Astronomy

Question 1

Mercury

Answer 1

-smallest planet
-no moons
-thin atmosphere

Question 2

Venus

Answer 2

-rotates east to west
-THICK atmosphere; carbon dioxide

Question 3

Earth

Answer 3

-third planet from the sun

Question 4

Mars

Answer 4

-2 moons: Phobos & Deimos
-very THIN atmosphere of CO2 making it much cooler than earth
-polar ice caps made of frozen water and CO2

Question 5

Jupiter

Answer 5

-great red spot
-numerous moons; Io, Europa, Ganymede, & Calisto

Question 6

Saturn

Answer 6

-Second largest
-ring system made of ice and dust

Question 7

Uranus

Answer 7

-3rd largest planet
-Vertical rotation
-blue & white clouds due to methane

Question 8

Neptune

Answer 8

-blue
-ring system

Question 9

Comet

Answer 9

a celestial object composed of ice, dust, and rocky material that orbits the Sun

Question 10

Asteroid

Answer 10

The name of any “small” rocky object in orbit around the sun

Question 11

Meteor

Answer 11

Piece of rock in the atmosphere that glows white hot, also called a shooting star

Question 12

Meteorite

Answer 12

Remains of meteor after impact

Question 13

Meteoroid

Answer 13

Lump of rock/metal pulled down by earths gravity

Question 14

Moons

Answer 14

-a natural satellite that orbits a planet
-found throughout the solar system and come in various sizes and compositions
-play a significant role in the dynamics of the planets they orbit.

Question 15

Solar System Formation

Answer 15

-Started out as a nebula (H/He) gas.
-Gravity pulls the nebula together creating the sun.
-next clumps from the nebula form the planets surrounded by the gas layer.
-Once the sun ignites the outer layer of gas will evaporate from the 4 terrestrial planets.
-Lastly the gas giants keep their gas layer/ atmosphere.

Question 16

Life Cycle of Stars

Answer 16

-a medium sized star starts off as a nebula
-the nebula’s force of gravity pushes the hydrogen atoms close to one another causing them to fuse together, creating helium
-when this nuclear fusion process happens, a star is born
-after billions of years the star will run out of hydrogen atoms and the core will start to collapse
-this causes the outer layers to expand and the star starts to swell up into a red giant
-gravity then loses hold of the outer atmosphere and a planetary nebula forms
-eventually the star will burn down into a small, hot, and dense white dwarf star or dead star

Question 17

Stars (hottest to coldest)

Answer 17

Blue - white - yellow - orange - red