Solar System Size and Scale

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Saturn

Sixth planet from the Sun, has the most spectacular set of rings in the solar system, 62 moons, complex ring system.

Galaxy

Which is larger a galaxy or star?

Moon

Which is larger a moon or planet?

Star

Which is larger a star or planet?

Star

Which is larger most of the time a planet or star?

Moon

not a planet but it orbits our earth

Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation

old light that has been traveling through space ever since it was created shortly after the Big Bang

light year

the distance light travels in one year

Mercury

the fastest planet

Milky Way

the galaxy containing the solar system

Venus

the hottest planet

Jupiter

the largest planet

Observable universe

the portion of the entire universe that we can see

Galaxy

A collection of stars, dust, and gas bound together by gravity

Supercluster

A grouping of an enormous number of galaxies.

Star

A huge ball of gases that makes its own heat and light

Scale model

A model of an object in which the dimensions are in proportion to the actual dimensions of the object.

Kuiper belt

A region of the solar system that is just beyond the orbit of Neptune and that contains small bodies made mostly of ice

Jupiter

It has at least 63 moons.

Neptune

It has the fastest winds in the Solar System.

Mars

It is called the Red planet.

Uranus

It's light blue and the coldest planet

Mercury

It's the closest to the Sun.

Mercury

Planet closest to the Sun; has a thin atmosphere w/ temp. extremes, an iron core, & many craters & high cliffs

Neptune

8th from the sun, no atmosphere, furthest out, high methane content, has the great dark spot

Comet

A ball of frozen dust and rock that orbits the sun and has a tail that glows

Venus

2nd planet from Sun; has a dense atmosphere & known to rain acid w/ high temp.'s, a surface w/ craters, faultlike cracks, & volcanoes; sometimes called Earth's twin

Earth

3rd planet from sun; has an atmosphere that protects life & surface temp.'s that allow water to exist as a solid, liquid, & gas

Uranus

7th planet from the Sun, has unusual spin axis, a faint ring system and 27 known moons.

Universe

All of space and everything in it

Pluto

Dwarf planet

Outer planets

The four planets in between the Asteroid Belt and Kuiper Belt made mostly of gas and of large size

Inner planets

The four planets inside the Asteroid belt, Mercury, Venis, Earth, and Mars made of rocks and of small size

Jupiter

The largest planet in the solar system, with moons, and a fast rotation rate

Sun

The star at the center of our solar system

Local group

a cluster of galaxies in which the Milky Way is located.

Planet

a large body in space that orbits a star and does not produce light on its own

Gravity

a natural force that pulls two objects toward one another

Moon

a natural object that revolves around a planet

Orbit

a path of an object as it circles around another object in outer space

Comet

a small object in space that orbits a star and is made of ice, dust particles, and frozen gases

Asteroid

a small rocky body orbiting the sun

Solar System

the Sun and the planets and other objects that orbit the Sun


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