Solar System Vocabulary Composed of dust rock and

Solar System Vocabulary

Composed of dust, rock and frozen gases; has a coma, nucleus, and tail l comet

Large ball of burning gas; fueled by nuclear fusion l star

Red planet; would take astronauts 3 years to get here and back. l Mars

The sun and all the objects orbiting it. l Solar system

Orbits another celestial body in space l satellite

Why do stars that are larger and brighter than the sun not appear this way from Earth? l They are farther away

Orbits a planet l moon

Sentenced to house arrest for his beliefs about the solar system l Galileo

Gas giant; large, blue-green; similar to Uranus l Neptune

Greenhouse effect; hottest planet l Venus

Large group of stars, gas and dust held together by gravity l galaxy

The distance light travels in one year l Light year

Closest planet to the sun; heavily cratered l Mercury

Every object exerts gravity on every other object in the universe. l Universal Law of Gravitation

Pluto; does not meet all criteria to be a planet l Dwarf planet

A meteoroid that burns up in Earth’s atmosphere l meteor

A meteoroid that strikes Earth’s surface l Meteorite

Small pieces of rock moving in space l Meteoroid

Developed the sun centered model of the solar system l Copernicus

The distance from the Sun to Earth l Astronomical unit

Planet known for many rings l Saturn

Force that attracts all objects toward each other l gravity

Between Mars and Jupiter l Asteroid belt

Water exists in all three states on the surface; suitable for life l Earth

Planets beyond the asteroid belt; large and gaseous l Outer planets

Rocky/terrestrial planets with thin atmospheres l Inner planets

Largest planet l Jupiter