Our Solar System
This star is at the centre of our Solar System.
The Sun
This imaginary line runs through Earth from the North Pole to the South Pole.
Earth’s axis
This word describes the leaning angle of Earth’s axis.
Tilt
I am a rocky or metallic object that orbits the Sun. Many of us are found between Mars and Jupiter.
Asteroid
This researched object is sometimes nicknamed a “dirty snowball.”
Comet
This is the number of planets in our Solar System.
8
Earth spinning on its axis is called this.
Rotation
When the Northern Hemisphere is tilted toward the Sun, we experience this season.
Summer
I am made partly of ice and dust, and I may develop a glowing tail near the Sun.
Comet
Most of these researched objects are found in a belt between Mars and Jupiter.
Asteroids
Name the four inner planets in order from the Sun.
Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars
One complete rotation of Earth takes about this long.
24 hours or one day
When the Northern Hemisphere is tilted away from the Sun, we experience this season.
Winter
I am a small piece of rock or metal travelling through space.
Meteoroid
A “shooting star” is not a star. It is actually this.
A meteor
This region is found between Mars and Jupiter.
The asteroid belt
One complete trip by Earth around the Sun is called this.
A revolution or Orbit
These two features work together to cause Earth’s seasons.
Earth’s tilt and its revolution around the Sun
I am the streak of light seen when a space rock enters Earth’s atmosphere.
Meteor
Put these in the correct order: meteor, meteorite, meteoroid.
Meteoroid, meteor, meteorite
Give one difference between the inner and outer planets.
Inner planets are smaller and rocky. Outer planets are larger gas or ice giants.
Name Earth’s two main movements and approximately how long each takes.
Rotation takes about 24 hours. Revolution (orbit) takes about 365 days.
What would happen to our normal seasons if Earth’s axis were not tilted?
There would be much less seasonal change. Our normal seasons would mostly disappear.
I am a piece of space rock that survives the atmosphere and reaches the ground.
Meteorite
Explain how one space rock can be connected to all three words: meteoroid, meteor, and meteorite.
It is a meteoroid in space, creates a meteor while entering the atmosphere, and becomes a meteorite if part reaches the ground.