What's That Space Rock?
Planets move in this direction.
What is counterclockwise?
People often mistake these space phenomena for shooting stars, though they are really just bright streaks of light caused by meteoroids entering Earth’s atmosphere.
What are meteors?
These large, rocky objects in space orbit the Sun but are not large enough to be considered planets.
What are asteroids?
These small, icy objects travel in elliptical orbits around the Sun and may have brought water to Earth.
What are comets?
A celestial object must be large enough to be shaped by this force in order to be considered a planet.
What is gravity?
A celestial object that is large enough to be shaped by gravity, but not large enough to clear its orbit, is called this.
What is a dwarf planet?
These fragments from larger celestial objects strike Earth, allowing scientists to study materials from space.
What are meteorites?
Asteroids follow this kind of orbit.
What is a circular orbit?
The predictable, regular appearance of most comets is a result of these objects following these kinds of orbits.
What are elliptical orbits?
This type of object passes within 1.3 AU of Earth and can potentially pose a risk to our planet.
What is a near-Earth object (NEO)?
This Greek astronomer, around 100 AD, created a geocentric model where Earth was the center of the universe, and other objects, like the Moon and Sun, orbited it.
Who is Claudius Ptolemy?
When Earth passes through the trail of debris left by this type of space object, it can create a spectacular meteor shower.
What is a comet?
The region located between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter is home to many of these rocky objects.
What is the asteroid belt?
The tail of a comet always points in this direction due to the solar wind and radiation pressure.
What is away from the Sun?
Name the order of the planets in our solar system.
Mercury → Venus → Earth → Mars → Jupiter → Saturn → Uranus → Neptune
The belief that Earth was stationary and at the center of the universe was known as this kind of model.
What is the geocentric model?
These small objects can be made of rock or ice and may cause bright meteor showers when Earth passes through their debris trails.
What are meteoroids?
This philosopher and mathematician, who lived between 423 and 347 BC, helped shape early ideas about the universe with his work on celestial motion.
Who is Plato?
Short-period comets come from this region beyond Neptune
What is the Kuiper Belt?
In 1543, this Polish astronomer proposed a radical new model that placed the Sun, not Earth, at the center of the universe.
Who is Nicolaus Copernicus?
This Italian astronomer used the telescope to support the heliocentric model, challenging the traditional geocentric view.
Who is Galileo Galilei?
This English physicist, who lived in the late 1600s, used the concept of universal gravitation to explain how planets maintain their orbits.
Who is Isaac Newton?
The motion of celestial objects like the Sun, Moon, planets, and stars across the sky each day is called this.
What is apparent daily motion?
Long-period comets come from this distant cloud far out in space.
What is the Oort Cloud?
This mathematician, working in the early 1600s, was the first to describe planetary orbits as elliptical, not circular.
Who is Johannes Kepler?