ASVAB: General Science- Earth Science; Our Solar System

Saturn

a giant planet which is surrounded by three planar concentric rings of ice particles, 6th planet from the Sun

Uranus

a giant planet with a ring of ice particles, 7th planet from the Sun

Neptune

a giant planet with a ring of ice particles, 8th planet from the Sun

meteroids

also known as asteroids, fall into Earth's gravitational field, they are seen as "falling stars", called meteors, as they burn up, when they reach Earth's surface they are known as meteorites

the sun

is classified as a G2V star, or yellow dwarf. G2 stars are approx. 6,000 degrees celsius at the surface, are yellow, and contain many neutrally charged metals such as iron, magnesium, and calcium. The "V" indicates that the Sun is a dwarf star, or fairly small by the standards of stars.

comets

large clumps of ice, dust and frozen gases that travel around the Sun in long elliptical orbits

Pluto

once considered the 9th planet

comet tails

one is dust, the other ionized gas; usually visible; ion one points away from the sun-created by solar wind and can appear to precede comet; dust one is always behind

the solar system

our system consists of one star, the sun, eight planets and all their moons, and several thousand minor planets called asteroids, and an equally large number of comets.

asteroids

rocky metallic objects that orbit the sun but are too small to be considered planets

Earth's Moon

takes one lunar month to revolve around the earth (28 days); the same side is seen from the earth at all times

outer planets

the four planets beyond Mars- Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. They also all have rings.

terrestrial planets

the four planets closest to the Sun, Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars. They are similar to our own planet in composition, with inner metal cores and surfaces of rock

Mars

the fourth planet from the sun, has moons of its own

Jupiter

the largest planet and the 5th from the sun

tides

the regular rise and fall of the ocean's surface influenced by the moon's gravity pulling on earth

Venus

the second nearest planet to the sun

Mercury

the smallest planet and the nearest to the sun

Earth

the third planet from the sun, the largest of the terrestrial planets, has a moon