Space Objects
Made of dust, ice, and rock with a glowing head and a long tail. What is it?
Comet
Name two terrestrial (rocky) planets.
Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars
This force keeps the planets orbiting the Sun. What is it?
Gravity
Pluto is no longer a planet because of its ____ size and irregular orbit.
small
What do we call the motorized vehicles scientists sent to drive across Mars?
Rovers
This rocky object can be any shape or size and orbits the Sun. Over a million have been found. What is it?
Asteroid
Name all four gas giants.
Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune
What object has the strongest gravitational pull on Earth?
The Sun
What is a dwarf planet?
Smaller than a planet; shares its orbital space with other similar-sized bodies
What do rovers collect to help us understand Mars's surface?
Soil samples
Scientists have found over 300 of these rocky objects orbiting planets. What are they?
Moons
Which group of planets has solid surfaces: inner or outer?
Inner planets
Name the TWO factors that affect the force of gravity between objects.
Mass and Distance
Scientists think this formed when a planet-sized object crashed into Earth long ago.
The Moon
Planet X has 0 moons and Planet Y has 62 moons. Which is more likely an inner planet?
Planet X. Inner planets have few or no moons.
Comets, asteroids, or moons: which group has the MOST known members?
Asteroids (Over 1 million)
True or false: the gas giants are smaller than the terrestrial planets.
False. The four outer gas planets are much larger.
If two objects move farther apart, what happens to the pull of gravity between them?
It gets weaker
The planets revolve around the Sun in which direction?
Counterclockwise
List the four terrestrial planets in order from the Sun.
Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars