What Are Planets Made Of?

Ever asked, “What is a planet?” The answer: it depends. Some planets are made of rock, like Earth, Mercury, Venus and Mars; others are made of gas, like Jupiter, Saturn, Neptune and Uranus. Jupiter, for instance, is made up mostly of trapped helium, hydrogen, and water.

In “Starfish and Space Dust”, the second adventure in the illustrated children’s book series about the adventures of Morgan and Little Fly, Morgan also asks “what is a planet?” In the end, he and his friend find out some of the answers to the secrets of planets and stars by meeting a wise old Starfish after an adventure that takes them through lagoons and rock pools in the South African resort of Plettenberg Bay.

Stars and planets are very different. Unlike stars, planets don’t make their own light. Instead, they reflect it, just like the moon. And there aren’t nearly as many planets as stars. Until recently, astronomers said there were nine planets, including Pluto. But in 2006, the International Astronomical Union decided that Pluto wasn’t a real planet, but a “dwarf planet” instead. Now there are only eight bodies classified as planets. These are Earth, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Neptune and Uranus.

“Starfish and Space Dust” will give you some fun answers to the question: What is a planet? If you want to learn more about the science, take a look at some of these sites:

International Astronomical Union http://www.iau.org/

What Makes a Planet? http://www.astro.cornell.edu/~jlm/planet.html

Astronomers decide Pluto isn’t a real planet: http://www.newsweek.com/id/4546

Plotting Pluto’s Comeback: http://www.newsweek.com/id/44382

And if you want to travel along with Morgan and Little Fly on some of their other adventures in their illustrated children’s book series, take a look at these:

 In WHERE DOES DADDY GO, Little Fly accompanies Morgan’s Dad, an airline pilot, on a trip to Alaska and Japan.

In STARFISH AND SPACEDUST, the pair go on vacation and meet a sea creature who teaches them about space.

In LITTLE FLY FINDS OIL, they travel to Pennsylvania and explore the origins of the oil industry.

In BABY BAT AND THE ICE GARDEN, a trip to a nature park becomes an adventure  where they learn about bats and the Ice Ages In THE GREEN POTION, they journey to Ireland, meet leprechauns and learn about germs and viruses.

This children’s book series is in intended for children aged 6 – 12 and is available through the MORGAN AND LITTLE FLY website or at various bookstores.

Want a book that teaches your kid what planets are made of? Get your copy of Starfish and Spacedust now!