Our Solar System

Uranus

7th planet from Sun; is large & gaseous, has a distinct bluish-green color, & rotates on an axis nearly parallel to the plane of its orbit

Pluto

A dwarf planet previously considered the ninth planet from the Sun; has a solid icy-rock surface and a single moon, Charon.

Kuiper Belt

A region of the solar system that is just beyond the orbit of Neptune and that contains small bodies made mostly of ice

Sun

Our Solar System's star that is made of hydrogen and helium gases, and supplies the heat and light that sustains life on Earth

Gas Giants (outer planets)

Planets in the order part of the solar system made up of mostly gas, includes, Jupiter, Saturn, Neptune, and Uranus

its close to earth

The Sun appears to be the brightest and largest star because...

Terrestrial planets(inner planets)

The inner planets of our solar system that are made up of mostly rock and metals, include Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars

Comets

a celestial object consisting of a nucleus of ice and dust and, when near the sun, a "tail" of gas and dust particles pointing away from the sun.

Planet

a large body in space that orbits a star and does not produce light on its own

Gravity

a natural force that pulls two objects toward one another that force is determined by the objects' mass and distance

Moon

a natural object that revolves around a planet

Orbit

a path of an object as it revolves around another object in outer space

Asteroid

a rocky object that orbits the Sun, found mostly in the region between Mars and Jupiter Asteroid Belt

meteroiod

a small rocky body that orbits the Sun-found in space, originating from an asteroid-broken piece of an asteroid

Oort Cloud

a spherical region that surrounds the solar system, that extends from the Kuiper Belt to almost halfway to the nearest star, and that contains billions of comets

The Moon

not a planet but it orbits our earth

Venus

the 2nd planet from the sun, the hottest planet, and the planet that is closest to earth (very similar size to Earth) -atmosphere very thick and made mostly of carbon dioxide (greenhouse gas)-traps a tremendous amount of heat. Terrestrial Planet

Mars

the 4th planet from the sun, known as the red planet-has the largest volcano in the solar system- atmosphere is very thin made mostly of carbon dioxide-Terrestrial Planet

Jupiter

the 5th planet from the sun, the largest planet

Saturn

the 6th planet from Sun. Spectacular rings made mostly of ice and frosted rock and gas giant made mostly of hydrogen gas

Neptune

the 8th planet from Sun. Another gas giant and blue color due to Methane gas, has the highest winds in solar system, and rotates counterclockwise.

Solar System

the Sun and the planets and other smaller bodies (asteroids, comets, meteoroids etc.) that orbit the Sun

Mercury

the closest planet to the Sun, very cold on one side and very hot on the other, smallest planet, and no moons. Terrestrial Planet

Revolution

the movement of an object around another object. The earth revolves around the sun. (Earth 365 1/4 days)

Earth

the only planet in the solar system on which life is known to exist (3rd planet from the sun)-Terrestrial Planet- surface is rocky and covered with plains, plataus, mountains, valleys etc. Earth's atmosphere is about 78% nitrogen and 21% oxygen

Rotation

when an object spins on its axis (on Earth 24 hours) 1 day