Formation of the Solar System
first gas giant to form
Jupiter
what are the four inner planets called? Give me all four planets
What characteristics do all gas giants share?
large, gaseous, cold, many satellites, and ring systems
an object that, due to its own gravity, is spherical in shape, orbits the Sun, is not a satellite, and has not cleared the area of its orbit of smaller debris
dwarf planet
Nicolaus Copernicus
According to scientists, stars and planets formed from this.
Interstellar clouds
Which two planets have no moons?
Mercury and Venus
What causes the blue color on Uranus and Neptune?
methane gas
small, icy bodies that have highly eccentric orbits around the Sun
Comets
This German astronomer created three laws of planetary motion, which includes that all planets orbit in an ellipse (oval shape)
Johannes Kepler
space objects built of solid particles that can form planets through collisions and mergers
planetesimals
Which planet rotates clockwise unlike other planets? (retrograde rotation)
Venus
Neptune's largest moon
Triton
a group of small of solar system bodies that are mostly rock and ice. Formed 30-50 AU from the Sun
Kuiper Belt
This English scientist described falling as a downward acceleration produced by gravity
Isaac Newton
material that remained after the formation of planets and satellites; located between Mars and Jupiter
debris
The distance from the Sun and the near circular orbit allow water to exist in all three states on this planet.
Earth
What is Saturn's rings cmposed of?
pieces of ice that can be microscopic particles or house-sized chunks
When Earth crosses the trail of a comet, particles left in the trail burn up in Earth’s upper atmosphere, producing bright streaks of light
meteor shower
Italian scientist that was the first person to use a telescope to observe the sky.
Galileo Galilei
the shape of a planet's elliptical orbit is called this.
eccentricity
Phobos and Deimos
What are belts and zones?
low, warm dark colored clouds; high, cool light colored clouds
An asteroid fragment, or any other interplanetary material is called
meteoroid
Tycho Brahe