If you are wondering what is the order of the planets from the Sun in our Solar System, you are in the right place to finally discover it! Here you will learn all the 8 "official" Solar System planets in order from the Sun (according to the International Astronomical Union - IAU) with pictures, sizes, and physical characteristics (AKA interesting facts tables!). Let's get started!
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Planets in Order
There are eight official planets in our Solar System that orbits the Sun, and their order in distance from the Sun is as below:
1. Mercury
2. Venus
3. Earth
4. Mars
5. Jupiter
6. Saturn
7. Uranus
8. Neptune
If you want to easily remember the Solar system planets order, learn a popular mnemonic that is often taught in school: "My Very Educated Mother Just Served Us Noodles." The first letter of every word is a first letter of the proper planet - in order!
1. Mercury
Mercury is the planet closest (first) to the Sun and the smallest member of our Solar System family. Its diameter is 4,878 kilometers / 3,031 miles, and its mass is only 5.5% of the Earth's mass. As a result, the gravitational force on Mercury is not enough strong to maintain the atmosphere on the planet. Mercury's surface, covered with countless craters, is therefore exposed to intense solar radiation.
Mercury Interesting Facts
| Planet | Mercury |
| Distance from Sun | 36 million miles / 58 million km / 0.39 AU |
| Diameter | 3,031 miles / 4,878 km |
| Mass | 3.285 × 1023 kg (0.055 M⊕ / 5.5% Earths) |
| Length of Year (Orbit) | 88 Earth days |
| Length of Day | 59 Earth days |
| Temperatures | -290°F to 800°F / -180°C to 430°C |
| Moons | no - zero (0) |
2. Venus
Venus, the "younger sister" of the Earth, is a little smaller than our planet - its diameter is 12104 kilometers and is the second planet in order from the Sun. The geological structure of this planet most probably resembles Earth's. The dense layer of clouds made us know little about this planet until the 1960s. It was not until December 1962 that the first measurements on Venus were transmitted to Earth by the Mariner 2 spacecraft.
Venus Interesting Facts
| Planet | Venus |
| Distance from Sun | 67 million miles / 108 million km / 0.72 AU |
| Diameter | 7,521 miles / 12,104 km |
| Mass | 4.867 × 1024 kg (0.815 Earth mass) |
| Length of Year (Orbit) | 225 Earth days |
| Length of Day | 243 Earth days |
| Surface temperature | 887°F / 475°C |
| Moons | no - zero (0) |
3. Earth
The Earth, our home, is the third planet from the Sun.
Earth Interesting Facts
| Planet | Earth |
| Distance from Sun | 93 million miles / 150 million km / 1 AU |
| Diameter | 7,918 miles / 12,742 km |
| Mass | 5.972 × 1024 kg |
| Length of Year (Orbit) | 365 days |
| Length of Day | 23 hours and 56 minutes |
| Average temperature | 61°F/16°C |
| Moons | 1 - the Moon |
4. Mars
Mars, the fourth planet in order from the Sun, is adjacent to the Earth on the outer side. Mars is a planet considered to be the most similar to the Earth and not only in terms of appearance: there is water there, its axis of rotation is similar to the Earth's, and a day on Mars lasts only 41 minutes longer than on the Earth. Mars is the best-researched planet of the Solar System (except Earth, of course!).
Mars Interesting Facts
| Planet | Mars |
| Distance from Sun | 142 million miles / 228 million km / 1.52 AU |
| Diameter | 4,212 miles / 6,779 km |
| Mass | 6.39 × 1023 kg (0.107 Earths) |
| Length of Year (Orbit) | 687 Earth days |
| Length of Day | 24 hours 37 minutes |
| Surface temperature | Average -67°F/ -55°C, ranges -225°F to +70°F / -153°C to +20 °C |
| Moons | Two (2) - Phobos and Deimos |
5. Jupiter
Jupiter, the fifth planet from the Sun, is the largest planet in the Solar System. Interestingly, it is also the planet with the shortest day. Jupiter consists mainly of gas - only a small part of it is made of rocks and metals - so it does not have a constant surface.
Jupiter Interesting Facts
| Planet | Jupiter |
| Distance from Sun | 484 million miles / 778 million km / 5.2 AU |
| Diameter | 86,880 miles / 139,820 km |
| Mass | 1.9 × 1027 kg (318 Earths) |
| Length of Year (Orbit) | 11.9 Earth years |
| Length of Day | 9.8 Earth hours |
| Surface temperature | Average -234°F / -148°C |
| Moons | 97 total - some of the most known are Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto |
6. Saturn
Saturn, the sixth planet from the Sun, is the second-largest planet in the Solar System after Jupiter. It consists mainly of hydrogen and helium (with a small addition of ammonia and methane), so it also belongs to the group of gas giants. Saturn is almost twice as far from the Sun as Jupiter, so its atmosphere does not heat up so heavily.
Saturn Interesting Facts
| Planet | Saturn |
| Distance from Sun | 886 million miles / 1.4 billion km / 9.5 AU |
| Diameter | 72,365 miles / 116,460 km |
| Mass | 5.68 × 1026 kg (95.1 Earths) |
| Length of Year (Orbit) | 29.5 Earth years |
| Length of Day | 10.7 Earth hours |
| Surface temperature | Average -288°F / -178°C |
| Moons | Over 80 - Mimas, Enceladus, Tethys, Dione, Rhea, Titan, Iapetus, Hyperion, and more |
7. Uranus
Uranus, the seventh planet from the Sun, was initially taken as a comet. It's the coldest planet in the Solar System.
Uranus Interesting Facts
| Planet | Uranus |
| Distance from Sun | 1.8 billion miles / 2.9 billion km / 19.19 AU |
| Diameter | 31,518 miles / 50,724 km |
| Mass | 8.681 × 1025 kg (14.54 Earths) |
| Length of Year (Orbit) | 84 Earth years |
| Length of Day | 18 Earth hours |
| Surface temperature | Average -357°F / -216°C |
| Moons | 27 known - Puck, Miranda, Ariel, Umbriel, Titania, Oberon, and more |
8. Neptune
Neptune is the eighth and last planet from the Sun in the Solar System. For now, we can only speculate about its internal structure. Before the departure of Voyager 2 in August 1989, two moons of Neptune and several ring structures were known to science - today we know about eight moons and five rings.
Neptune Interesting Facts
| Planet | Neptune |
| Distance from Sun | 2.8 billion miles / 4.5 billion km / 30.07 AU |
| Diameter | 30,599 miles / 49,244 km |
| Mass | 1.0243 x 1026 kg (17 Earths) |
| Length of Year (Orbit) | 165 Earth years |
| Length of Day | 16 Earth hours |
| Surface temperature | Average -353°F / -214°C |
| Moons | 14 known - Naiad, Thalassa, Despina, Galatea, Larissa, Hippocamp, Proteus, and more |
What About Pluto?
Hi, I'm Paweł! I'm an astrophotographer, full-time astrophotography blogger, passionate stargazer, and amateur astronomer. Here on Astro Photons, I share my astrophotography, space, and astronomy knowledge to help beginners to make their first steps into the hobbies.
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