifically. Students could work alone for one or both activities if you prefer. You could also eliminate one of the activities if you don’t have time to do both. For the second activity, you may want students to turn in their work rather than present them to the class. Alternatively, you could require students present during the second activity using PowerPoint or similar presentation software. One option that doesn’t relate to the activities suggests making Step 16 of the classroom procedure guide a writing assignment rather than just a discussion point to wrap up the lesson plan.

Teacher Notes

The paragraph on the teacher notes page provides an extra bit of information or guidance as you prepare. It suggests you take advantage of the abundance of information online about the solar system. It advises you to make this lesson as hands-on and creative as possible to fully engage students as they learn. Use the blank lines on this page to write down any other ideas or thoughts you have before delivering the lesson to your students.

SOLAR SYSTEM LESSON PLAN CONTENT PAGES

Introduction.

The Solar System lesson plan has two pages of content. The lesson introduces the topic by describing how many stars are visible in the night sky. These stars are millions and millions of miles away. They are all part of other solar systems, not ours. A solar system includes a sun (which is a star itself) and the planets and other objects that travel around it.

Our sun is a star just like all the others in the night sky. The sun is far closer to the Earth, which is why it is so much bigger and brighter than the others. It is mostly a big ball of gases, which includes hydrogen and helium. The planet that orbits closest to the sun is Mercury. The next one, and the hottest of the eight planets, is Venus. Following Venus are Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune.

Speaking of orbits, an orbit is the path a planet takes when traveling around the sun. It takes on more of an oval shape than a perfect circle. Not every planet’s orbit takes the same amount of time. For Earth, it takes about 365 days to orbit the sun, which is why we consider one year to be 365 days long.

A Year and a Day

A year for Earth is not the same as a year for other planets in the solar system if a year equates to the time it takes a planet to completely orbit the sun. However, it is useful to compare the orbits of other planets using what we call Earth years and days. The lesson provides a chart that lists the planets’ orbits using Earth days and years as the unit of measurement.

Mercury’s orbit takes 88 days total. That means that it orbits the sun just over four times in a single year. It takes Venus 224 days to completely orbit the sun, and Mars takes 687 days. The outer four planets take much longer. Jupiter’s orbit is 11.8 years, Saturn’s is 29.6 years, and Uranus’ is 84.3 years. Neptune takes the longest at 165 Earth years! The further away the planet is from the sun, the longer it takes that planet to orbit the sun.

The lesson then provides students with a chart of the planets’ daily rotation times. The amount of time a planet takes to rotate on its axis differs from other planets just as its orbit does. This amount of time is what we consider the length of a day. For Earth, of course, it takes 24 hours to spin on its axis in a full rotation. Again, the length of a “day” for other planets is not the same as it is for Earth, but the lesson compares each planet’s day using Earth’s time units.

Mercury takes 60 whole days to rotate once around its axis. Venus takes 243 days. Students may recognize at this point that a day for Venus is actually longer than a year! Mars takes about the same time as Earth. It rotates fully in 24.3 hours. Jupiter only takes 9.8 hours. Saturn spins completely around on its axis in 10.2 hours. Uranus spins in 17.1 hours, and Neptune takes 16 hours. This time, the further a planet is from the sun, the less time it takes to rotate (except for Neptune).

Other Cool Facts about the Solar System

The last page describes the types of planets that our solar system contains. Our planets come in different sizes and are comprised of various substances. The four inner planets are made of rock that contains many different minerals. The four outer planets, on the other hand, are mostly made up of gases. Jupiter specifically is mostly helium, hydrogen, and water. The outer planets also have rings that encircle them.

Students will learn a little about other objects that float around in the solar system. Six planets have moons, for instance. A moon is an object in space that orbits another body (like a planet) in space. Earth only has one moon, but other planets have many more.

The asteroid belt is another interesting feature of our solar system, located between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. It contains thousands and thousands of asteroids, which are space rocks that scientists believe are leftovers from the beginning of the solar system. Some are very large and can be miles and miles across, but most asteroids are small.

Here is a list of the vocabulary words students will learn in this lesson plan:

  • Star: a big ball of gas burning in space
  • Orbit: the path a planet takes to travel around the sun
  • Moon: a celestial object (object in space) that orbits another body in space
  • Asteroid belt: a belt of tons of asteroids that float between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter
  • Asteroid: a space rock that scientists believe are leftover pieces of rock from the beginning of the solar system

SOLAR SYSTEM LESSON PLAN WORKSHEETS

The Solar System lesson plan contains three worksheets—two activity worksheets and a homework assignment—and an address card. The worksheets will help students solidify the concepts they learned about throughout the lesson. The address card is for the opening of the lesson. The guidelines on the classroom procedure pages explain when to hand out the worksheets to the class.

COMPARING PLANET SIZES ACTIVITY WORKSHEET

For this activity, students will work with a partner to create a poster that shows the different sizes of the planets in the solar system. First, they will draw the circles to the scale on the right side of the worksheet. Then they will cut out each circle and glue them onto black construction paper in order. Then, they will label the planets and title the poster. Finally, they will answer four questions on the second worksheet.

PLANET RESEARCH ACTIVITY WORKSHEET

For the next activity, students will work with a partner to research a specific part of the solar system. You will assign each group a specific piece of the solar system to research and present on. The worksheet lists the instructions and provides a number of data points that the students should include in their presentations. They will need to be creative, rather than simply gathering the information and reading it off to the class.

SOLAR SYSTEM CROSSWORD PUZZLE HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT

The homework assignment requires students to solve a crossword puzzle. There are 19 words and descriptions in total.

Worksheet Answer Key

The lesson plan document provides an answer key for the homework worksheet near the end. It provides the answers in red to make it easy to compare with students’ responses. If you choose to administer the lesson pages to your students via PDF, you will need to save a new file that omits this page. Otherwise, you can simply print out the applicable pages and keep this as reference for yourself when grading assignments.

ADDRESS CARD

There is an address card at the very end PDF that you will use at the beginning of the lesson. Follow the instructions on the classroom procedure page for guidance.

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Solar system

I really appreciated this product during our Solar System Unit. The video was engaging and the hands on activities where so helpful for my 5th graders to understand the positioning of the planets to each other and the Sun. I would use other Learn Bright products in the future.

Very useful! Great resource!

Excellent Supplemental Materials

I love having this material available for my students. They are brightly colored, interesting, and incredibly easy to use.

The units are nice and they have lots of options, however I would have liked to see more in depth and longer units. That being said, for a free resource, it’s pretty awesome!

Really interesting, usefull and clear

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The Solar System - KS3 lesson

The Solar System - KS3 lesson

Subject: Physics

Age range: 11-14

Resource type: Lesson (complete)

smcdonnell1

Last updated

16 November 2020

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solar system lesson presentation

A lesson powerpoint detailing information on each of the planets in the solar system. Lots of use of images to help students learn facts and information about our solar system.

Learning objectives:

  • Recall the names of the planets
  • Describe some characteristics of each planet
  • Use information to state the order of the planets

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NASA Logo

Solar System Exploration

Join us as we explore our planetary neighborhood: The Sun, planets, moons, and millions of asteroids and comets.

featured missions

Illustration of the surface of Europa - shown as icy blue - with Jupiter behind it, and the Europa Clipper spacecraft in front of Jupiter.

Europa Clipper

Launching Oct. 10, 2024, to Jupiter's icy moon, Europa.

This artist's-concept illustration depicts the spacecraft of NASA's Psyche mission near the mission's target, the metal asteroid Psyche.

Launched on a mission to a metal-rich asteroid, arriving 2029.

The image is zoomed in on Earth's globe, which takes up the entirety of the frame. In front of it hovers a metal box with wings.

OSIRIS-APEX

On its way to explore asteroid Apophis.

Lucy_Eyes-640x480

En route to Jupiter's Trojan asteroids.

solar system lesson presentation

Perseverance Rover

Exploring the surface of Mars since 2021.

An artistic visualization of the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft hovering above the surface of Asteroid Bennu. The spacecraft is silver, shiny with two wings on the top and a long extension from the bottom.

Delivered asteroid Bennu sample in September 2023.

NASA Curiosity rover used the Mars Hand Lens Imager MAHLI to capture the set of thumbnail images stitched together to create this full-color self-portrait.

Curiosity Rover

Exploring the surface of Mars since 2012.

spacecraft above lunar horizon with Earth in background

Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter

Orbiting the Moon since 2009.

BepiColombo Mission

BepiColombo*

En route to Mercury orbit in 2025. *ESA/JAXA-led.

Illustration of Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter over Mars.

Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter

Orbiting Mars since 2006.

artist's concept of MAVEN and Mars

Orbiting Mars since 2014.

Mars Odyssey orbiter over the north polar region

Mars Odyssey

Orbiting Mars since 2001.

Artist's concept of Mars Express at Mars.

Mars Express*

Orbiting Mars since 2003. *ESA-led.

NEOWISE spacecraft icon

Asteroid and comet hunter since 2009.

solar system lesson presentation

Orbiting Jupiter since 2016.

solar system lesson presentation

New Horizons

Exploring the Kuiper Belt since 2015.

Artist's concept of the JUICE spacecraft.

Jupiter moon arrival in 2034. *ESA-led.

Solar System Overview

The solar system has one star, eight planets, five dwarf planets, at least 290 moons, more than 1.3 million asteroids, and about 3,900 comets. It is located in an outer spiral arm of the Milky Way galaxy called the Orion Arm, or Orion Spur. Our solar system orbits the center of the galaxy at about 515,000 mph (828,000 kph). It takes about 230 million years to complete one orbit around the galactic center.

We call it the solar system because it is made up of our star, the Sun, and everything bound to it by gravity – the planets Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune; dwarf planets Pluto, Ceres, Makemake, Haumea, and Eris – along with hundreds of moons; and millions of asteroids, comets, and meteoroids.

10 THINGS about our solar system

This is an updated montage of planetary images taken by spacecraft managed by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, CA. Included are from top to bottom images of Mercury, Venus, Earth and Moon, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune.

Many Worlds

Our solar system has a star, eight planets, five dwarf planets, and thousands of asteroids, and comets.

Spitzer Milky Way 1600px

Meet Me in the Orion Arm

Our solar system orbits the center of the Milky Way galaxy. We’re in one of the galaxy’s four spiral arms.

Sun and planets in solar system

A Long Way Around

It takes our solar system about 230 million years to complete one orbit around the galactic center.

Sun in Milky Way

Spiraling Through Space

There are three general kinds of galaxies: elliptical, irregular, and spiral. The Milky Way is a spiral galaxy.

The blue limb of Earth as viewed from the space station.

Room to Breathe

Our solar system has no atmosphere. But it has many worlds – including Earth – with many kinds of atmospheres.

solar system lesson presentation

Our solar system has more than 200 moons.

solar system lesson presentation

Ring Worlds

The four giant planets – and at least one asteroid – have rings.

Man in the moon with American flag

Getting Out There

More than 300 robotic spacecraft have left Earth's orbit, and 24 U.S. astronauts have traveled to the Moon.

Earth blue marble photo

Life as We Know It

So far, Earth is the only place we've found life in our solar system, but we’re looking.

Artist's rendition of NASA's Voyager spacecraft

Going Interstellar

The Voyagers are the only spacecraft to reach interstellar space.

Solar System Facts

Orange sun with colorful planets trailing out to one side.

Planet Sizes and Locations

A colorful. symbolic thermometer showing planets in our solar system ordered from hottest a the top to coldest at the bottom. The top of the graphic is red, then it fades to orange, yellow, green, then blue. It has illustrations of the planets.

Temperatures Across Our Solar System

10 things about the kuiper belt.

A white, grey, and black pixelated image, with three bright blobs spaced out across the center, and circled in white.

All About Asteroid Apophis

When is the next full moon.

Our detailed daily guide to the night sky includes full Moon lore, eclipses, asteroid flybys, and more.

Full Moon in a black sky

NASA's Eyes

Experience Earth, our solar system, nearby asteroids, the universe, and the spacecraft exploring them with immersive real-time 3D web-based apps. Start exploring your solar system now!

Eyes on the Solar System banner displaying Juno spacecraft in the bottom right, Mars 2020 EDL on the left, Mars in the bottom left and Jupiter in the top right. We can see The Earth in the distance.

Latest News

NASA’s Planet-Hunting Satellite Temporarily on Pause

Artist concept of TESS spacecraft.

Explore the Universe with the First E-Book from NASA’s Fermi

Image of the Fermi e-book cover

Hubble Celebrates 34th Anniversary with a Look at the Little Dumbbell Nebula

Taking up most of the image, is a multi-colored nebula in shades of blue, pink, yellow, orange, purple, and white. It appears as two translucent orbs attached by a white band.

Pushing the Limits of Sub-Kilowatt Electric Propulsion Technology to Enable Planetary Exploration and Commercial Mission Concepts

A cylindrical metal device with an azimuthal white channel mounted to a metal support structure inside a much larger metal chamber. A blue glow lights up the azimuthal chamber and a blue plume radiates light to the right of the thruster.

Why is Methane Seeping on Mars? NASA Scientists Have New Ideas

solar system lesson presentation

NASA Selects New Aircraft-Driven Studies of Earth and Climate Change

A spiral galaxy, seen face-on to the viewer. The bright center of the galaxy is crossed by a glowing bar, and it is surrounded by tightly wound spiral arms, forming a circular shape with relatively clear edges. Faraway galaxies are visible around it, along with a few bright stars, on a dark background. One star to the right of the galaxy is very large and extremely bright with long diffraction spikes.

Hubble Captures a Bright Galactic and Stellar Duo

Lights brighten the night sky in this image of Europe

AI for Earth: How NASA’s Artificial Intelligence and Open Science Efforts Combat Climate Change

Discover More Topics From NASA

A montage shows the planets to scale from Mercury on the left to Neptune on the right.

Kuiper Belt

Illustration of spacecraft near a giant space rock far from the Sun.

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Animated Solar System Infographics

Free google slides theme and powerpoint template.

Slidesgo and planets, what a delicious coincidence! These infographics are animated—there's no excuse to start teaching students about the solar system, the planets, their mass, composition, etc. The backgrounds are dark (well, space is dark!) and the different illustrations and elements that give life to the infographic designs are colorful. Our resources are excellent: it's an universal statement!

Features of these infographics

  • 100% editable and easy to modify
  • 30 different infographics to boost your presentations
  • Include icons and Flaticon’s extension for further customization
  • Designed to be used in Google Slides, Microsoft PowerPoint and Keynote
  • 16:9 widescreen format suitable for all types of screens
  • Include information about how to edit and customize your infographics

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Solar System Lesson Infographics presentation template

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The Solar System presentation template

IMAGES

  1. Solar System Presentation For Teachers, Students and Parents.... FREE!

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  2. The Solar System

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  3. Solar System, Free PDF Download

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  4. The Solar System, Learning Planets, Preschool Printables, Busy Binder

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  5. Space (Astronomy); Solar System

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  6. PPT

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VIDEO

  1. Solar System Lesson 4

  2. Solar System Lesson 6

  3. Solar System Lesson 5

  4. Solar System Lesson 7

  5. Solar system lesson to life

  6. Geography Earth and the Solar System (Solar System) Lesson 1

COMMENTS

  1. The Solar System

    Unexpected! Well, you know how much we like planets and stuff, but this time it's different. We have a ready-made template with actual content for introductory lessons on the Solar System, its planets, satellites and more. It's illustrated and will be a great resource for teachers, since it provides a nice visual support for their lessons.

  2. The Planets & Our Solar System

    The Planets & Our Solar System. CA Science Standards: 5b. The solar system includes the Sun, planets and their satellites, asteroids, and comets. . Based on Harcourt 2002 ed, Pages 342-351. Objects in Our Solar System. Our solar system is made up of the sun, eight planets, their moons or satellites (about 166 in our solar system), dwarf planets ...

  3. Solar System Lesson Google Slides and PowerPoint template

    Use this presentation for your lesson and be the brightest star in the teaching sky! This template is based on a lesson structure. It is notable for the dark background that highlights the flat illustrations of planets, galaxies and rockets. In the same fashion, the slides display a pattern that looks like the space, with tons of tiny stars.

  4. The Solar System

    Comet. "Dirty snowballs" of frozen gases, rock and dust that orbits the Sun. When a comet comes close to the sun, it has a glowing head. Solar winds push dust away to form tails. 21 of 37. 22 of 37. 23 of 37. Asteroid. Rocky objects that orbit our sun that are too small to be called planets.

  5. PDF Lesson 1: Introducing our solar system

    Broad learning outcomes. Students will be able to describe and explain one or more celestial bodies (other than planets) within our solar system. Students will learn the importance of summarising and paraphrasing and how to reference sources of information. Students will assess the reliability and validity of various resources (print and online).

  6. Minimal Solar System Lesson. Free PPT & Google Slides Template

    Minimal Solar System Lesson Slides. Discover the mysteries of space with our dark-themed Powerpoint and Google Slides templates, ideal for educators. This minimalistic design, adorned with illustrations of planets, creates an immersive learning environment. Whether it's for a classroom or online learning, this template is perfect for lessons ...

  7. Planets of Our Solar System

    This teaching presentation takes an in-depth look at each of the planets. During this 21-slide presentation, students will not only learn new information, but also have opportunities to turn and talk to their classmates to discuss questions and participate in an interactive activity. During the presentation, students will learn about:

  8. PDF Studying Planets in the Solar System

    1. Explain to students that they will create profiles of the nine planets in the solar system. Each group in the class will present a written and oral report about a planet. Presentations should Grade Level: 6-8 Curriculum Focus: Astronomy; Solar System Lesson Duration: Two class periods Studying Planets in the Solar System Lesson Plan

  9. Informational Solar System PowerPoint

    This engaging PowerPoint presentation features colorful illustrations and 12 slides filled with fascinating facts about the sun and each of the planets in our solar system. It's the perfect resource to help your 6th-grade students learn more about the solar system and the planets within it.

  10. Solar System

    Hello, Pluto! In July of 2015, a spacecraft named New Horizons arrived at Pluto after a long journey. It took amazing pictures of this dwarf planet and will continue to study other objects in the Kuiper Belt from 2018 to 2022. Find out more about Pluto. Make a comet on a stick!

  11. Free Science Lesson Plan / Space / The Solar System

    Activity: "Welcome to the Solar System". Have the students break into pairs. Give each pair a piece of cardstock or construction paper and crayons/markers/colored pencils. The students can use their science journal as a guide when creating the brochure. Allow the students to work for about 10-15 minutes.

  12. The Solar System: Learning about Planets

    Introduction. (5 minutes) Tell your students that they will be learning about the planets today. Ask your students if they can name the planets. List the names of the planets on the board. Download to read more. Use this lesson to have your students research about a planet of their choice and present it to the class!

  13. 14 Science Projects and Lessons About the Solar System

    1. Model the Solar System. Students learn early on the names of the planets (and maybe even a fun mnemonic device to help remember their order). But understanding the sizes of the planets and their distances from one another really helps bring understanding of our solar system into shape. The Make a Model of the Solar System lesson guides ...

  14. Planets of Our Solar System

    Through this activity, students will show they can identify the planets in Earth's solar system and their position in relation to the Sun. How to Use Our Teaching Presentation in Your Classroom A team of dedicated, experienced educators created this resource to support your science lessons. 🧑‍🏫 Group Lesson

  15. Exploring Our Solar System: Planets and Space for Kids

    https://patreon.com/freeschool - Help support more content like this!Here is an in-depth introduction to the Solar System and the planets that are in it. Fro...

  16. Solar System, Free PDF Download

    Lesson Objectives and Overview: Solar System teaches students about the eight planets and other parts that compose our solar system. Students will discover facts about each of the planets and learn about the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. This lesson is for students in 4th grade, 5th grade, and 6th grade.

  17. The Solar System

    Age range: 11-14. Resource type: Lesson (complete) File previews. pptx, 6.76 MB. A lesson powerpoint detailing information on each of the planets in the solar system. Lots of use of images to help students learn facts and information about our solar system. Learning objectives:

  18. PDF The Earth's Place in the Universe

    the solar system, creating a working definition. The students will be introduced to vocabulary through a PowerPoint and then will be broken up into groups of 4 students to complete a jigsaw activity with the provided article. Lesson 2: The Sun - Our Most Important Star—Students will learn about the Sun as the center of the solar system. The ...

  19. Solar System Exploration

    Solar System Overview. The solar system has one star, eight planets, five dwarf planets, at least 290 moons, more than 1.3 million asteroids, and about 3,900 comets. It is located in an outer spiral arm of the Milky Way galaxy called the Orion Arm, or Orion Spur. Our solar system orbits the center of the galaxy at about 515,000 mph (828,000 kph ...

  20. 17 Solar system English ESL powerpoints

    This ppt provides be. 534 uses. Phoebee. Solar System Quiz. Quiz - practise and . 3672 uses. ajarnpaul33. Our Solar System. Basic slideshow for . 1975 uses. TheTrends. The Solar System. Lesson plan Powerpoi. 55 uses. zailda. True or False - Sola. Students will have t. 659 uses.

  21. Animated Solar System Infographics

    Free Google Slides theme and PowerPoint template. Slidesgo and planets, what a delicious coincidence! These infographics are animated—there's no excuse to start teaching students about the solar system, the planets, their mass, composition, etc. The backgrounds are dark (well, space is dark!) and the different illustrations and elements that ...