Planets of our solar system

meteroid

A chunk of rock or dust in space.

Kuiper belt

A doughnut- shaped region that stretches from beyond Neptune's orbit to about 100 times Earth's distance from the sun.

Oort cloud

A spherical region of comets that surround the solar system.

List the four inner planets in order of size, from smallest to largest.

Mercury, Venus, Earth , Mars ,

Asteroids

Rocky objects revolving around the sun that are too small and numerous to be considered planets

gas giant, or Jovian planets

The name often given tot he first four outer planets: Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune

asteroid belt

The region of the solar system, between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter, where many asteroids are found.

green house effect

The trapping of heat by a planet's atmosphere

comet

a loose collection of ice, dust, and small rocky particles, typically with a long, narrow orbit.

meteorites

a meteoroid that passes through the atmosphere and hits Earth's surface.

ring

a thin disk of small ice and rock particles surrounding a planet

How are the gas giants similar to one another?

dont have solid surfaces and are much larger than earth.

extraterrestrial life

life that exists other than that on Earth.

What are Venus's clouds made of?

mostly made out of droplets of sulfuric acid.

What two gases make up most of Earth's atmosphere?

oxygen and nitrogen

nucleus

the central core of the atom; the solid inner core of a comet.

coma

the fuzzy outer layer of a comet.

terrestrial planets

the name often given to the four inner planets: Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars

How are the four inner planets similar to one another?

they are small and dense and have rocky surfaces.

Compare the atmospheres of the four inner planets.

Earth: 20% oxygen , mostly nitrogen. Mercury:no atmosphere Venus: very thick 90x more pressure then Earth Mars:more than 95 percent carbon dioxide.

Describe an important characteristic of each inner planet.

Earth: unique in our solar system in having liquid water at its surface. Venus: Green house effect. Mars: ancient liquid water. Mercury: smallest terrestrial planet and the planet closest to the sun.

Compare daytime and nighttime temperatures on Mercury.

For daytime: 430degrees Celsius For nighttime: -170degrees Celsius

Why do all of the gas giants have thick atmospheres?

Because they are so massive, the gas giants exert a much stronger gravitational force than the terrestrial planets.

Name the four largest asteroids

Ceres, Pallas, Vesta and