It started as a big old ball of dust, so how did it end up like a giant pancake? Our resident physicist tells the true story using fake forces.
Some of my favorite things to look for in the night sky (besides the International Space Station) are the planets. If you need help finding them, I recommend Heavens-Above. It's a website where you can enter your location and it will show you what's currently visible in your area.
But one trick you can use on your own is to scan along the ecliptic. This is a line in the sky that arcs from one spot on the horizon to another, basically following the path that the sun travels from where it rises to where it sets. The cool thing is that the planets (and the moon!) also appear along this same line.