unit G

Question 1

satellite

Answer 1

any object, natural or manufactured, that orbits any object

Question 2

spacecraft

Answer 2

any vehicle, piloted or unpiloted, designed to travel beyond Earth’s atmosphere

Question 3

telescope

Answer 3

a device used to view (optical telescope) or otherwise obtain information (radio telescope) about distance objects

Question 4

astronomer

Answer 4

a scientist who studies objects and events beyond Earth’s atmosphere, such as the composition & movement of stars and planets

Question 5

astronomy

Answer 5

the study of objects and events beyond Earth’s atmosphere

Question 6

comet

Answer 6

a “dirty snowball” of ice and dust that orbits the Sun. Comets appear to have a fuzzy head and a long tail that streams away from the Sun.

Question 7

planet

Answer 7

an object that orbits a star and is larger than an asteroid and smaller than a star

Question 8

star

Answer 8

a body of gas sufficiently compressed by its own gravity for nuclear fusion to take place. The nuclear fusion creates the light, heat, and other radiation associated with stars

Question 9

galaxy

Answer 9

a group of billions of stars

Question 10

solar system

Answer 10

the Sun and all the objects, including Earth, that orbit the Sun

Question 11

asteroid

Answer 11

an irregularly shaped rocky object that orbits the Sun. The largest known asteroid has a diameter of about l,000 km. It is likely that asteroids are materials that never coalesced into a planet

Question 12

dwarf planet

Answer 12

a spherical celestial body revolving around the Sun, similar to a planet but not as large enough to gravitationally clear its orbital region of most or all other celestial bodies

Question 13

meteor

Answer 13

a piece of rock from space that burns upon entering Earth’s atmosphere. Most burn up completely before reaching Earth’s surface