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What is a Planet?

A planet is a large, round heavenly body that orbits a star and shines with light reflected from the star. Eight planets orbit the sun in our solar system. In order of increasing distance from the sun, they are: (1) Mercury, (2) Venus, (3) Earth, (4) Mars, (5) Jupiter, (6) Saturn, (7) Uranus, and (8) Neptune. Many nearly planet-sized objects, called dwarf planets, also orbit the sun. Dwarf planets include Pluto and Ceres. Since 1992, astronomers...

Keywords:: PLANETS, NASA, SOLAR SYSTEM

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Education / TeacherEd / Teaching Methods / Science

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More about this material

Material Type:: Reference Material
Date Added to MERLOT:: July 8, 2009
Date Modified in MERLOT:: March 30, 2018
Author:: NASA
Submitter:: Dr. Troy Tenhet
Primary Audience:: Grade School, Middle School, College Upper Division, Graduate School
Technical Format:: Website

Mobile Compatibility:: Not specified at this time
Technical Requirements:: WEB BROWSER
Language:: English
Cost Involved:: No
Source Code Available:: Unknown
Accessibility Information Available:: Unknown
Creative Commons:: No

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Comments

Kendra Wells (Faculty)

10 years ago

The photographs and information provided in this site is easily located and navigated. Information is provided in terms students will understand. Interactive features are a bonus!

Time spent reviewing site: 20 minutes

Robin Lynch (Student)

10 years ago

This explanation of planets is well-detailed without using a lot of technical jargon which makes it more accessible to students. I think that I would easily be able to simplify the information even further to teach to the lower grades in elementary education.