Exam Flashcards
(87 cards)
Constellation
A group of stars that form a pattern that is easily recognized
Revolution
One object revolving (going around) another object (example the mom revolves around the earth.
Solar system
Planets and their moons orbiting around a sun. Also includes other celestial objects
Galaxy
A system of stars with gas, dust and planets all held together by their gravitational pull. The galaxy we live in (and contains our solar system) is called the Milky Way and galaxies come in several different shapes
Asteroid belt
A collection of asteroids that form a “belt” or a line. The asteroid belt called Kuiper belt orbits between mars and Jupiter
Black hole
A gravitational field that is so strong, that nothing can escape its gravity- not even light
Moon
A large planet that will continuously orbit a planet
Rotation
When a object completes one rotation around it’s own axis (ex. The earth makes a complete rotation in 24 hours)
Planet
A celestial body that orbits around the star in an elliptical orbit
Nebula
A cloud of dust in outer space where new stars are sometimes formed
The Big Bang
The rapid expansion of matter that explains the origin of the universe
Dwarf planet
A celestial body that is similar to a small planet, but does not technically pass all requirements to be classified as a dwarf planet
Quasar
A massive celestial object that gives that gives off a large amount of energy
Astronomical unit
150 million km, is that distance from the sun to the earth
Meteor
A piece of matter (usually rock) that comes from outer space and enters earths atmosphere
Comet
A celestial object that is made up of ice and dust
Light year
The distance that a light can travel in one year 9.5 x 10^12km
Super nova
An explosion even that occurs at the end of a stars lifetime
List the 8 planets starting w mercury and ending with Neptune
My- mercury very- Venus existed-earth monkey-mars John- Jupiter sang- Saturn until-Uranus night- Neptune
Identify dwarf planets in our solar system
Pluto
Identify prominent characteristics of each for the planets
Mercury- smallest planet in the solar system, temperatures range from -170*c- 425
Venus-very hot due to atmosphere, hotter than mercury
Earth- only known planet to support life
Mars- known for being red due to rust/ iron on the surface
Jupiter- largest planet in the solar system gas planet large storm is always visible
Saturn- known for rings that are made up of dust ice and rock
Uranus- has less visible rings rotates on its “side” compared to other planets
Neptune- known as the blue planet has 14 moon
How do the following change as they get further from the sun
A) time take to orbit the sun
B) surface temperature
A. The farther away from the sun the longer it takes to orbit the sun
B. The further away the colder the planet
What planet is the hottest
Venus
Smallest planet
Mercury