What is it?
The Solar System Explorer shows the eight planets going round the Sun on a starry map. Tap a planet to see its distance from the Sun, size, length of day and year, number of moons and how many minutes sunlight takes to reach it (about 8 for Earth). The My weight tab shows what you would weigh on other worlds, and the Quiz checks what you learnt.
Who is it for?
Children curious about space, students doing a solar-system project or worksheet, and teachers who want a live model on the class screen.
How to use it
- In Explore, tap a planet on the map or its name below: “Planets going round the Sun. Tap a planet.”
- Read the card: distance, size, One day (spin), One year (trip round the Sun), moons, light time and a fact.
- Press ⏯ Pause to stop the planets, for example to tap a fast one like Mercury.
- Open My weight and type “Your weight on Earth (kg)”.
- Play the Quiz: “Which planet is the hottest?”, “Which planet spins on its side?”
Worked example
A child who weighs 30 kg on Earth would weigh about 5 kg on the Moon, about 11 kg on Mars and about 76 kg on Jupiter. Strictly, mass stays 30 kg everywhere; what changes is the pull of gravity, which is what a scale measures.
Facts worth remembering
- Venus is the hottest planet, though Mercury is closer to the Sun: its thick clouds trap heat.
- Uranus rolls round the Sun on its side; Neptune has the fastest winds.
- Pluto is a dwarf planet now, so it is not one of the eight, but its weight is still in the list.
- Moon counts say “more than” because new small moons are still being found.
Errors and how to fix them
- The map is not to scale: real distances are far bigger; the map squeezes them so all planets fit. The numbers on the cards are the real ones.
- Hard to tap a planet: press Pause, or tap the names under the map.
- Weight is blank: type a number only, without “kg”.
- “Not quite: the answer is shown in green”: only the first tap counts. Look at the green answer, say it aloud together, and the next question comes on its own. At the end the tool shows the score with stars (🌱 to ⭐⭐⭐).
Open the tool: Solar System Explorer
Still stuck?
Contact support. Tell us which tool or page you were using, what you tapped, what you saw, and your phone or computer and browser (for example: Android phone, Chrome). We reply by email.
Questions, or an error not listed here?
Tell us in the comments: what you were doing, the exact message you saw, and your device and browser. We read every comment and add new fixes to this article.