Sun, Moon, Stars and Planets

Name 3 characteristics of Jupiter that make it different than the other planets

1. Called a gas giant- made of hydrogen and helium 2. Rotates twice as fast as the Earth 3. Has many moons that orbit around it

Name 3 characteristics of Mars that makes it different than the other planets

1. Called the Red Planet because of the iron oxide rich soil that makes rust 2. Has an atmosphere but cannot support living things because of huge dust storms 3. Has seasons and polar ice caps

Name 3 characteristics of Saturn that make it different than the other planets

1. Has an atmosphere made of hydrogen and helium 2. Has brilliant rings that orbit it made of gravel and boulder sized ice and dust rocks 3. Inner rings travel faster than outer rings 4.- a new ring was discovered and travels in opposite direction than other rings

Name 5 characteristics of Uranus that make it different than the other planets

1. Has an atmosphere made of hydrogen, helium, and methane 2. So cold that the methane can condense into a liquid 3. Methane cloud gives a fuzzy blue-green look 4. Has rings but they cannot be seen 5. Rotates on its side

Name 2 characteristics about the Moon

1. Has no atmosphere 2. It has many craters

Name 3 characteristics of Venus that make it different than other planets

1. It is the same size as the Earth 2. Rotates in the opposite direction 3. It has an atmosphere made of thick swirling clouds

Name 4 general characteristics about the outer planets

1. No clearly defined surfaces 2. called gas giants because we can only see the atmosphere 3. Have liquid inner layers and solid cores 4. Each has a ring of particles and many moons orbiting it

What three things contribute to the cycle of the seasons on Earth?

1. Revolution around the sun 2. Tilt of the earth 3. Angle the suns rays hit the earth DOES NOT HAVE TO DO WITH ROTATION

Name 3 characteristics of Neptune that make it different than the other planets

1. Takes 100 earth years for it to orbit the sun 2.Has a bluish color because of the methane in the atmosphere 3. Has storms and bands of clouds 4. 13 moons orbiting it- Has object in space (moon) -Triton

Name 3 characteristics of the Earth that make it different than the other planets

1. largest rocky planet 2. Only planet with life on it- made possible by our atmosphere's thickness 3. Only planet to have liquid water on its surface (3/4 covered in water)

Venus

2nd planet from the sun

Earth

3rd planet from the sun

Mars

4th planet from the sun

Jupiter

5th planet from the sun- largest planet in the solar system

Saturn

6th planet from the sun- second largest

Uranus

7th planet from the sun- most distant planet you can see without a telescope

How many planets are there?

8

Neptune

8th planet from the sun- smallest of the gas planets

Constellations

A group of stars that forms a shape or pattern.

Moon

A natural object that orbits a planet

Space probe

A spacecraft that gathers data without a crew

Polaris

Another name for the North Star- bigger than the sun but much farther away so its smaller

Outer planets

Four planets farthest from the sun; Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune- larger than the inner planets

What keeps all of the planets orbiting around the sun?

Gravity from the sun

Name a characteristic of Mercury that makes it different from other planets

It has no atmosphere- which makes it warm during the day and very cold at night

Planets

Large round bodies that revolve around a star and have cleared the region around its orbit

Three layers of the sun

Photosphere- innermost layer that gives off the light we see Chromosphere- middle layer' Corona- outermost layer

Solar Eruptions (two types)

Prominence- ribbon of glowing gases from chromosphere to corona Solar Flare- explosive eruption of waves and particles into space

What is the largest object in our solar system?

Sun- has 100% of the mass in the solar system

What causes the moon to go through different phases?

THe movement of the moon around the Earth

Why do temper1atures in Ohio become increasingly warmer in May and June?

The North Pole is tilted towards the sun

What causes the change in the moons position in the sky?

The rotation of the earth

What makes the stars appear to be moving?

The rotation of the earth.

What makes Venus so bright?

The very hot and toxic clouds that reflect the sun's light very well

What would happen if the Earth did not rotate on an axis that was not tilted?

There would be no change if the seasons

What is the sun?

a medium sized star- has no hard surfaces and gives off enormous amounts of heat and light

Why is Pluto classified as a dwarf planet?

because has too many objects in its orbit to qualify as a planet

Sunspots

dark spots on the photosphere layer- can be as big as the Earth or larger

inner planets

first four planets closest to the sun - Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars.

Stars

gigantic balls of hot gases that give off radiation.

How many Earths can fit in the sun?

over 1 million

Mercury

the smallest planet and the nearest to the sun- covered in thousands of craters made from falling space rocks