9 Sun, Moon and Stars

Sun, moon And Stars

The night sky. When you look at the night sky, you can see shining stars, far away in space. You might be able to spot the Moon too. Everything you can see is only a tiny part of space. The Moon looks small, but it would take about four days to drive all the way around it.

Out in space. Our planet Earth is a lump of rock in space. It is one of a group of nine planets. Each planet goes around the Sun on its own invisible path. The Sun and the planets are called the Solar System.

Experts used to think that Pluto was a planet, but now they've changed their minds and call it a dwarf planet. Most of the planets look about the same size here, but some are really much, much bigger than others. Saturn is so far away from Earth that it took seven years for a spacecraft to reach it.

The Sun. The Sun is a star. It is the closest star to Earth, so it looks bigger than other stars. The Sun was formed by thick clouds of dust and gas. It became a glowing ball of gas that is hottest in the middle. The surface of the Sun bubbles and boils.

The Sun has dark areas called sunspots. They are cooler than the rest of the Sun. Never look straight at the Sun. Its strong light can hurt your eyes.