Earth vs Planets of the Solar System Day 4 Continued – Lesson 12 2024
As I worked on preparing lessons covering the 6 days of Creation for a Children’s Ministry program a few years ago, I realized how very little I actually knew about our own Solar System and Planets as well as Galaxies including our Milky Way Galaxy. Thinking that I am not the only one, I have decided to share two more posts dedicated to what happened on Day 4 of the Creation week with some perspective shared.
And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also. Genesis 1: 16
Our Solar System surrounds our Sun and is filled with planets, moons, asteroids, comets, minor planets, and other interesting objects.
In general, a planet is any massive object which orbits a star, in our case, the Sun. Officially there are eight amazing and differing planets in our Solar System: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune.
But, God created only one planet perfect for life, the plant Earth!
Where is our solar system located? It’s a small part of the Milky Way Galaxy. A galaxy is a huge collection of gas, dust, and billions of stars and their solar systems. A galaxy is held together by gravity. Our galaxy, the Milky Way, also has a supermassive black hole in the middle. I will share some things about galaxies in next week’s lesson.
Read on if you want to become acquainted with the 4 terrestrial planets. Next week, will share some things about the 4 planets that are Gas Giants in our Solar System:
MERCURY – If you weigh 70 pounds on Earth, you would weigh only about 27 pounds on Mercury. Mercury is the smallest planet and the closest planet to the Sun. It is visible from the Earth in the late evening or early morning sky. It is often called a morning star because Mercury shines brightly just before the sun rises.
Mercury is too small and has too little gravity to hold onto an atmosphere. Mercury is so close to the Sun that any atmosphere is quickly blown away by the Sun’s solar winds. There is almost no air on Mercury.
The planet is just a little bit larger than Earth’s moon. It is either really hot or really cold. The surface that faces the Sun can reach about 800 degrees Fahrenheit. The temperature on the nighttime side can plummet to almost -300 degrees Fahrenheit. Mercury rotates very slowly. One day on Mercury is about 58-1/2 Earth days long. Its revolution around the Sun is rather fast. Mercury can complete one orbit around the Sun in only 88 Earth days. That’s just about 3 months here on Earth. Mercury has no moons.
VENUS – Because Venus and Earth are almost the exact same size, you would weigh almost the same on either planet. If you weighed 70 pounds on Earth, you would weigh 63 pounds on Venus
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Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It has thick yellow clouds made of acid. Venus in many ways is Earth’s sister planet. It is almost identical in size, chemistry, gravity and density as the Earth. Venus has volcanoes, mountains and sand, just like Earth.
However, if they are twins, then Venus is the evil twin; she is the Earth gone wrong, very wrong. Venus is a deadly world where the surface temperature is hot enough to cook a meal in mere minutes, an ever-present furnace (850 degrees Fahrenheit). And with the atmosphere containing mostly carbon dioxide, it makes Venus a highly toxic place. No living thing would ever be able to survive on Venus. Aside from the fact that Venus rotates very slowly so that a day on Venus lasts more than 100 Earth days. Venus also rotates in the opposite direction as almost all the other planets. Instead of the Sun rising in the east and setting in the west, the Sun on Venus would appear to rise in the west and set in the east. Venus has no moons.
EARTH – is the third planet from the Sun. It is the biggest of all the terrestrial planets. A terrestrial planet is a dense planet found in the inner Solar System (The terrestrial planets are Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars.)
Our planet is an oasis of life in an otherwise desolate universe. The Earth’s temperature, weather, atmosphere and many other factors are just right to keep us alive. The Earth has one large moon. Its name is Luna.
For thus says the LORD, Who created the heavens, Who is God,
Who formed the earth and made it, Who has established it,
Who did not create it in vain, Who formed it to be inhabited:
“I am the LORD, and there is no other. Isaiah 45:18
MARS –If you weighed 70 pounds on the Earth, you would weigh about 27 pounds on Mars.
Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun. It is sometimes referred to as the “Red Planet. This is because the surface of Mars is red. If you stood on the surface, you would see red dirt and rocks everywhere. There are huge volcanoes and lots of craters on the surface.
Mars is similar to Earth in some ways. A day on Mars is 24.7 hours. Earth is 24 hours. It is tilted 25 degrees, just two more degrees than Earth. Temperatures can range from 98 degrees Fahrenheit down to -190 degrees Fahrenheit. Mars is smaller than earth. The gravity on Mars is only a third of the earth’s. Without enough gravity, Mars is unable to hold a larger atmosphere. What atmosphere it has is made of the gases we cannot breathe. Without much of an atmosphere, many meteoroids hit Mars. Mars has two small moons, their names are Deimos and Phobos.
The utter lifelessness of the other planets in our solar system illustrates so well the truth that Earth is unique and specially created for life.
Next week’s lesson will share some information about the 4 Gas Giant planets and the Milky Way Galaxy and others.