The Solar System

What are outer (gaseous/Jovian) planets?

Are Jovian planets and have no solid surfaces, gaseous (not solid), many moons, long revolutions, and have short rotations.

What do the inner planets have in common?

Are the solid, are closest to the sun, have few to no moons, have short revolutions, and have long rotations.

What is Neptune? (info)

Blue planet, coldest planet, has the highest winds, has 14 moons, and like Uranus has almost nonexistent rings. This planet has the longest revolution out of all of the other planets in our solar system. Distance from the sun is 30 AU, 3.8 times the size of earth.

What is Uranus? (info)

Blue planet, rotates 90 on its axis (on its side) causing it to have half a year of "winter" and half a year of "summer". It has 27 moons. Distance from the sun is 19.1 AU, 4 times the size of Earth.

What is Mercury? (info)

Closest planet to the sun, shortest revolution, smallest planet, distance from the sun is 0.3 AU, and .3 times the size of Earth.

What is Saturn? (info)

Has rings that are visible from Earth, and has over 30 moons. One of its moons Titan, has its own thick atmosphere. It's density is so low, and it has a large volume. It's mass is small because it is made mostly of helium. Distance from the sun is 9.5 AU, 9.4 times the size of Earth.

What is Venus? (info)

Is called Earth's sister/twin planet due to its size and composition. It is the hottest planet due to having a "Run away green house effect" in its atmosphere, caused by a 90% carbon dioxide (CO2) atmosphere, which traps heat. Also, this planet shows Retrograde (rotates backwards) compared to all of the other planets in our solar system. It has a longer day (243 Earth days) than year (225 Earth days). Distance from the sun- .7 AU, 0.95 times the size of Earth.

About how long does it take for the moon to go through all of its phases.

It takes about a month (29.5 days).

What is a comet?

Large balls of water, ice, dust, and frozen gasses.

What is Jupiter? (info)

Largest planet, has the shortest rotation, and has a massive storm on its surface called the great red spot. Has over 60 moons, some of which scientist think have water under their icy crusts. Distance from the sun is 5.2 AU, 11 times the size of Earth.

What is the order of the planets from the sun outward?

Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune.

What are the inner (terrestrial) planets?

Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars

What is a Moon?

Natural satellites that orbit a planet.

What is Mars? (info)

Often called the red planet due to the rust of the rocks and dust on its surface. Has the largest (extinct) volcano, Olympus Mons, on its surface (bigger than Arizona, and much taller than Mt. Everest). Has 2 moons, Phobos and Demos. Once had running water on its surface. Distance from the sun is 1.5 AU, 0.53 times the size of Earth.

What is the difference between rotation and revolution?

Revolution is when a planet goes around a sun (years), rotation is when a planet turns on its axis (days).

What is an asteroid?

Rocky objects that orbit the sun. Most asteroids are found in a stable orbit around the sun between Mars and Jupiter. Sometimes they hit the Earth causing craters, a large asteroid strike is what is thought to have caused the dinosaurs to go extinct.

What are the quarter moon phases?

The 1st and 3rd quarters occur when we see only a quarter of the moons sphere lit up.

What separates the inner (terrestrial) and outer (gaseous/Jovian) planets?

The Asteroid Belt. Is made of billions of rocks (a few meters in diameter to about half the size of our moon) Distance to the sun is 3.2 AU.

What is Earth? (info)

The only planet (that we currently know of) that has life, water in all 3 forms, and enough Oxygen in its atmosphere to support life (this is due to it's position from the Sun). Distance from the sun is 1 AU. Axial tilt of 23.5, seasons of the Earth are created because of Earth's position in its orbit and its tilt which causes different amounts of light to reach areas of the planet.

What is happening when the moon is waxing?

These phases occur as the moon transitions from new moon to full moon phases. The moon seems to be getting bigger. Waxing light is on the right hand side.

What is happening when the moon is waning?

These phases occur as the moon transitions from the full moon back to the new moon phase. The shadowed part of the moon is seen on the right as light is decreasing on the left.

How are phases of the moon "created"?

They are created by the position of Earth and the moon, causing us to see different portions of the shadowed side and lit side of the moon.

Define Lunar Eclipse.

When the Full Moon is eclipses (cut out/can't see it) because the moon is in the shadow of the Earth. (Sun -> Earth -> Moon) Anyone in the night time side of Earth can see a lunar eclipse.

Define Solar Eclipse.

When the sun is eclipsed (cut out/can't see it) because where you are is in the shadow of the New Moon. (Sun -> Moon -> Earth) Only people in the shadow of the moon can see the full eclipse. Only during a solar eclipse can we see the Sun's outermost layer, the Corona.

What causes eclipses to happen/what are they?

They happen when the Sun, Moon and Earth are in alignment.

Why do we always see the same side of the moon?

The moon rotates on its axis and revolves around us at the same speed.

What is Pluto? (info)

(Dwarf Planet) Is NOT classified as a planet due to its small size. It has a composition of mostly ice covering a rocky core, and its orbit is a little off from the other planets in our solar system. Distance from the sun is 39.5 AU, 0.18 times the size of Earth.