What are the 8 planets and their definition?

Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune. A planet is any of the large bodies that orbit the Sun, including Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune, in order of closeness to the Sun.

What are planets easy definition?

A planet is a celestial body that (a) is in orbit around the Sun, (b) has sufficient mass for its self-gravity to overcome rigid body forces so that it assumes a hydrostatic equilibrium (nearly round) shape, and (c) has cleared the neighbourhood around its orbit.

What are the 8 names of planets?

The eight planets are Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. Mercury is closest to the Sun. Neptune is the farthest.

What are the 12 planets and definition?

(Astronomy) the system containing the sun and the bodies held in its gravitational field, including the planets (Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune), the dwarf planets (Eris, Pluto, and Ceres), the asteroids, and comets. Advertisement.

What is a planet for kids?

A planet is a large object such as Jupiter or Earth that orbits a star. It is smaller than a star, and it does not make light. Planets are shaped like a slightly squashed ball (a spheroid). Objects that orbit planets are called satellites.

Why is Pluto no longer a planet?

The International Astronomical Union (IAU) downgraded the status of Pluto to that of a dwarf planet because it did not meet the three criteria the IAU uses to define a full-sized planet. Essentially Pluto meets all the criteria except one—it “has not cleared its neighboring region of other objects.”

Who is the eighth planet?

Neptune On the night of Sept. 23-24, 1846, astronomers discovered Neptune, the eighth planet orbiting around the Sun.

Where is Pluto now?

Pluto is a dwarf planet that lies in the Kuiper Belt, an area full of icy bodies and other dwarf planets out past Neptune.

What are the 15 planets?

Planets in Our Solar System

  • Mercury. Mercury—the smallest planet in our solar system and closest to the Sun—is only slightly larger than Earth's Moon. …
  • Venus. Venus spins slowly in the opposite direction from most planets. …
  • Earth. …
  • Mars. …
  • Jupiter. …
  • Saturn. …
  • Uranus. …
  • Neptune.