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MR. SALCO’S SCIENCE STUDY GUIDE
CHAPTER 8 (Moon, Stars, and Planets)
Test will be given:
TEXT PAGES: pp. D22-D53
VOCABULARY: constellations, craters, moon, phases, planet, solar system, star
IMPORTANT CONCEPTS:
 Our solar system, which lies in the Milky Way Galaxy, is made up of the Sun, eight (named and
proven) planets, and the moons.
 A scientist’s tool for observing the night sky is called a telescope
THE MOON:
 A moon is a sphere that orbits a planet. Earth has one moon.
 Moon phases are the different shapes the moon appears to have throughout the month. Please
know the moon phases look like and the order (new, 1st quarter, full moon, and 3rd quarter).
Remember the trick – “What’s up DOC!”
 We can see the full moon phase when the Earth is in between the sun and the moon.
 Although the brightest star in our night sky is Sirius (part of Canis Major – the large dog), the
brightest object in the night sky is the Moon.
 The moon does not make its own light. The “moonlight” that we see is the sun’s light
bouncing/reflecting off of it.
 Large holes in the moon made by space rocks are called craters.
 It takes the moon about one month (29 ½ days) to go through its cycle and orbit Earth.
THE STARS:
 A star is a hot ball of light (gas) that we can see in the night sky.
 Stars are classified as blue, white, yellow, and red. Blue is the hottest star and red is the coolest.
 A star may look bright because of it is hotter, closer to Earth, or bigger than other stars.
 A constellation is a star pattern that makes a picture of a mythological person, animal, or object.
THE OFFICAL PLANETS:
 Planets are spherical objects that orbit the sun.
 Know the eight official planets in order - Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus.
and Neptune. Your planet mnemonic should help with this! 
 Planet facts:
* The largest planet is Jupiter and Mercury is now the smallest.
* The planet with the slowest orbit around the sun (165 years) is Neptune because it is so far
from the sun. The planet with the fastest orbit is Mercury (88 days) because it is so close to the
sun.
* Venus is the hottest planet and Neptune is the coldest.
* Mercury and Venus do not have a moon. Jupiter has 39 known moons – maybe more!
Saturn has between 18-30 moons (18 are named, at least a dozen other are unnamed)