click below
click below
Normal Size Small Size show me how
Solar system
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Mercury | The closest planet to the sun Not the hottest-so small it lacks gravity and atmosphere |
| Venus | Hottest planet Greenhouse effect Day is longer than a year-rotation time is longer than its revolution Acid clouds |
| Earth | Only planet with known life Moderate temperature Protective atmosphere Liquid water |
| Mars | Largest known mountain-Olympus Mons Possible signs of life |
| Terrestrial planets | The four inner planets |
| Greenhouse effect | Occurs when a planets atmosphere traps solar energy and causes the temperature to increase |
| Jupiter | Largest planet Galilean moons Great Red Spot |
| Saturn | Most complex ring system Least dense planet - it would float Home of titan-a moon |
| Uranus | Rotation axis is tilted 90 degrees so it rotates like a bowling ball |
| Neptune | Longest period of revolution Swirling storms windiest planet |
| Gas giants | Jupiter Saturn Uranus Neptune nick name for the 4 outer planets |
| Galilean moons | 4 moons Galileo discovered around Jupiter -Io, Europa, Ganymede, Callisto |
| Dwarf planet | Pluto was the first Same as a planet but not larger than its neighbors Ceres is in the asteroid belt |
| Astronomical unit | Used to measure far distances in space 1 au=distance from earth to sun |
| Meteoroid | Chunk of rock, smaller than asteroid |
| Meteor | Streak of light |
| Meteorite | Space rock found on earth |
| Asteroids | Millions of small rocky objects that were with the sun and the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter |
| Comets | Made of gas, dust, and ice revolve around the sun and the Kuiper belt and Oort cloud |
| Inner planets | Terrestrial planets Solid and rocky Mercury Venus earth Mars |
| Outer planets | Gas giants Made up of ice and gas Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus Neptune Rings and moons Hydrogen and helium |
| Planet | Spherical, orbits the sun, clears its orbit |