our solar system Flashcards
name the largest => smallest
universe, supercluster, group / cluster, galaxy, star
what is a universe?
everything that physically exists, the entirety of space and time, and all forms of matter and energy
what is a supercluster?
a gigantic cluster of 4-25 groups / clusters that are hundreds of millions of light years in size
what is a group / cluster?
groups or clusters can be as little of 20-30 galaxies or as large as several thousand galaxies
which is more massive: cluster or group?
cluster
what is a galaxy?
a collection of stars, planets, gases and dust held together by gravity
what is a solar system?
the sun with all the planets and other celestial objects held together by the sun’s gravity and orbit around it
what is a celestial object?
any objects that exist in space
what is a star (sun)?
a hot ball of gases that gives off large amount of energy
what is a planet?
a large round object that orbits around one or more stars
a planet has enough ____ so that gravity pulls it into a _____ shape
mass / round
a planet clears other celestial objects out of its _____
orbit
what are the 4 inner planets?
mercury, venus, earth, mars
what are the 4 outer planets?
jupiter, saturn, uranus, neptune
what are the inner planets made of?
rock
what are the outer planets made of?
gases
what is a dwarf planet?
a spherical or round object that orbits a star
a dwarf planet has enough ____ to assume a nearly ____ shape
mass / round
a dwarf planet has not cleared the ________ around its ____
neighbourhood / orbit
is a dwarf planet a moon?
no
what are some examples of small solar system bodies?
asteroids, comets, Kuiper belt, Oort cloud
asteroids are left over from the _____ of the solar system
formation
asteroids originated from the ______ between Mars and Jupiter
asteroid belt
how do asteroids orbit the sun?
in a circular formation
what are asteroids made up of?
metals and rocky material
do asteroids have a “tail”?
no
asteroids come in different _____ and _____
shapes / sizes
asteroids can tell us the estimated age of the ____ _____
solar system
what is an asteroid belt?
a region of rocky debris that forms a ring all the way around the sun, between Mars and Jupiter
what is a meteoroid?
pieces of rock moving through space / rocky chunks that have broken off asteroids and planets
what are meteors?
meteoroids that hit the Earth’s atmosphere, burning up due to friction
what are meteorites?
large meteors that reach the ground without burning up
where do comets originate?
Kuiper Belt or Oort Cloud
what sort of orbit do comets have?
elliptical
what are comets made of?
ice, dust and rocky material
when will the comet’s ice vaporize?
when it is close to the sun
what causes the comet’s “tail”?
release of dust and gas
what is a Trans-Neptunian object?
objects that circle the sun beyond the orbit of Neptune
where are Trans-Neptunian objects located?
in the Kuiper Belt
what is the Kuiper Belt made of?
materials left over from the formation of the solar system
what is the Kuiper Belt?
a disc shaped region of icy objects beyond the orbit of Neptune
what is the Oort Cloud?
a spherical cloud of small icy fragments of debris at the very edge of our solar system
what is an Astronomical Unit (AU)?
the average distance between the Earth and the Sun
what is one AU equal to?
150 000 000 km
what is a light year?
the distance light travels in one year
what do light years do?
tell us how far away an object is and how much time has passed since the light we see left the object
