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Solar system
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Astronomical unit | Used to measure far distances in space 1 AU= distance from earth to sun |
| Meteoroid | Chunk of rock smaller than a 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 Kuiper Belt and |
| 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 |
| Mercury | - closest planet to the sun - NOT THE HOTTEST- so small it lacks gravity and atmosphere NO MOONS |
| Venus | - hottest planet - Greenhouse effect - Day is longer than a year rotation time is longer than its revolution - Acid clouds - no moons |
| 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 planet’s 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 Titian 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 | Nickname for 4 outer planets |
| Galilean moons | 4 moons Galileo discovered around Jupiter Io, Europa, Ganymede, Callisto |
| Dwarf planet | Pluto was the first Same as Palmer but not larger than its neighbors Ceres in the asteroid belt |