Stars
What is the only star in our solar system?
The sun
Counterclockwise
What is the difference between a comet and an asteroid?
Asteroids are made up of metals and rocky material, while comets are made up of ice, dust and rocky material.
Venus and Mars are the two planets closest to Earth. What do Venus, Earth, and Mars have in common?
All inner planets and all rocky with large and solid cores. (Also other characteristics that apply to all planets)
There are several different types of galaxies. How do scientists classify galaxies?
By shape
What color stars are the hottest?
Blue
Earth is a planet in the solar system. A planet can have one or more moons. What is another word that means the same as moon?
Satellite
The Kuiper Belt is a region of the solar system that contains thousands of objects, including dwarf planets. Where is the Kuiper Belt located?
Just beyond Neptune
All the planets in the solar system orbit the sun. What is the main difference between the orbits of the inner and outer planets?
The outer planets’ orbits are longer than the inner planets’ orbits.
Most stars in the Milky Way galaxy are located very far from Earth. Which is the closest star to our planet?
Where is the sun's energy produced?
In its core
Kymani likes to look out the window at the moon. He observes that it seems to change every week. Why does this happen?
As the moon orbits around the Earth, the angle of the light from the sun changes and casts a different shadow on the moon which makes shapes
In 1986, Halley’s comet was visible from Earth. It is expected to be seen again in 2061. Why can Halley’s comet be seen only about every 75 years?
Its orbit is usually far from Earth
Until 2006, Pluto was considered the solar system’s ninth planet. Pluto is now classified as a dwarf planet. Why is it classified as a dwarf planet?
It has other bodies in its orbit
The Milky Way is a medium-size galaxy. How many stars are there in the Milky Way galaxy?
Hundreds of billions of stars
Unlike planets, stars make their own light and glow very brightly. Stars are made mostly of what material?
Glowing, hot gases
People on Earth see the moon every night. Sometimes people also see the moon during the day. Why does this happen?
The moon is reflecting light from the sun.
Gaspra is a rocky asteroid located just beyond Mars. Phobos is a rocky moon of Mars. Why is Phobos called a moon rather than an asteroid?
Phobos orbits Mars instead of the sun.
Mia is doing a project on planets in other solar systems. She learns about a planet, called Planet Z. Planet Z is very large, has a thick atmosphere, and has a low density. Which planet in our solar system is Planet Z most similar to?
Any of the gas giants (Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, or Neptune)
Galaxies are composed of many different objects. What kind of objects make up most of the visible matter in a galaxy?
Stars
Name two ways that stars are classified.
Possible answers:
Color, temperature, size, composition, brightness
Say the moon phases in order, starting with a New Moon. (no crescent or gibbous)
New Moon, First Quarter, Full Moon, Third Quarter Moon
What is the difference between a meteor, meteoroid, and a meteorite?
When meteoroids enter Earth's atmosphere (or that of another planet, like Mars) at high speed and burn up, the fireballs or “shooting stars” are called meteors. When a meteoroid survives a trip through the atmosphere and hits the ground, it's called a meteorite.
What two characteristics would be most helpful for determining whether a planet is a gas giant or a rocky planet?
Number of moons and diameter
Gas giants have many more moons because of their stronger gravitational pull and they are significantly larger than the inner planets
The stars in a galaxy are not evenly distributed. If our solar system were near the center of the galaxy, how would the night sky be different?
There would be many more visible stars