Solar System Scavenger Hunt

You have been selected by the National Space Travel Institute to take a high-speed voyage through our solar system. Your journey will begin on our star, the Sun. This fantastic round-trip voyage will take you all the way to Pluto and back again! You have been asked to find the answers to some interesting questions along the way. Click on the underlined blue links to find the answers.
Good luck...and have a great trip!

Before you start, take a look around the Sun itself. Let’s answer some Sun questions.

1. How old is the Sun thought to be? ___________________________

2. What galaxy is the Sun a star in? ___________________________

Now, let’s start our planet visits.

Traveling on to Mercury, we’d like to know...

3. What is the surface of Mercury covered with ? ______________________________

4. How hot does it get on the side of Mercury closest to the sun? __________

And how cold can it be on the side away from the sun? ________

As we arrive at Venus, we wonder...

5. What does Venus do more slowly than any other planet? ___________________

6. What is one reason a human might not survive on Venus? ________________________

A quick stop on our home planet of Earth...

7. How much of the Earth is covered by water? _____________________

8. What is Earth's atmosphere made of? (Hint:Click on the word More at this site.)

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We’ve arrived on Mars!!

9. Does Mars have seasons? ________

10. Describe the surface of Mars? ________________________________

As we fly past Jupiter, we can answer...

11. What is happening at Jupiter's big Red Spot? _____________

12. Which other planets could fit inside Jupiter if it was hollow? _____________________

Arriving on Saturn, we learn...

13. What happens to Saturn's shape because it spins so fast? _________________

14. What would happen to Saturn if it were placed in water? ______________________

Blasting by Uranus, we ask ourselves....

15. When viewed from Earth, how does Uranus appear to rotate? ____________________________________________________________________

On Neptune, we find...

16. What weather might we find on Neptune? ________________________

At last, we’ve made it to Pluto.

17. Do all astonomers think Pluto is a planet? ______________


Now, we promised that this would be a round-trip voyage. But, guess what? You get to choose which planet you would like to return to! Pick your favorite planet, and tell why you'd especially like to re-visit it.

18. Which planet would you like to return to? ______________ And why? _____________

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Thanks for taking this trip. Hope you learned some neat things about our Solar System!!