Planets
Two characteristics of Saturn?
Lowest density planet
100s of thin rings
Two characteristics Mercury?
Smallest planet
Closest to the sun
The solid portion of a comet is called?
Nucleus
Most asteroids are located it the orbit of what two planets?
Mars and Jupiter
Why do the planets orbit the sun?
because the sun is the main source of energy and its gravity pulls the planets in the solar system and makes the planets orbit the sun.
Two characteristics of Venus?
Very hot
Has Sulfuric Acid clouds
Two characteristics of Jupiter?
Largest planet
The Great Red Spot
A cloud of gases around a comet is called?
Coma
Methane gas gives what color to what planets?
Blue-green color
Neptune and Uranus
What are shooting stars?
small piece of rock or dust that hits Earth's atmosphere from space. It moves so fast that it heats up and glows as it moves through the atmosphere.
How is Uranus' rotation different from other planets?
Axis of rotation is nearly parallel to the plane of it's orbit
Saturn's largest moon?
Titan
What are Meteoroids?
small pieces of rock moving through space
Scientists theorize that the asteroid belt did not form a planet because of the gravity of what planet?
Jupiter
What is the difference in the formation of the inner and outer planets?
The elements in the Inner Planets are more closely packed together, causing them to be smaller and solid. Despite being larger, the elements that make up the Outer Planets are less densely packed together causing them to be quite light for their size.
How far is Earth from the sun?
150 million km, or one AU from the sun
What is the largest moon in the solar system and what planet doe it belong to?
Jupiter's Ganymede
Meteoroids that completely burn up in the atmosphere are called?
Meteors
Copernicus published the Sun-centered model of the solar system in?
1543
Why do scientists study comets, meteorids, and asteroids?
because they represent the leftover building blocks of the solar system - scientists can study these and learn about the composition of the solar system
How does mars get it's color?
What is it's volcano called?
Reddish-yellow due to Iron oxide
Largest known volcano in the solar system, Olympus Mons
What is special about Jupiter's moon Io? (there's two)
Closest moon
Volcanically active
Pieces of rock that actually strike Earth's surface are called?
Meteorites
Johannes Kepler discovered that the orbits of the planets are what?
Elliptical
Pluto was once classified as a planet, but now it's classified as a dwarf planet. Why?
A planet is a celestial body that
(a) is in orbit around the Sun,
(b) has sufficient mass for its self-gravity to overcome rigid body forces so that it assumes a hydrostatic equilibrium (nearly round) shape, and
(c) has cleared the neighbourhood around its orbit.
pluto cannot clear the neighbourhood meaning that it must be the dominat gravatational pull (It must either sling other objects away or merge with them)