Summary
How we did we all get here? The history of the solar system is long but fascinating—and it probably started with a bang! Astronomers believe that more than 4.5 billion years ago, an exploding star created a huge cloud of gas and dust. Gravity drew this stuff together into clumps, eventually forming the Sun and the surrounding planets. There are four rocky, inner planets—Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars—and four gas giants farther out—Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. But wait, there's more! Our solar system is also home to asteroids, comets, dwarf planets such as Pluto, and the distant objects of the Kuiper Belt and Oort Cloud. So, get ready to blast off with Tim and Moby as they explore our galactic neighborhood!
Viewer safety
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Teaching resources
Discussion questions
A few questions to talk through after watching Solar System:
- What is one new thing you learned about solar system?
- Can you explain it to a partner in your own words?
- Where might you see this in the real world?
- What is one question you still have?
Quick work-a-long
Try it:
- Write one sentence explaining solar system.
- Draw or give one example of your own.