Introducing the Solar System Vocabulary

Question 0

Astronomical Unit (AU)

Answer 0

A unit of distance equal to the average distance between Earth and the sun, about 150 million kilometers.

Question 1

Solar System

Answer 1

The system consisting of the sun and the planets and other objects that revolve around it.

Question 2

Planet

Answer 2

An object that orbits a star, is large enough to have become rounded by its own gravity, and has cleared the area of its orbit. This means it does not share the area of its orbit with any other objects.

Question 3

Dwarf Planet

Answer 3

An object that orbits the sun and is spherical, but has not cleared the area of its orbit. This means other objects also share it’s orbit.

Question 4

Asteroids

Answer 4

One of the rocky objects revolving around the sun that are too small and numerous to be considered planets.

Question 5

Comets

Answer 5

A loose collection of ice and dust that orbits the sun, typically in a long, narrow orbit.

Question 6

Planetesimal

Answer 6

One of the small asteroid-like bodies that formed the building blocks of the planets.