Solar System Ranking

Or we may want to order planets in terms of their physical size (radius), mass, orbital length (how far they travel during one trip around the Sun) or orbital velocity. So here are the planets of the Solar System ranked according to each one of those variables, starting with their distance from the Sun.

Mercury is the speediest planet in the Solar System. Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie It's once we move onto mass and radius, though, that the planets' order becomes less obvious…

The planets of our solar system, stretching from Mercury out to Neptune, are all incredible. In a dense cloud of gas and dust billions of years ago, these eight planets emerged along with the sun. They are eight unique expressions of our chaotic universe born upon an arm of the spiraling Milky Way galaxy.

Definitely in the running for most iconic planet in our solar system, Saturn's vivid, icy rings really stand out. Sure, other planets, like Uranus, have rings, but theirs aren't as visible, complex, or cool as Saturn's.

Behold, beautiful Saturn—the golden retriever of the solar system. Its icy rings have inspired artists, poets, and at least one blogger. This planet has the coolest moons, including Enceladus and Titan. Though our most recent mission to Saturn just ended ( RIP Cassini ), our next trip to this gentle giant will very likely be a hunt for alien life.

Jupiter is by far the biggest planet in our Solar System. Credit: NASA, ESA, STScI, Amy Simon (NASA-GSFC) But then you also have to take into account various other facts of Solar System activity, such as asteroid bombardments and the fact that Jupiter has shifted position within the Solar System at least twice.