Download Space Study Guide

Study Guide for the Space Test
Early Astronomers
Aristotle- believed the Earth was the center of the universe (geocentric).
Ptolemy- believed the Earth was the center of the universe (geocentric).
Nicolaus Copernicus- was the first to believe planets revolved around the sun
(heliocentric).
Galileo Galilei- believed the Earth revolved around the sun (heliocentric).
Early American Achievements
Robert Goddard - first to build and successfully launched a liquid fuel rocket
President Kennedy - promised to land a man on the moon and bring him safely
back to Earth
Alan Shepard - first U.S. man in space
Sally Ride - first U.S. woman in space
John Glenn - first U.S. man to orbit the earth
Neil Armstrong - first man to walk on the moon
Mercury - first U.S. manned space program
Early Soviet Union Achievements
Sputnik – first rocket launched by the Soviet Union
Yuri Gagarin – first man in space
Valentina Tereshkova – first woman in space
Celestial Bodies
Pluto- a dwarf planet because its orbital path crosses Neptune’s path
Asteroid- rocky bodies, irregular in shape and vary greatly in size
Meteor- burning rock or dust in Earth’s atmosphere
Comet- frozen dust and gases with bright burning tails
Planet- a body in the solar system that usually contains an atmosphere
Sun- is a star made up of hydrogen and helium gases
 energy from nuclear fusion is produced in the core
 sunspots are dark, cooler patches on the surface of the sun
 solar flare is the sudden burst of energy in the form of fire that erupts
from the surface of the sun
 contains more than 99% of the mass of our entire solar system
Inner Planets (made of rock)
Mercury- Has a very thin atmosphere because of its small amount of gravity.
Venus- The surface is hard to see because of the thick clouds surrounding the
planet. The clouds trap energy and heat the surface to 470°C or more.
Earth - surface temperature allows water to exist as a solid, liquid, and gas
 atmosphere protects from UV rays
 1 AU from the sun.
 magnetic field shields life from harmful solar radiation
 different from other planets because it has water
Mars- similar to earth, has seasons and polar ice caps, red in color, may have once
had water
Outer Planets (made of gas)
Jupiter- largest planet, has Great Red Spot, 67 moons
Saturn- several large rings made of ice, dust, and rock
Uranus- unusual axis that is tilted almost even with the plane of its orbit
Neptune- atmosphere is made of methane, which gives it a blue color
If you measured your weight on the Earth and on the moon, it would be different
because there are different amounts of gravity in each place.
The eight planets and the dwarf planet Pluto orbit around the sun.
Space Missions
 Early space flights were unmanned because reliable life-support systems were not
yet developed.
 Space Shuttle - designed to transport astronauts and materials to and from space.
 Space Probes – can be used to fly to distant planets to take pictures
 The International Space Station is a joint effort between the United States, Russia
and other countries. It is designed to enable astronauts to spend long periods of
time in space while conducting scientific research.
Remember to always review all of the notes and handouts!