What Are the Nicknames for the Planets?
Nicknames for the eight planets in the solar system are Swift Planet for Mercury, Morning Star and Evening Star for Venus, Blue Planet for Earth, Red Planet for Mars, Giant Planet for Jupiter, Ringed Planet for Saturn, Ice Giant for Uranus and Big Blue Planet for Neptune. Pluto was once considered a planet and had the nickname Ice Planet, but it is now classified as a dwarf planet.
Mercury is called the Swift Planet because it moves quickly around the sun. The two nicknames of Venus refer to when it reaches its maximum brightness: shortly before sunrise or shortly after sunset. Earth is called the Blue Planet because the amount of water on the Earth’s surface makes it look blue from space. Similarly, Mars is the Red Planet because the iron oxide on its surface makes it look red from space. Jupiter is called the Giant Planet because it is the largest planet in the solar system. Saturn’s rings of ice particles and dust account for its nickname. Uranus is called the Ice Giant because it has the coldest atmosphere of all the planets. Like Earth, Neptune is blue, but it is about 17 times larger than Earth, making Big Blue Planet an appropriate nickname. Pluto’s nickname reflects its composition, which is mostly ice and rock.
