Sun and Stars
What is the sun made of?
The sun is composed of very hot burning gases.
How long does it take for Earth to revolve around the sun?
It takes 365 or 365.25 days for Earth to complete one revolution around the sun.
What two things cause seasons?
Earth's tilt and Earth's movement around the sun causes seasons.
Which group of planets are called the gas giants?
The outer planets are called the gas giants.
Thousands of small objects orbit the sun between Mars and Jupiter. They form a ring called _____________.
They form a ring called the asteroid belt.
What size star is the sun?
The sun is considered a medium-sized star.
How long does it take for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis?
Earth rotates on its axis every 24 hours (or 1 day).
What season is it in the northern hemisphere when the northern end of the axis is tilted away from the sun?
It is winter in the northern hemisphere when the northern end of the axis is tilted away from the sun.
What is the largest planet in our solar system?
Jupiter is the largest planet in our solar system.
What object in our solar system has the following characteristics: small in size, cold temperature, and orbits around a planet.
A moon is small, cold, and orbits a planet.
Why does the sun appear to be larger than giant stars?
The sun appears to be larger because it is the closest star to Earth.
What causes night and day?
Earth's rotation causes night and day.
What season is it when Ohio receives more direct, concentrated sunlight?
It is summer when Ohio receives more direct, concentrated sunlight.
What causes the planets to stay in their orbits?
The sun's gravity causes the planets to stay in their orbit.
Shooting stars are not really stars. They are _______.
They are meteors.
What is an explosive eruption of waves from the sun that is similar to a volcano here on Earth?
A solar flare is an explosive eruption that is similar to a volcano here on Earth.
What is the equator?
The equator is an imaginary line that circles the Earth, dividing it into the northern hemisphere and the southern hemisphere.
When it is fall in the Northern Hemisphere, what season is it in the Southern Hemisphere?
It is spring in the Southern Hemisphere when it is fall in the Northern Hemisphere.
Which group of planets have a rocky surface?
The inner planets have a rocky surface.
A frozen mass of different kinds of ice and dust orbiting the sun is called a __________.
A frozen mass of different kinds of ice and dust orbiting the sun is called a comet.
The sun produces light energy and heat energy.
What is the imaginary line that the Earth rotates on? One end is the North Pole and the other end is the South Pole.
The imaginary line that Earth rotates on is called the axis.
What are the spring months in the Northern Hemisphere?
The spring months in the Northern Hemisphere are March, April, and May.
What are two things that all outer planets have orbiting them?
All outer planets have many moons and rings of particles orbiting them.
A large round object that revolves around the sun, but has not cleared the region around its orbit (its orbit overlaps the orbits of other planets) is called _______.
It is called a dwarf planet.