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Solar System
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| 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 orbit the Sun in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. |
| Comets | Made of gas, dust and ice, revolve around the Sun in the |
| Inner planets | Terrestrial planets Solid rocky Mercury |
| 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. |
| 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 temperatures 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 Titan-largest 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 | Nickname for the 4 outer planets |
| Galilean moons | 4 moons discovered around Jupiter-Io, Europa, Ganymede, Callisto |
| Dwarf planets | Pluto was the first Same as planet but not larger than its neighbors Ceres in the asteroid belt |