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Solar system
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Astronomical unit | Used to measure far distances in space 1AU= distance from earth to sun |
| Meteoroid | Chunk of rock smaller then asteroid |
| Meteor | Streak of light |
| Meteorite | Space rock found on earth |
| Asteroids | Millions of small rocky objects that orbit the sun in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter |
| Comets | Made of gas dust and ice, revolve around the sun |
| Inner planets | 1 terrestrial planets 2 Solid and rocky 3 mercury, Venus,earth,mars |
| Outer planets | 1gas giants 2 made of ice |
| Mercury | Closest planet Not the hottest -so small it lacks gravity and atmosphere |
| Venus | Hottest planet Greenhouse effect A day is longer then a year Acid clouds |
| Earth | Only planet with known life. Moderate temperature. Protective atmosphere liquid water |
| Mars | Largest known mountain-Olympus mons Possible life |
| Greenhouse effect | Occurs when a planet atmosphere traps solar energy and causes the temperature to increase |
| Jupiter | Largest planet. Gailiean moons. Great red spot. |
| Saturn | Most complex ring system. Least dense planet-it would float. Home of a titan moon |
| Uranus | Rotation axis is tilted 90 degrees so rotates like a bowling ball |
| Neptune | Longest period of revolution Swirling storms -windiest planet |
| Gas Giants | 4 outers nickname |
| Gailian moons | Io, Europa, Ganymede, Callisto |
| Dwarf planet | Pluto was first Same as planet but not larger than its neighbors Ceres in asteroid belt |