The Planets
What material are the inner planets mostly made up of? (gas or rock?)
Rock
In space, what is a ball of some rock and mostly ice that has a tail (trail of gas & dust) as it orbits the sun in an elliptical path?
Comet
The sun is a _________ sized star?
medium
How are the temperatures different between the Inner and Outer planets?
Inner planets have both hot and cold weather. Outer planets only have very cold weather. Inner planets are closer to the sun so they are warmer. The outer planets are far away from the sun so they are colder.
A star is ...... (definition)
a glowing ball of hot gas.
The inner and outer planets are separated by what?
The asteroid belt.
True or False: We can see the moon because the moon gives off it's own light like the sun.
False: The moon does not give off it's own light- the light we see is reflected from the sun. We only see one side of the moon because the moon does not rotate- it only revolves around Earth and is a satellite of Earth.
The path a planet takes around the sun is called______?
orbital path or it's revolution around the sun
What is the third planet from the Sun?
Earth
If two of the same sized stars are in the sky- explain how one could look larger than the other?
One star is closer to the Earth. /farther away
Name all the planets composed mostly of gas.
Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, & Neptune,
When a meteoroid enters Earth's atmosphere, it produces a streak of light is called a __________.
Meteor
Why does the sun appear brighter than all the other stars in the sky?
The sun is closer to Earth.
What causes the seasons on Earth?
The tilt of Earth's axis causes there to be more direct sunlight (and warmer temperatures) in summer and less direct sunlight (and colder temperatures) in winter.
Stars can vary in brightness. Name 2 things that affect the brightness of a star.
distance from Earth, color- (red, orange, yellow, white, blue) coldest-hottest size- temperature- (red, yellow, white, blue) coldest-hottest Our sun is a medium sized star that is yellow. It is hotter than a red star but cooler than white and blue stars.
Which two planets do not have any moons?
Mercury and Venus
What are the rocky objects that orbit the sun called? (The are mainly found in the space between Mars and Jupiter.)
An asteroid
Draw a model to represent the Sun, Earth, moon, and all orbits.
Sun in center, Earth orbiting around the Sun, Moon orbiting around the Earth
Name 2 characteristics of the dwarf planets.
Dwarf planets are nearly round, larger than asteroids, smaller than a regular planet, and they orbit the sun.
What is a large group of stars or a star system that contains millions of starts called?
A galaxy
Name 3 common characteristics of all planets. (What is the same about all of the planets?)
revolve around the sun, have mass, rotate, rotate on an axis, have an atmosphere, have gravity, have cores
Which object is made of small rock and can be seen entering the Earth's atmosphere?
Meteor (also called a "falling star" or "shooting star" even though it is not a star- it is burning rock)
Name the planets in order from the sun.
Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune.
Name 3 differences between the inner planets and the outer planets other than distance from sun and temperature.
Inner planets are rocky and Outer are mainly gas. Inner planets have less moons. Outer planets have rings. Days are shorter on the Outer planets- they rotate faster. Longer year for Outer planets longer path around sun.
Why do we see different star patterns at different times of the year? Do these stars move across the sky at night?
Stars do not move across the sky- the earth is rotating which makes stars appear to move. We see different constellations of stars depending on where we are in the revolution around the sun. Different seasons have different stars.