SOLAR SYSTEM: Orbits of the planets

SOLAR SYSTEM: animation showing the planets orbiting our sun. From the Sun, the planets are:

Mercury
Venus
EARTH
Mars
Jupiter (gas)
Saturn (gas)
Uranus (gas)
Neptune (gas)

(the outer four planets are all gas giants)

The planets are shown at their correct relative sizes (to each other) and their correct relative distances. Relative years (orbital periods) are also about right. The Earth, the third planet from the sun, takes just over 365 days to do a complete orbit of the sun (one Earth year).There are 8 planets in our solar system. The sun is shrunk down compared to the planets so that it doesn't swallow the innermost planets. In reality, the planets (and even the sun) are much much smaller than shown here. If shown to scale you would see nothing at all!

The further a planet is from the sun, the slower it moves. Compare the sedate progress of the furthest planet Neptune (pale blue at upper right - with an orbital period of about 165 Earth years) to the frenzied circling of Mercury (the planet closest to the sun - whose year lasts less than a quarter of our Earth year). Notice also how Mercury speeds up as it gets closer to the sun.