Chapter 8: Our Solar System
planet
A large body in space that orbits a star and does not produce light of its own
Comets are probably left over from the time when planets formed. As a result, each comet is a sample of the early solar system.
How can studying comets help us learn about the solar system's history?
Pluto has been reclassified as a dwarf planet.
How did the classification of Pluto change in 2006?
4 inner planets
How many planets are in the inner solar system?
4 outer planets
How many planets are in the outer solar system?
our solar system
Is the sun and all the planets, moons and space objects that revolve around it. There are also two vast bands of drifting rocks called the Asteroid Belt and the Kuiper Belt.
The Great Dark Spot
Neptune had an area called __________________ similar to the Great Red Spot in Jupiter.
terrestrial planets
The four inner planets that their surfaces are small, rocky, and dense
gas giants
The four outer planets that have a deep massive atmosphere, and composed of gases
Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars
What are the four planets of the inner solar system?
Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune
What are the four planets of the outer solar system?
the carbon dioxide in its atmosphere
What causes the high surface temperature on Venus?
the Martian icecaps
What evidence suggests that there was once liquid water on Mars?
Jupiter
What is the largest planet in our solar system?
carbon dioxide and acids
What makes up the air on Venus?
telescope
What scientific instrument first made it possible to study the stars and planets?
The moon's period of rotation is the same as the period of revolution.
Why do we always see the same side of the moon from Earth?
meteor
a bright streak of light that results when a body burns up in the atmosphere
meteorite
a meteoroid that reaches Earth's surface without burning up
meteoroid
a small, rocky body that travels through space
astronomical unit
the average distance between two planets
period of revolution
the time it takes to revolve around the sun
period of rotation
the time it takes to rotate once
speed of light
Another way to measure distances in space is by using what?
meteor shower
occurs when the Earth passes through a wave of meteoroids and a great number of meteors fall to the Earth
