C13 L3: What makes up our solar system?

constellation

A constellation is a pattern of stars, named after a mythological or religious figure, an object, or an animal. One set of constellations is visible from the Northern Hemisphere, and another set is visible from the Southern Hemisphere.

galaxy

A galaxy is a grouping of gas, dust, and many stars, plus any objects that orbit those stars.

planet

A planet is a body that revolves around a star.

solar system

A solar system is a star and all the planets and other objects that revolve around it. Our solar system consists of; - 4 Inner Planets (Mercury, Earth, Venus and Mars), and - 5 Outer Planets (Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto).

star

A star is a huge ball of very hot gases in space.

What is an asteroid made of?

Asteroids are chunks of rock less than 1000km in diameter.

What is a comet made of?

Comets have a small, solid, frozen core.

Is there a relationship between distance of a planet from the sun and the length of its year?

It takes the Earth 365.25 Earth days to orbit the Sun once. This is one Earth year. We measure how long planets take to orbit the Sun once in Earth years. The further a planet is away from the Sun, the longer it will take to orbit the sun. e.g. Mercury takes 88 Earth days to orbit the sun. Therefore 1 Mercury year = 88 Earth days e.g. Jupiter takes 11.9 Earth years to orbit the sun. Therefore 1 Jupiter year = 11.9 Earth years

What are some characteristics of gas giants?

Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune are called gas giants because they are the largest planets in the solar system and are composed mostly of hydrogen and helium.

How many planets in our solar system support life?

Our solar system includes 9 planets. Earth is the only planet to support life, because of its liquid water and atmosphere.

What are rings made of?

Rings are made of ice, dust, boulders, and frozen gas.

What are 2 ways scientists classify stars?

Scientists classify stars in 2 ways, by: i) color ii) brightness

What separates the inner planets from the outer planets?

Scientists divide the 9 planets that orbit the sun into 4 inner planets and 5 outer planets. These groups are separated by the ASTEROID BELT between Mars and Jupiter.

How has space exploration changed since the Apollo missions?

Since the Apollo missions that flew astronauts to the moon from 1969 to 1972, much of space exploration has focused on other parts of the universe, not just the Earth's moon.

What does the brightness of a star depend on?

The brightness of a star depends on 2 factors: i) How far it is from the earth ii) How bright it actually is

Why is the sun important?

The sun is the source of much of the energy on Earth. Plants use energy from the sun to make food and store energy. Animals eat plants to use that food energy.

universe

The universe if everything that exists, including such things as stars, planets, gas, dust, and energy.