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Cosmic Vocabulary

100

A fancy, scientific word that means "rocky" or related to land and Earth.

terrestrial

200

• The path that an object, like a planet, follows around a star.

orbit

300

• The center part of a planet, usually made of iron and rock in the inner solar system.

core

400

• This imaginary line runs around the middle of a planet, and it's the only place on Mars where temperatures rise above freezing.

equator

500

• Venus's clouds are full of this strong, burning chemical substance.

sulfuric acid

The Mighty Sun

100

• The Sun is the most massive thing in our solar system; you could fit about this many Earths inside of it.

one million

200

• This is the light gas that powers the Sun.

hydrogen

300

• The amount of time it takes for light to zip from the Sun to the Earth.

eight minutes

400

• The type of reactions and massive explosions going on inside the Sun all the time to make light and heat.

nuclear reactions

500

• True or False: The Sun is considered part of the inner rocky planets.

False (It is the center star, not a planet)

Mercury & Venus

100

• This planet is known as "Earth's twin" because it is about the same size, though its atmosphere is much more dangerous.

Venus

200

• Named after the speedy messenger of Roman mythology, this planet sails around the Sun in just 88 days.

Mercury

300

• Violent winds shoot sand made of this material around Venus's dry, arid surface.

silicate

400

• Even though it is small, Mercury generates a large one of these fields, thanks to its huge iron core.

a magnetic field

500

• The average temperature on Venus is this many degrees.

900 degrees

Earth & Mars

100

• This is the most distinct, recognizable feature about the planet Mars.

its red color

200

• Earth's air is mostly made up of these two gases.

nitrogen and oxygen

300

• Mars looks like it is "rusting" because its dust is rich in this specific compound.

iron oxide

400

• Deimos and Phobos are the names of these features belonging to Mars.

its moons

500

• It takes Mars nearly twice as long as Earth to circle the Sun, lasting about this many days.

684 days (Accept: nearly 684 days).

The Asteroid Belt

100

• The Asteroid Belt acts as a dividing line between the inner rocky planets and these outer planets.

the gaseous planets

200

• Instead of being one large planet, the Asteroid Belt is made up of a bunch of these small, traveling space rocks.

meteoroids (or asteroids)

300

• This is the name of the dwarf planet located inside the Asteroid Belt.

Ceres

400

• True or False: The text states that the Asteroid Belt is the only other place in the inner solar system besides Earth that has life.

False (Earth is the only planet we know of with life)

500

• This ancient system of storytelling about gods and heroes is where planets like Mercury and Venus got their names.

mythology