large objects made of dust and ice that orbit the Sun; best known for their long, streaming tails
comets
a space rock that enters earth's atmosphere causing a streak of light to appear in the sky; commonly referred to a shooting star
meteor
small, rocky objects that orbit the Sun found especially between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter
asteroid
a robotic vehicle designed to explore the surface of another planet or celestial body, moving across its terrain and collecting data and samples.
space rover
a rocket-launched spacecraft, able to land like an unpowered aircraft, used to make repeated journeys between the earth and earth orbit.
space shuttle
a massive, gravitationally bound system of stars, gas, dust, and dark matter, often containing billions of stars, and held together by gravity
galaxy
the galaxy in which we live
Milky Way
this keeps planets in orbit around the Sun
gravity
A measure of a force acting in the opposite direction.
resistance
the variables that must remain the same in an experiment
control or constant variables
The gases that surround Earth or another planet
atmosphere
The amount of matter that makes up an object.
mass
The group name of the first 4 planets closest to the Sun
terrestrial planets
An increase in the rate or speed of something.
acceleration
A measurement that is taken using a scale and is determined by the pull of gravity and can vary based on where you are and the pull of gravity in that area.
weight
The group name of the 4 outer planets
gas giants
This planet is known as Earth's "sister planet"
Venus
Any interaction that can change the motion of an object.
force
the variable that is changed on purpose in an experiment
independent or manipulated variable
the location of the Asteroid Belt
between Mars and Jupiter
the effect of the moon's gravity on Earth
controls tides
the two factors affect the strength of gravity between objects
mass and distance
the variable that yields data in an experiment
dependent or responding
he largest objects in the universe that are held together by their own gravity. They contain hundreds or thousands of galaxies, lots of hot plasma, and a large amount of invisible dark matter.
galastic clusters
why the moon appears to be glowing
It's reflecting light from the sun