So there are first the four smaller or Lesser Planets--Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars; then the Planetoids; and then the four big Outer Planets--Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune. Now look again at your little balls which picture the sizes of the smaller planets. The biggest of them is our Earth--a ball or a cocoa-nut four inches through. But when we turn to Jupiter, still letting one inch stand for 2,000 miles, we shall want a ball or globe no less than _three feet and a half_ through, from side to side. And for Saturn we must find a globe _three feet_ through. And for Uranus a globe less than _one foot and a half_ through. And for Neptune a globe quite _one foot and a half_ through. Then, to finish up, we shall want a big balloon, for the Sun, _thirty-five feet_ through. QUESTIONS. 1. What is the Solar System? The Sun’s Kingdom of Worlds in the Sky. 2. What is a System? An orderly arrangement. 3. What is a Planet? A planet is a world which shines by borrowed light. 4. What is an Orbit? A planet’s pathway. 5. How do the pathways of the planets lie round the Sun? One outside another, and all of them very nearly on the same level. 6. Which are the four Lesser Planets--nearest to the Sun? Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars. 7. What comes next? The belt of tiny Planetoids. 8. Which are the four Outer Planets? Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune. 9. Which is the largest planet of all? Jupiter. 10. If our Earth were only four inches through how big should Jupiter be? Three feet and a half through. 11. How many moons has Jupiter? Five moons. 12. How many moons has Saturn? Eight moons, and three rings. 13. Which planet is nearest to the Sun? Mercury. 14. Is this quite sure? An inner planet, Vulcan, may be there; but this is very uncertain. 15. Which is the farthest off planet known to us? Neptune. 16. How many Planetoids do we know of? Nearly 350; and new ones are often found. 19. Which planets travel fastest? Those nearest to the Sun. 20. Why do they travel faster? Because the pull of the Sun is so much stronger. 21. In what direction do the planets travel? All of them from west to east. 22. Which way do they spin? All of them from west to east. CHAPTER XII. WHAT IS MEANT BY AN ECLIPSE. Before telling you more about the other worlds in the Sun’s kingdom I should like you to understand what is meant by an Eclipse. The word “Eclipse” really means “a failure”--as when something _fails_ to shine because its light is somehow hidden or shadowed. First, we will think about an ECLIPSE OF THE SUN. For this we will forget all other worlds, and fix our minds only on the Earth, the Moon, and the Sun. The Sun is in the centre, or, as a child would say, “in the middle.” The Earth journeys round him. The Moon also journeys round the Sun; and, as she goes, she curves backwards and forwards, so as to be on each side of the Earth in turn.