Science - The Solar System | Baamboozle - Baamboozle

Where is our solar system?

Inside one of the spiral arms of the Milky Way

trail of dust and gas that stretches behind the comet as it travels through space

tail

cloud of dust and gas around a comet

coma

What makes comets visible?

when comets are close to the Sun, solar radiation and solar wind give them a visible coma and tail

How can comets get close to the sun in some parts of their orbits?

The gravity of the gas giants and the Sun pulls them inward in giant elliptical orbits much larger than those of the planets.

Small mass of dust and ice that originates in an area beyond Pluto called the Oort cloud

comet

A piece of a meteoroid (or an asteroid) that survives its passage through the atmosphere and strikes Earth's surface is called

meteorite

Meteoroids that we can see their heat in the sky as a glowing path, is called a

Meteor

Rocky object in space that moves between planets, smaller than an asteroid.

meteoroid

How does an asteroid become a meteoroid and a potential threat to planets, moons, spacecrafts, and satellites?

It gets knocked out of its orbit

Name the 2 places where asteroids are located in the solar system.

Wide area between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter/ area past Pluto, know as the Kuiper Belt

Why aren't asteroids planets, dwarf planets or even moon?

Too small

Rocky objects that orbit the sun

Asteroids

Name 3 possible physical properties of moon.

Large volcanoes, major areas of frozen water, layers similar to Earth's layers: an inner core, a thick mantle, and a thin crust

Moons are smaller than planets and held in place by

the pull of gravity of the planet they orbit

About how many moons orbit the planets of our solar system?

180

Planets are generally in the same plane and thus appear in the night sky along a path called the

ecliptic

Which planet rotates backwards where the sun rises in the west and sets in the east? What is this called?

Venus / retrograde

Meteoroids that strike Earth's surface are called

Meteorites

Meteoroids that burn in Earth's atmosphere are called

meteors

Pluto is part of a vast grouping of frozen worlds beyond Neptune called

Kuiper Belt

Why is Pluto not considered a planet?

Large # f frozen worlds that share its orbit. Pluto is so small, its gravity is not strong enough to clear smaller objects from its orbit. Dwarf planet

Name 3 characteristics needed to be considered a planet.

1. object must be in orbit around the sun 2. object must be nearly spherical in shape 3. object has cleared the neighborhood around its orbit of smaller planets

What is the smallest planet?

Mercury

Which planet is the largest of the inner planets?

Earth

Are the largest planets in the inner or outer solar system? which planet is the largest?

Outer / Jupiter

All the gas giants have ring systems, which planet's is the most prominent?

Saturn

Describe some characteristics of Neptune.

small rings, blue gas giant, 13 moons, freezing temp

Why is Uranus tipped on its side in its orbit around the Sun

Because of an ancient impact

Name some characteristics of Uranus.

gas giant, 27 moons, rotates sideways, rings vertical, freezing temp

Name some characteristics of Saturn

2nd largest planet, largest ring system, close to 60 moons, gas giant, freezing temp

Name 6 characteristics of Jupiter

largest planet, red spot storm (lasted 400 years), most moons (63 and counting), freezing temp, small rings, gas giant

Name the 4 outer planets (farthest from the sun) and give a brief description.

Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune - gas giants, freezing temperatures, many moons, and ring systems

Where is the asteroid belt located?

Between Mars and Jupiter

Name some characteristics of Mars.

red soil (iron oxide/rust in the soil), biggest volcano, longest valley, cold, lifeless, water flowed in ancient times, polar ice caps, 2 moons

Name 3 characteristics of Earth.

life, water covers 3/4 surface, 1 moon

Why is Venus's day longer than its year?

it spins so slowly on its axis by the time its orbited the sun, it has not done 1 full rotation

Describe 3 characteristics of Venus

hottest planet due to thick atmosphere of carbon dioxide, longest day (its day is longer than its year), rocky surface

Describe 4 characteristics of Mercury

Fastest to orbit the sun (year is only 88 days long), smallest planet, cratered, rocky surface

Name the planets in order from the sun.

Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune

Name the 4 inner planets (closest to the sun) and give a brief description.

Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars - small and rocky

What is the size of the sun compared to Earth?

The sun's diameter (the distance around it) is 100 times bigger than Earth's.

Explain the effect of gravity on the sun?

The sun is pulled by massive gravitational forces of the center of the Milky Way, which cause stars and stellar systems to orbit around the center of the galaxy

How does gravitational attraction between celestial bodies increase?

if the bodies are greater size and smaller distance

How does gravitational attraction between celestial bodies decrease?

if the bodies are smaller size and greater distance

Medium-sized, most massive object in our solar system?

Sun

Where does most of the energy, including light and heat, come from that reaches our planet?

Sun

What happens as the dense mass of gases that make up a star burn?

They give off visible light as well as other forms of energy and charged particles.

An extremely hot, dense mass of gases.

Star

Does the Sun rotate, or spin, about its axis like all the other stars located in the Milky Way galaxy?

Is a pig's hiney pork? Sure it does!

How does the sun's mass effect the solar system?

The sun has enough mass that its gravitational pull holds the planets and other objects in the solar system in orbit.

What does our solar system consist of?

Sun, plants, dwarf planets (smaller planets), moons, asteroids, comets, meteoroids, and a host of frozen worlds beyond Neptune.

How did scientists come up with the heliocentric model?

From the invention of the telescope in the 1600s that allowed scientists such as Galileo Galilei to use measurements and demonstrate the heliocentric model.

What is the heliocentric model?

Model where the Sun is the center of the solar system, with the planets orbiting the Sun and the stars remaining stationary (not moving)

What is the geocentric model of the solar system?

a model that assumes the sun an other stars moved around the Earth. Geo means "Earth." Geocentric means "Earth-centered"