Wikijunior:Solar System

When working on this project, remember that it's aimed at children. Being understood is just as important as being accurate. Authors should concentrate on the most important concepts rather than getting wrapped up in every detail. Use technical vocabulary when you need to, but don't use big words where simple language would work.

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Contents

various parts of the solar system: the planets, dwarf planet Pluto, the asteroid belt, and a comet

The pages included are:

1. Title Page
2. Introduction
3. Our Solar System
4. The Sun
5. Mercury
6. Venus
7. Earth
   • Moon
8. Mars
   • Phobos
   • Deimos
9. Asteroid belt
10. Jupiter
    • Amalthea
    • Io
    • Europa
    • Ganymede
    • Callisto
11. Saturn
    • Mimas
    • Enceladus
    • Tethys
    • Dione
    • Rhea
    • Titan
    • Hyperion
    • Iapetus
    • Phoebe
12. Uranus
    • Miranda
    • Ariel
    • Umbriel
    • Titania
    • Oberon
13. Neptune
    • Proteus
    • Triton
    • Nereid
14. Pluto
    • Charon
15. Comets
16. Kuiper Belt
17. Oort Cloud
18. Space exploration
19. Puzzles
20. Glossary
21. Test

Major Questions

These major questions appear in every module:

1. How big is this planet?
2. What is its surface like?
3. What are its moons like? Only for planets with moons.
4. How long is a day on this planet?
5. How long is a year on this planet? For moons: How long is its orbit around the planet?
6. What is it made of?
7. How much would this planet's gravity pull on me?
8. Who is it named after?
9. How was it discovered? Only for Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and several moons.

Some pages replace "it" with the planet's or moon's name and some don't.

Other topics

Other topics in this book could be:

1. About gravity, mass, and weight (alternate version at About weight and gravity)
2. How the Solar System was born
3. What will happen to the Solar System in the future
4. The Mystery of Space just a general overview about how people have regarded space differently in different cultures throughout time
5. Is there life out there? looking at the old question; the possible Mars microbes are of note, sci-fi and speculation might be interesting to touch on.

Useful links

• Windows to the Universe: our Solar System -- This website is first-rate for kids. You can choose text appropriate for elementary, middle-school, or high-school students.
• Solar System on Wikipedia
• Guide to our Solar System from CBBC Newsround
• National Space Science Data Center (NSSDC) planetary science page
• The Nine Planets Website
• NASA Solar System exploration (Public domain - usable in this book - See acceptable use policy)
• Astronomical Society of the Pacific education page
• How to Compute Planetary Positions, by Paul Schlyter
• Celestia, Celestia WikiBook - A free space simulation that lets you and your children explore our universe in three dimensions.