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Solar system
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Astronomical unit | Used to measure far distances 1 AU=distance from the 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 revolves around the sun in the Kuiper Belt and Oort Cloud. |
| 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 |
| 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 planets 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 rotates like a bowling ball |
| Neptune | Longest period of revolution Swirling storms-windiest planet |
| Gas giants | Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune |
| Galilean moons | 4 moons Galileo discovered around Jupiter -lo,Europa, Ganymede, Callisto |
| Dwarf planet | Pluto was the first Same as the planet but not larger than its neighbors Ceres in the asteroid belt |