Eccentricity
Planetary Motion
Kepler’s Laws
Solar System Objects
Reference Tables
100
This term is defined as the average distance between Earth and the Sun, about 150 million kilometers.
What is an astronomical unit?
100
This model of the solar system places Earth at the center, with the planets, the Sun, and the stars orbiting around it.
What is geocentric model?
100
This scientist was the first to prove mathematically that we are part of a heliocentric system.
Who is Johannes Kepler?
100
It is thanks to this object that we are here at all. The beautiful centerpiece of our solar system.
What is the sun?
100
Ugh! I only got three hours of sleep last night!
Well, on this planet, that is almost 1/3 of the full day!
What is Jupiter?
200
This describes the shape of all planetary orbits around the Sun.
What is an ellipse?
200
This planetary motion is the spinning of an object, such as a planet, on its axis.
What is rotation?
200
This Kepler’s Law states that planets orbit the Sun in a shape called an ellipse.
What is Kepler's First Law?
200
This group of rocky planets may seem dense, but they get their name from the Latin root terra, meaning earth or land.
What are terrestrial planets?
200
Ugh, this day feels like its taking forever!!
This planet has a day night cycle longer than their year.
What is Venus?
300
An eccentricity of 0.000 would make the orbit this shape.
What is a circle?
300
Earth takes 365 days (365.25 days to be exact) to complete this planetary motion.
What is revolution? (or orbit)
300
This law explains why outer planets take much longer to complete a revolution than inner planets.
What is Kepler’s Third Law?
300
Woah! I feel like I can't find the ground. Maybe it is because these types of planets have a gaseous composition.
What are Jovian Planets?
300
Look out! I just ran into Ceres and Pallas in the asteroid best between these two planets.
What are Mars and Jupiter?
400
In January, Earth is at its closest point to the Sun. This point is called this.
What is perihelion?
400
A day on Earth is 24 hours (23 h 56 min 4 s to be exact). This planet also has a similar day length.
What is Mars?
400
According to Kepler’s Third Law, as a planet’s distance from the Sun increases, this will increase as well.
What is the orbital period?
400
This object has an extremely eccentric orbit and a glamorous tail we have all been waiting to see.
What is a comet?
400
If I was traveling at 1 km/hour it would take 120,536 hours to travel across this planet.
What is Saturn?
500
In an ellipse, this celestial object occupies one of the two foci of a planet’s orbit.
What is the Sun?
500
In a single human lifetime, no one will ever live to see this planet travel once around the Sun.
What is Neptune?
500
According to Kepler’s Second Law, a planet spends more time near this point in its orbit than when it is closer to the Sun.
What is aphelion?
500
We have one, but Jupiter has 100s.
What is a moon?
500
We may say rotation is like a spinning top, but for this planet, its more of a log role (based on axial tilt).
What is Uranus?