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Solar system
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Astronomical units | Used to meaner far distances in space 1AU=Distance from earth to the sun |
| Meteoroid | Chunk of rock smaller than an asteroid |
| Meteor | Streak of light |
| Meteorite | Space rock found on Earth |
| Asteroids | Millions of small rock objects that orbit the Sun in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter |
| Comets | Made of gas, dust, and ice, revolve around the Sun in the Kuiper Belt |
| Inner planets | * Terrestrial planets * Solid and rocky * Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars |
| Outer planets | * Gas Giants * Made of ice and gas * Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune * Rings and Moons * Hydrogen and Helium |
| Planet | Spherical, orbits the Sun, clears its orbit |
| Jupiter | Largest planet Galilean Moons Great Red Spot |
| Saturn | Most complex ring system Least dense an would float Titan is the largest moon |
| Uranus | Rotation axis is tilted 90 degrees so it rotates like a bowling ball |
| Neptune | Longest period of revolution Swirling storm windiest planet |
| Gas Giants | Nickname for the for outer planets |
| Galilean Moons | 4 moon Galileo discovered around Jupiter Io, Europa, Ganymede, Callisto |
| Dwarf planets | Pluto was first Same as planet, but not as large as its neighbors Ceres in asteroid belt |
| Earth | Only planet with known life Moderate temperature Protective atmosphere Iquitos water |
| Mars | Largest known mountain Olympus Mons Possible signs of life |
| Green house effect | Occurs when a planets atmosphere traps solar energy and causes the temperature to increase |
| Mercury | Closest planet to the sun Not the hottest- so small it lacks gravity |
| Venus | Hottest planet Greenhouse effect Day is longer than a year-rotation time is longer than revolution time Acid clouds |