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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 than 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 in the kulper belt and Oort Cloud |
| Inner planets | - terrestrial planets - solid and rocky - Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars |
| Outer planets | - gas giants - made of ice and gas - Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune |
| Planet | Spherical, orbits the Sun, clear its obit |
| Mercury | - closest to the sun - NOT THE HOTTEST-so small it lacks gravity and atmosphere - |
| Venus | Hottest planet - Green house effect -day is longer than a year - rotation time is longer than it’s revolution |
| Earth | -only planet with known life - moderate temperature -protective atmosphere - liquid water |
| Mars | -largest known mountain- Olympus moons - possible signs of life |
| Terrestrial planets | The four inner planets |
| Green house effect | Occurs when when a planet’s atmosphere traps Solar energy |
| Jupiter | - largest planet - Galilean moons - Great Red Spot |
| Saturn | - most complex ring system - least dense planet -it would float - Titan-largest 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 | Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Nickname for the 4 outer planets |
| Galilean moons | 4 Galilean moons discovered around Jupiter -Io, Europa, Ganymede, Callisto |
| Dwarf planets | - Pluto was the first - same as a planet but not larger than |