What Is the Order of the Planets in the Solar System? Here's a Simple Trick To Remember
If you are a budding astronomer or simply enjoy watching the sky through a telescope, you probably have an interest in all of the planets in our solar system. There are a total of eight planets, including Earth, making seven of the planets visible to us in the sky. The order of the planets ranges in distance from the sun starting with the nearest planet to the sun and working outward. If you want to keep track of the order, there is a simple trick for remembering it.
You may be thinking, "Wait a minute, I thought there were a total of nine planets!" Depending on your age, you may have grown up learning that there were a total of nine planets. This was the case before, but now there are only eight. Don't worry though—it's not like one planet simply fell out of the solar system. We'll explain what happened and also show you some tricks for remembering the order of all of the planets that are still classified as planets.
Related: What a Wonderful World! 75 Absolutely Fascinating Facts About Planet Earth
What Are the Eight Planets in Order?
Here is a list of the eight planets in order starting with the nearest planet to the Sun.
Mercury
Venus
Earth
Mars
Jupiter
Saturn
Uranus
Neptune
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Planets in Order: An Easy Trick To Remember
Ordered by Distance From the Sun
The most common way to order the planets is by their distance from the sun starting with the closest planet, Mercury.
The easiest way to remember the order of the planets is to come up with a mnemonic phrase. The first letter of each word will correspond to the beginning letter of the planet. For instance, "My very educated mother just served us noodles" is easier to remember than a list of planet names. The potential problem with this, however, is the potential for mixing up Mercury and Mars so you do have to remember that Mercury is closer to the Sun than Mars.
Another frequently-taught phrase can help identify that Mercury comes before Mars thanks to the second letter of each of the two words. In the phrase "men very easily make jugs serve useful needs," "men" would correspond with Mercury and "make" corresponds with Mars.
Phrases like these are also very helpful for kids who are studying the solar system in school. And sometimes, putting a phrase to music helps memorizing the phrase itself even easier.
Rhyme To Remember
Most of us can still remember rhymes that we learned as children. The rhythmic beat of the words makes memorizing so much easier for some. Even though there are more actual words to remember, it is sometimes easier than one phrase. Here is a rhyming example to help kids recall the order of the planets:
Little Mercury is closest to the sun. Then comes Venus, the second one. Would you believe Earth comes third? And Mars is next said a little bird. Fifth is Jupiter oh so big. Sixth is Saturn with rings we dig. Next is Uranus, we're almost done. Last is Neptune furthest from the Sun.
Planets Ordered By Size
Another way to keep track of all the planets is to order them by size. If you wanted to do this, the order from smallest planet to largest is Mercury, Mars, Venus, Earth, Neptune, Uranus, Saturn and Jupiter. To remember that order, just make up another silly mnemonic phrase such as: "Meat makes vegetables edible nested under spicy jam."
What Planets Are Visible With the Naked Eye
As long as your view isn't blocked by tall buildings or trees and the night is clear, you should be able to see several planets with just your eyes, according to Adler Planetarium. The five brightest planets are Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn—making them the most observable.
However, even though you can see the light from the planets, it can be hard to distinguish them from stars. A good tip is that stars twinkle and planets do not.
Another factor to consider: Planets are not all visible at the same time because they move around the sun at different rates. Rarely, the planets do all perfectly align and this is called planetary alignment.
Typically, planets are also easier to spot when they are situated high in the sky: this is when they are the brightest. When planets are closer to the horizon, they appear dimmer.
How Many Planets Can a Telescope See?
All of the planets can be viewed with a telescope but not all of them will be clear. With just a small or medium size telescope, it should be easy to see four of the planets clearly. You will likely spot Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn even without a dark sky.
Although more difficult, you may also be able to see Mercury through a telescope at times. According to Space and Beyond Box, you can view Mercury when it lies at one of its elongations. This occurs either when it lies furthest west of the sun in the eastern morning sky or furthest east of the sun in the evening sky. It is recommended to use a yellow or orange filter to cut down the blue sky when viewing during the middle of the day.
The two hardest planets to view are Uranus and Neptune. Through the telescope, Uranus appears as a hazy greenish disk and Neptune is a small blue disk. You won't see a lot of detail with either of the planets, but the colors are helpful in identifying them.
Why Isn't Pluto Still a Planet?
If you grew up learning about Pluto as being one of the planets, it's likely confusing that it no longer has that status. In August of 2006, researchers from the International Astronomical Union voted to reclassify Pluto as a "dwarf planet." It was determined that it didn't meet all of the criteria to be considered a full planet and shouldn't have been classified as a planet to begin with.
One of the standards that Pluto was missing was that it is not clear of debris within its orbital neighborhood. However, there are other factors such as size and the fact that there are larger objects in space than Pluto.
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