Space Flashcards
Mercury
#1 Smallest Planet Closest to sun no moons orbital period: 88 days
Venus
#2 Greenhouse effect planet no moons probes: Venera (Russian) Orbital Period: 225 days
Earth
3
Only planet not named after mythological figure
One moon, walked on by 12 astronauts from the Apollo program
Lunar probe (Surveyer)
Mars
4
Red planet
Moons: Phobos (largest) and Demos (fear and dread)
Rovers: Pathfinder, Spirit, Opportunity, Curiosity
Volcano: Olympus Mons (largest known volcano in the solar system)
Orbital period: 1.9 years
Jupiter
4
Largest Planet, larger than all others put together
Distinguishing feature: a great red spot (a huge storm bigger than Earth)
Galilean moons: Io, Europa, Callisto, and Ganymede (largest moon in the Solar System)
Jupiter has many other smaller moons
Probes: Voyager 1 & 2, Galileo
Orbital Period: 12 years
Saturn
#6 The Ringed planet Moons: Titan (moon with mysterious atmosphere) and many others Probes: Voyager 1 &2, Cassini Orbital Period 29 years
Uranus
#7 Moons: Titania, Oberson, Umbriel, Ariel, Miranda and others (Thirteen of Uranus' moons are named after Shakespearian characters) Probe: Voyager 2 Discoverer: William Herschel, 1781 Orbital Period: 84 years
Neptune
#8 The blue planet Moons: Triton, Nereid and others Distinguishing Feature: the great blue spot Probe: Voyager 2 Discoverer Johann Galle, 1856 Orbital period: 165 years
Pluto
(Declassified from planet to dwarf planet in 2006)
Moons: Charon
Discoverer: Clyde Taumbaugh
Orbital period: 248 years
Early 20th Century American Astonomer
Edwin Hubble
American Female Astronomer
Maria Mitchell
Danish Astronomer
Tycho Brahe
English Astronomer Royal
Sir. Edmund Halley
English Astronomer Family
Herschel
French Astronomer Family
Cassini
German Astronomer
Johannes Kepler
Greek Astronomer (2nd Century)
Ptolemy
Italian Astonomer
Galileo (Galilei)
Polish Astronomer
Copernicus
First Dog in Space
Laika (Russian German Shepard)
First Man in Space
Yuri Gagarin
Yuri Gagarin’s Capsule
Vostok
First Woman in Space
Valentina Tereshkova
First Space Walk
Alexei Leonov
First American in Space (Suborbital)
Alan Shepard
2nd American in Space (suborbital)
Gus Grissom
Third American in Space (Three orbits)
John Glenn
First American woman in space
Sally Ride
First American to Walk in Space
Edward White
First AMerican woman to walk in space
Shannon Lucid
First man to walk on the moon
Neil Armstrong
2nd man to walk on the moon
Buzz Aldrin
Apollo 13 Commander
James Lovell
Oldest US Astronaut, Launched in 1998
John Glenn (77 Yrs Old)
Man who played golf on the moon
Alan Shepard
First Space Shuttle Crew
Young and Crippen