Planet Riddles for Kids With Answers
Updated · Best Riddles With Answers editorial team
Quick answer: This page has 42 planet riddles for kids with answers, covering the eight planets of our solar system plus the Sun, Moon and other things you find in space. They suit curious children, classrooms and science clubs. Every answer is a checked fact, so the riddles teach as well as entertain.
Easy Planet Riddles For Kids
I am the planet you live on, with oceans, forests and one big moon. Which planet am I?
Earth
I am the smallest planet and the closest one to the Sun. Which planet am I?
Mercury
I am the biggest planet of all, and I have a giant storm called the Great Red Spot. Which planet am I?
Jupiter
I am the planet best known for my wide, bright rings of ice and rock. Which planet am I?
Saturn
I am a dusty red planet, and robot rovers drive across my surface. Which planet am I?
Mars
I am the hottest planet, even hotter than Mercury, because my thick clouds trap heat. Which planet am I?
Venus
I am the farthest of the eight planets from the Sun, a deep blue world with very fast winds. Which planet am I?
Neptune
I spin tipped over on my side, I am pale blue-green, and I am the seventh planet from the Sun. Which planet am I?
Uranus
I am not a planet, I am a star, and every planet in our solar system travels around me. What am I?
The Sun
I am a round rock that circles Earth, and I shine only because I reflect sunlight. What am I?
The Moon
What do we call the curved path a planet follows as it travels around the Sun?
An orbit
I am the number of planets that circle our Sun, from Mercury to Neptune. What number am I?
Eight
Trickier Planet Riddles For Kids
I race around the Sun in just 88 Earth days, the shortest year of any planet. Which planet am I?
Mercury
I am so far from the Sun that one trip around it takes about 165 Earth years. Which planet am I?
Neptune
I am so light for my size that I would float in a bathtub big enough to hold me. Which planet am I?
Saturn, because it is less dense than water.
On me, one day lasts longer than one year, and I spin backward. Which planet am I?
Venus
I am home to Olympus Mons, the tallest volcano in the solar system. Which planet am I?
Mars
We are the two biggest planets, one name begins with J and the other with S. Who are we?
Jupiter and Saturn
I spin so fast that my day is only about ten hours long, the shortest of any planet. Which planet am I?
Jupiter
We are the two icy blue planets at the far edge of the solar system. Who are we?
Uranus and Neptune, the ice giants.
I am a ball of dirty ice and dust, and I grow a glowing tail when I swing near the Sun. What am I?
A comet
I am a rocky chunk left over from long ago, and many of my family live in a belt between Mars and Jupiter. What am I?
An asteroid
I am the biggest moon of Saturn, and I am wrapped in thick orange haze. What am I?
Titan
I am the time it takes Earth to travel once around the Sun. What am I?
A year, which is about 365 days.
Hard Planet Riddles For Kids
Every other planet is named after an ancient god. Which planet's name simply means ground or soil?
Earth
Two planets have no moons at all, and both are closer to the Sun than Earth. Which two?
Mercury and Venus
Which planet sits between Jupiter and Uranus?
Saturn
Mercury circles the Sun in 88 Earth days. How many Mercury years fit into 264 Earth days?
3, because 88 x 3 = 264.
I was called the ninth planet for many years, but now I am labeled a dwarf planet. What am I?
Pluto
I am a huge spiral of billions of stars, and our Sun is just one small member of my family. What am I?
The Milky Way galaxy
Start at the Sun and count outward. What number is Saturn on the list of planets?
Sixth, after Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars and Jupiter.
The Great Red Spot on Jupiter is not a planet or a moon. What is it?
A giant storm, bigger than Earth itself.
How many planets in our solar system are smaller than Earth?
Three: Mercury, Venus and Mars.
I am a tool with lenses or mirrors that makes far-away planets look close. What am I?
A telescope
Quick-Fire Planet Riddles For Kids
A person who travels into space.
An astronaut
I blast spacecraft up beyond the clouds.
A rocket
I twinkle at night and I am really a far-off sun.
A star
A bowl-shaped dent made when a space rock hits a moon or planet.
A crater
A streak of light made when a space rock burns up in our sky.
A meteor
The Moon slides in front of the Sun and the day grows dark.
A solar eclipse
Belts of ice and dust that circle Saturn.
Rings
A machine that orbits Earth to send back weather photos and TV signals.
A satellite
How to Use These Planet Riddles
Read the riddle aloud, ask children to name the planet or object, then share the fact in the answer. The easy set suits ages five to seven, the trickier set suits ages eight to ten, and the hard set rewards children who already know the order of the planets.
Pair the riddles with a chart of the solar system or a toy model so children can point to each planet. You can also ask them to write their own planet riddle using a favourite fact, which is a good way to check what they have learned.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the order of the planets from the Sun?
The order is Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. A common memory trick is a sentence with the same first letters, such as My Very Educated Mother Just Served Us Noodles.
Which planet is the hottest?
Venus is the hottest planet, with surface temperatures high enough to melt lead. Its thick carbon dioxide atmosphere traps heat, so it is hotter than Mercury even though Mercury is closer to the Sun.
Which planets have rings?
All four giant planets have rings: Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. Saturn's rings are by far the biggest and brightest, which is why Saturn is the planet most people picture when they think of rings.
Is Pluto a planet?
No. Pluto was called the ninth planet for many years, but astronomers now classify it as a dwarf planet because it has not cleared other objects from its path. That leaves eight official planets.
