Planet Riddles With Answers
Updated · Best Riddles With Answers editorial team
Quick answer: This page has 42 planet riddles with answers about Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and their moons. The easy riddles name each planet from a simple clue, the middle sets use facts such as hot temperatures and tilted spins, and the hard riddles include number puzzles. All the facts have been checked.
Easy Planet Riddles
I am the smallest planet and the closest to the Sun. My name is also a silver liquid metal. What am I?
Mercury
I shine so brightly that people call me the evening star, but I am a planet wrapped in thick clouds. What am I?
Venus
I am the third planet from the Sun, and I have oceans, air and all the life we know of. What am I?
Earth
I am the red planet, and my colour comes from rusty dust. What am I?
Mars
I am the biggest planet of all, and I have a giant storm that has raged for centuries. What am I?
Jupiter
I am famous for my wide, bright rings of ice and rock. What am I?
Saturn
I am a pale blue-green planet, and I roll around the Sun lying on my side. What am I?
Uranus
I am the farthest of the eight planets, a deep blue world with powerful winds. What am I?
Neptune
I used to be called the ninth planet, but now I am called a dwarf planet. What am I?
Pluto
I am how many planets circle our Sun. What number am I?
Eight
I am the Sun and everything that circles it, including eight planets. What am I?
The solar system
I am made of billions of pieces of ice and rock, and I circle Saturn like a giant record. What am I?
Saturn's rings
Trickier Planet Riddles
I am not the closest to the Sun, yet I am the hottest planet, with air thick enough to trap heat. What am I?
Venus
I have two small moons whose names mean fear and panic. What am I?
Mars
I am so light for my size that, if there were a bath big enough, I would float. What am I?
Saturn
My axis is tilted so far over that I seem to roll round the Sun on my side. What am I?
Uranus
The fastest winds in the solar system blow on me, and I am the planet farthest from the Sun. What am I?
Neptune
I have four large moons that Galileo saw through his telescope, and I am the largest planet. What am I?
Jupiter
About seventy percent of my surface is covered by water, and I am the only planet known to have life. What am I?
Earth
Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars share a name because they have solid surfaces. What kind of planets are they?
Rocky (terrestrial) planets
I am the tallest volcano in the solar system, and I stand on the red planet. What am I?
Olympus Mons
In the saying 'My Very Educated Mother Just Served Us Nachos', what planet does the last word stand for?
Neptune
Pluto, Ceres and Eris belong to a group that is smaller than the eight main planets. What is the group called?
Dwarf planets
I whip round the Sun in just 88 Earth days, the shortest year of any planet. What am I?
Mercury
Hard Planet Riddles
On me, a day is longer than a year. I turn so slowly that I go around the Sun before I spin once. What am I?
Venus (a day is about 243 Earth days, a year about 225)
My year lasts about 84 Earth years, and I am tipped on my side, so each season on me lasts about 21 years. What am I?
Uranus
One trip around the Sun takes me about 165 Earth years, the longest of any planet. What am I?
Neptune
I am heavier than all the other planets put together. What am I?
Jupiter
A year on Mercury is 88 Earth days. How many Mercury years pass in 264 Earth days?
3, because 264 / 88 = 3
Four planets have rings, and Saturn's are the most famous. Which of the four is closest to the Sun?
Jupiter (it has faint rings)
We are the only two planets with no moons, and we are the closest to the Sun. Who are we?
Mercury and Venus
My day lasts about 24 hours and 37 minutes, which is nearly as long as yours, but I am cold and red. What am I?
Mars
Astronomers worked out my position using maths before any telescope saw me. What am I?
Neptune
A planet takes about 12 Earth years to go round the Sun once. How old, in that planet's years, is a 36 year old person?
3, because 36 / 12 = 3 (the planet is Jupiter)
Quick-Fire Planet Riddles
Saturn's biggest moon, with thick orange air. What am I?
Titan
An icy moon of Jupiter that may hide an ocean. What am I?
Europa
The largest moon in the solar system. What am I?
Ganymede
A moon of Jupiter covered in active volcanoes. What am I?
Io
The bigger of the two moons of Mars, named for fear. What am I?
Phobos
The biggest moon of Pluto. What am I?
Charon
The largest object in the asteroid belt, a dwarf planet. What am I?
Ceres
The long lasting storm on Jupiter. What am I?
The Great Red Spot
How to Use These Planet Riddles
Try these riddles when a class is learning the solar system. Read a clue and ask pupils to point to the right planet on a wall chart or model. The easy riddles name each planet, while the trickier ones bring in facts to remember.
For a quiz, split into teams and award a point for each correct planet and a bonus point for explaining the clue. The moon riddles in the quick-fire set make a good challenge for older space fans.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a good planet riddle for kids?
Try 'I am the red planet, and my colour comes from rusty dust.' The answer is Mars. Easy planet riddles use one clear fact such as rings, colour or size so children can name the world.
How many planets are there in the solar system?
There are eight: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. Pluto was moved to the group called dwarf planets, along with Ceres and Eris, because of its size and orbit.
Which planet is the hottest?
Venus is the hottest planet, with surface temperatures of around 465 degrees Celsius. Its thick carbon dioxide air traps heat, so it is hotter than Mercury even though Mercury is nearer to the Sun.
Are these planet riddles accurate for school use?
Yes. Each fact has been checked, including day lengths, year lengths and moon names, so the riddles are safe to use in lessons. Use the hard set with older pupils who know the basic facts.
