The eight planets in their increasing order of distance from the Sun are Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune.

They revolve around the Sun in definite orbits.

Mercury is the smallest planet in the solar system.

As Mercury is nearest to the Sun, it is extremely hot during the day and extremely cold during the night.

The second planet Venus, is the hottest and brightest of all planets.

As it can be seen in the morning and evening, it is called as the morning star or evening star.

The third planet in the solar system is our planet Earth.

Nearly 70% of the Earth's surface is covered with water, due to which the Earth is also called the blue planet.

It is the only planet on which life is known to exist.

The fourth planet is Mars.

It is also known as the red planet, because of the presence of red soil and rocks.

The fifth and the largest planet in the solar system is Jupiter.

It is so large that it can occupy nearly 1300 Earths inside it.

The sixth planet, that is, Saturn is the second largest planet in the solar system.

It is yellowish in color.

It has beautiful rings around it that are made up of ice and dust.

The seventh planet is Uranus.

A thick layer of gas covers this planet.

The eighth planet is Neptune.

As this planet is farthest from the Sun, cold winds blow here at very high speeds.