The Sun
A collection of stars that makes a pattern is called
Constellation
What is the name and shape of the galaxy that contains Earth?
What is the Milky Way Galaxy (Spiral)
Planets that are rocky and dense and found within the inner solar system are referred to as this term?
What is terrestrial (Inner)
Why do we have day and night
The Earth spins on its axis. This means that the area that is in the light changes.
Why is Mars known as the “Red Planet?”
Mars has a chemical called iron oxide (rust) in its soil that causes the surface to take on a reddish appearance.
All stars are made-up of these two gases. They are used to create energy through the process of nuclear fusion.
What is hydrogen and helium
Identify the three major types of galaxies.
What is spiral, elliptical, and irregular.
Large chuck of ice, dust, gasses, and rock that orbit the sun. They are sometimes referred to as "dirty snowballs"
What are comets.
This is known as the birth place of a comet.
What is the Oort Cloud (Beyond Pluto) and Kuiper Belt (Between Neptune and Pluto)
This is the second largest and lightest planet in the solar system. It's so light that its density would allow it to float on water.
What is Saturn.
If you take the photograph from the northern hemisphere, the star closest to the centre of the circles is
The northern pole star, or Polaris.
What will happen to our sun in the next stage of its life?
Red Giant - The star's outer layers will expand and become 100X larger than our sun. At this point it will engulf Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars and probably tear apart the gas giants and evaporate Saturn's rings. Doesn't that sound like a lovely time in our Solar System.
A chunk of rock from outer space that burns up in the atmosphere.
What is a meteor.
What is the difference between meteor and a meteorite?
A meteor enters the Earth’s atmosphere and burns up. A piece of rock that survives to reach the ground is called a meteorite.
This planet is blue because of the methane gas in its atmosphere and is tipped on its side.
What is Uranus.
Identify the stages of our star's life from beginning to end.
What is a nubula, protostar, red giant, white dwarf, and black dwarf.
What is the closest galaxy to the Milky Way?
What is Andromeda.
Name the eight planets in order from the sun starting with the closest to the sun.
What is Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune.
What do the terms waxing and waning mean in relation to the moon phases?
When the phases are said to be waxing, the visible portion of the moon seems to be getting larger. When they are waning, the visible part seems to be getting smaller. The moon waxes and wanes from right to left.
Why is Venus considered the hottest planet in the Solar System?
Venus has a tremendous Greenhouse Effect – Due to a large amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere (98%) -the CO2 traps the heat and causes the surface temperature to reach around 700 Fahrenheit.
if you take a photograph in the southern hemisphere looking south, the star closest to the centre is
The southern pole star, Sigma Octantis
Stars 10 times larger than our sun can take an alternative path in life. What could be the end result after the star explodes (supernova)?
It could become a nebula, black hole, or neutron star.
Distances within the Solar System can be measured in what unit?
What is the speed of light (light minutes, light years, etc)
Why do comets develop tails?
Tails develop as the comet approaches the sun and the frozen gases begin to melt. The tail always points away from the sun due to the solar winds.
What is Jupiter’s “Great Red Spot" and Neptune's "Great Dark Spot"?
Both are huge storms (Hurricane) that have been circulating around the planet for hundreds of years.