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Solar System
Earth science freshman Solar System Vocabulary
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| asteroid | An irregularly shaped rock that orbits the Sun. |
| asteroid belt | The area in space between Mars and Jupiter where most asteroids orbit together. It will not help hold up your pants!! |
| atmosphere | A layer of gases surrounding a planet, star, or moon. |
| comet | A space object made of ice and dust that orbits a star and develops a long, bright tail as it nears its star. Haley's is a famous one! |
| core | The center of an object. (Think about an apple.) |
| crater | A hole in the ground caused by the impact of an object from space. The moon looks like swiss cheese because it has so many. |
| dwarf planet | a nearly round object that orbits a star. This is smaller than a planet, and is not a satellite of another object. Think~Pluto! |
| Earth | The third planet from the Sun; the planet we live on. Easy one!! |
| gas giant | A large planet that is mainly made up of gases. Think~Outer Planets |
| gravity | The force that pulls all objects toward each other. Without it we would float away! |
| Jupiter | The largest planet in our solar system and the fifth from the Sun; a gas giant. |
| Kuiper Belt | An area of our solar system beyond the orbit of Neptune where a group of minor planets and other objects orbit the Sun. |
| Mars | A small reddish planet that is fourth from the Sun; a terrestrial planet, |
| Mercury | The smallest planet in our solar system and the closest to the Sun; a terrestrial planet. |
| Moon | Earth's only natural satellite: A "Blue" one would be the 2nd full one we see in a month. |
| Neptune | A large blue planet that is eighth from the Sun; a gas giant. |
| orbit | This means to revolve around another object. Our Moon does this to Earth. |
| Pluto | A dwarf planet that was discovered in 1930 and that was once considered a planet. |
| revolution | A single journey along an orbital path. It takes Earth 365 1/4 days to do this around the sun. |
| rotation | A single turn of something around an axis or a fixed point; spinning. It takes Earth 24 hours! |
| Saturn | A planet with large rings around it that is sixth from the Sun; a gas giant. |
| solar system | A group of objects in space that orbit a star There are 8 planets in ours! |
| star | A body in outer space, made of hot gases, that shines in the night sky (Our Sun is one of these!) |
| terrestrial | This word means "like Earth". It describes planets that are rocky and Earthlike in size. Think~Inner Planets |
| Uranus | A large blue-green planet that is seventh from the Sun; a gas giant. |
Created by:
Room261
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