Models and History
This model places Earth at the center of the solar system.
What is the Geocentric Model
Earth and our solar system are part of this galaxy.
What is the Milky Way Galaxy?
This planet is closest to the Sun
What is Mercury?
This force played the biggest role in forming the solar system and still holds it together.
What is Gravity
The main asteroid belt is found between the orbits of these two planets.
What are Mars and Jupiter?
This model places the Sun at the center, with the planets moving around it.
What is the heliocentric model?
The Milky Way has this general shape.
What is a spiral shape?
Planet temperatures usually drop with distance from the Sun. This planet is the hot exception because its thick atmosphere traps heat.
What is Venus?
When an object's mass increases, its pull of gravity changes in this way.
What is a stronger pull of gravity?
Asteroids are generally this way when compared with meteoroids.
What is larger?
Scientists use this model today because it shows the planets orbiting the Sun.
What is the heliocentric model?
This event explains the beginning of the universe, not just the beginning of Earth or our solar system
What is the Big Bang?
Compared with the inner planets, the outer planets are generally described in these two ways.
What are larger and made mostly of gas or ice?
This object's gravity has the greatest effect on Mercury's orbit.
What is the Sun?
A comet's tail points in this direction compared with the Sun.
What is away from the Sun?
This early astronomer supported the geocentric model, while Copernicus supported the heliocentric model.
Who is Ptolemy?
This is a huge group of stars, gas, and dust held together by gravity.
What is a galaxy?
Name all eight planets in order, starting with the one closest to the Sun.
What are Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune?
In a model where a ball circles a post while tied to a string, this part represents gravity.
What is the string?
Give the three names, in order, for a small rocky object in space, glowing in Earth's atmosphere, and resting on Earth's surface.
What are meteoroid, meteor, and meteorite?
Long ago, many people used an Earth-centered model. This scientific invention later created new observations and shifted our theories.
What is the Telescope
Put these structures in order from largest to smallest: planet, galaxy, universe, and solar system.
What is universe, galaxy, solar system, planet?
This planet takes 225 Earth days to orbit the Sun and 243 Earth days to rotate once, so its day is longer than its year.
What is Venus?
If the Sun's gravity suddenly disappeared, a planet would move in this kind of path because of inertia
What is a straight path?
Scientists find an icy, dusty object in the Oort Cloud with no visible tail. Identify it and explain why the missing tail makes sense.
What is a comet? It is too far from the Sun for enough ice to turn to gas and form a visible tail.