Planets
In order of closest to farthest from the sun, list the eight planets.
Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune
Give an example of a dwarf planet
Pluto
Who was the first person to study galaxies and classify them by shape?
What is the name for the science that focuses on the study of space objects? What is the name for people who study this branch of science?
Astronomy
Astronomers
What is the name of the galaxy that we live in?
The Milky Way
Which planets are inner planets? Which planets are considered outer planets?
Inner: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars
Outer: Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune
What is a moon?
Natural satellites that orbit planets and asteroids.
Who was the first Indian Born woman to step foot in space?
Kalpana Chawla
What is a star? What's the name of the star we're most familiar with?
Huge balls of glowing gases that produce their own light and heat.
The sun!
Billions of stars, objects that orbit stars, gas, and dust.
What are at least three differences between inner and outer planets?
Inner planets are closer to the sun, warm, small, solid, low mass, high density, few moons, few rings.
Outer planets are far from the sun, cold, large, gaseous, high mass, low density, many moons and many rings
What's the difference between an asteroid,meteoroid meteor, meteorite?
Asteroid: Rock and iron objects that orbit the earth
Meteoroids: Pieces that break off of asteroids
Meteors (AKA shooting stars): meteoroids that burn in the earth's atmosphere
Meteorite: Meteoroids that reach earth's surface.
There was a mission that gave us the first detailed pictures of Jupiter's moons. Who was the head scientist of this mission?
How are star formed?
Gravity pulls dust and gas particles together, ad eventually these particles get so tightly packed that the energy is releases, and BAM- a star is born
How are galaxies held together?
Gravity
Which objects are included in the solar system.
*** You need to get atleast 3 out of 4
The solar system includes the sun, moon, stars, planets, and other space objects.
Why are we able to see comets?
A comet is made of frozen gases, rock, ice, and dust. When comets get close to the sun, their frozen surface melts away and turns into gas and dust. These dust and gas particles reflect in the sun’s light, and that’s how we’re able to see them!
What was the mission that allowed us to have the first pictures of Jupiter's moons? How long did the mission take?
The Galileo Mission
6 years
How are black holes created? Why are they so dark inside?
Black holes are created when a large star dies.
They are dark because the high gravitational pull pulls in everything- even light.
Compare and contrast the 4 different galaxy shapes
Spiral- made of a rotating disk of young stars, gas, and dust with older stars at its center
Barred Spiral (AKA Lenticular)-have two or more spiral arms, and have young stars at the center
Irregular- do not have a particular shape because the stars are randomly scattered
Elliptical- shaped as a sphere or flattened globe, and are made of old stars.
What is the scientific definition of a planet?
A planet is a large round body that revolves around a star.
What is the name of Jupiter's moon that's known for it's icy layer and liquid ocean beneath?
Europa
Was the 2003 Columbia Space Shuttle a success? Why or why not?
This shuttle was not a success. The shuttle made it to space, but blew up on the way back. There were no survivors.
***You need at least 3
Color, temperature, brightness, and size.
What are the three possible outcomes of a cosmic crash?
1. Starburst (formation of a lot of new stars at once)
2. The smaller galaxy becomes part of the larger one
3. A large irregularly shaped galaxy is formed