Solar System

Asteroid

a small rocky body orbiting a star, in our solar system they're mostly between Mars and Jupiter

Enceladus

small moon of Saturn -has water ice and active geysers that spray water onto its host planet

Pluto

-Once considered a planet -now considered a dwarf planet -spends most of its time in the Kuiper belt -has one moon -made up of rock and ice -The spacecraft New Horizon will arrive at this planet and study it starting in 2015

Titan

-Saturn's largest moon -2nd largest moon in the solar system -larger than Mercury, but less massive -only moon with a dense atmosphere -it experiences liquid methane rain and snow; and it's even home to geological features like liquid methane lakes, liquid methane rivers, valleys, plains and deserts

Venus

-The 2nd planet from the sun -3rd smallest and least massive planet -brightest in the night sky -no moons -dense carbon dioxide(CO2) rich atmosphere -highest temperatures caused by the greenhouse effect -periodic intense volcanic activity -called Earth's twin, morning star, or evening star -its day is longer than its year

Earth

-The 3rd planet from the sun -one moon -liquid water on its surface -the highest density of any planet -the only planet known to have living organisms -most massive terrestrial planet

Mercury

-The planet nearest the sun -smallest and least massive planet -no moons -lots of craters -large temperature difference from the illuminated (lit) side to the dark side

Europa

2nd farthest Galilean Moon from Jupiter -6th largest moon in the solar system - its suface is composed of water ice -there may be liquid water under the ice!

Callisto

3rd largest moon in the solar system -4th farthest Galilean moon from Jupiter -heavily cratered -water ice present on moon

Saturn

6th planet from the sun -2nd largest and most massive -least dense planet (could float on water) -highly visible rings -62 moons

Uranus

7th planet from the sun -tilted sideways on its axis -3rd largest size -4th largest mass (larger in size, but less dense than another planet) -methane in its atmosphere makes it appear blue -27 moons

Neptune

8th and farthest planet from the sun -4th largest size -3rd largest mass (smaller in size, but more dense than another planet) -highest winds -the Great Dark Spot was once visible on the planet -14 moons -methane in atmosphere makes it appear blue

Kuiper Belt

A belt like region of the solar system beyond the orbit of Neptune, that contains dwarf planets, many comets, asteroids, and other small bodies made largely of ice. This region is mostly open space.

Comet

A celestial object consisting of a nucleus of ice and dust and, when near the sun, a "tail" of gas and dust particles pointing away from the sun.

Meteorite

A meteor that survives its passage through the earth's atmosphere such that part of it strikes the ground. More than 90 percent of meteorites are of rock, while the remainder consist wholly or partly of iron and nickel.

Meteor

A small body of matter from outer space that enters the earth's atmosphere, becoming incandescent as a result of friction and appearing as a streak of light (colloquialism- falling/shooting star).

Dwarf Planet

A spherical celestial body revolving about the sun, similar to a planet but not large enough to gravitationally clear its orbital region of most or all other celestial bodies. Pluto, Eris,,Haumea, Makemake, and Ceres (the only asteroid belt dwarf planet) are considered dwarf planets.

Oort Cloud

A spherical shell of mostly open space with interspersed bodies believed to surround the sun far beyond the orbits of the outermost planets and from which some are dislodged and move closer toward the sun.

Ganymede

Largest and most massive moon in the solar system - 3rd farthest Galilean Moon from Jupiter -only moon known to have a magnetosphere -has water ice (possibly liquid water underneath!) -larger than Mercury, but less massive.

Eris

Largest known dwarf planet -located in the Kuiper Belt -discovered in 2005

Triton

Neptune's largest moon, 7th largest moon in the solar system- orbits opposite of the rest of the large moons in our solar system -it was thought to be a captured moon

Moon

Only natural satellite of Earth. Regolith soil formed from impacts, lots of crater -its one side always faces the Earth -5th largest moon

Sun

Our solar systems star. It contains 99.8% of the mass of our Solar System.

Mars

The 4th planet from the sun -two moons -2nd least massive, the highest planetary mountain in the solar system Olympus Mons -the red planet

Jupiter

The 5th planet from the sun -largest and most massive planet -makes up over 70% of the combined mass of all of the planets -has a large hurricane like storm called the Great Red Spot -has rings - 67 moons -has 4 large moons called the Galilean moons -fastest rotation (shortest day of any planet) -banded atmosphere

Asteroid Belt

The region of space between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter in which most asteroids are located. It is mostly empty space. Scientist think that Jupiter's gravitational pull stopped the asteroids from fusing together to form a planet.

IO

With over 400 active volcanoes, it is the most geologically active object in the Solar System. -It is the closest of the Galalien moons to Jupiter. It is the 4th largest moon in the solar system.