Download Objective or GLE: 6.1.A.a: Classify celestial bodies in the solar

Objective or GLE: 6.1.A.a: Classify celestial bodies in the solar system into categories: Sun, moon, planets,
and other small bodies (i.e., asteroids, comets, meteors), based on physical properties.
Question: Classify celestial bodies in the solar system into categories based on size (physical properties):
show which celestial object is largest to smallest.
Notes:
[From LARGEST] —1. Sun, 2. Planets, 3. Moons, 4. Other small bodies: { asteroids, comets, meteors}—
[to SMALLEST]
Question: Answer the following questions which help to classify celestial bodies based on what materials
they are made of (physical properties/characteristics: shape, color, materials, parts).
What are the physical properties/characteristics do the Sun, Planets, Moons, Asteroids, Comets an Meteors
have?
Notes:
Celestial
Object
Sun
Planet
Moon
Asteroid
Comet
Shape
Size/Age
Color
Material
Circular
Medium sized
star. Not
particularly
young or old.
Reds and
Oranges
The Sun is
made up of
gas. It is
composed
of about
75%
hydrogen
and 25%
helium
Parts
Purpose/ Important
Facts
It is the source of heat
which sustains life on
Earth, and controls our
climate and weather.
It is the closest star to
Earth.
Our sun is 93,026,724
miles (149,680,000 km
or 1 Astronomical Unit)
from the Earth.
Circular
Circular
Irregularly shaped
bodies.
Small
Mixture of
non-volatile
grains and
frozen
gases.
Comets are
generally
believed to
be made of
material,
Coma
and Tail
They usually follow
highly elongated paths
around the Sun.
Most become visible,
even in telescopes, only
when they get near
enough to the Sun for
the Sun's radiation to
start subliming the
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originally in
the outer
part of the
solar
system, that
didn't get
incorporated
into the
planets
volatile gases, which in
turn blow away small
bits of the solid
material. These
materials expand into
an enormous escaping
atmosphere called the
coma, which becomes
far bigger than a planet,
and they are forced
back into long tails of
dust and gas by
radiation and charged
particles flowing from
the Sun.
Meteor
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Strand 6: Composition and Structure of the Universe and the
Motion of the Objects Within It!
GLE: 6.1.A.a: Classify celestial bodies in the solar system into categories based on their physical
properties:
i.
Sun
ii.
Moon
iii. Planets
iv.
Other small bodies:
a. Asteroids
b. Comets
c. Meteors
I. When classified on the physical property of size, the Sun is the largest and meteors are the smallest.
Largest
Smallest
Sun
Celestial
Object
Sun
Planets
Moon
Asteroids
Cometsn
Meteors
Shape
Size/Age
Color
Material
Circular
Medium sized
star. Not
particularly
young or old.
Reds and
Oranges
The Sun is
made up of gas.
It is composed
of about 75%
hydrogen and
25% helium
Parts
Purpose/
Important Facts
It is the source of
heat which
sustains life on
Earth, and
controls our
climate and
weather.
It is the closest
star to Earth.
Our sun is
93,026,724 miles
(149,680,000 km
or 1
Astronomical
Unit) from the
Earth.
Circular
Planet
Moon
Asteroid
Circular
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Comet
Irregularly
shaped
bodies.
Small
Mixture of non- Coma
volatile grains
and
and frozen
Tail
gases. Comets
are generally
believed to be
made of
material,
originally in the
outer part of the
solar system,
that didn't get
incorporated
into the planets
They usually
follow highly
elongated paths
around the Sun.
Most become
visible, even in
telescopes, only
when they get
near enough to
the Sun for the
Sun's radiation to
start subliming
the volatile gases,
which in turn
blow away small
bits of the solid
material. These
materials expand
into an enormous
escaping
atmosphere
called the coma,
which becomes
far bigger than a
planet, and they
are forced back
into long tails of
dust and gas by
radiation and
charged particles
flowing from the
Sun.
Meteor
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SUN = STARS
There are many types of stars/suns ranging from the very small and dense, to the very large and hot.
All have different properties as well and are categorized into four main groups:
1.
Dwarf stars are classified in four groups: red, yellow, white and brown
i.
ii.
iii.
dwarfs.
Red dwarfs are small, somewhat cool stars; yellow dwarfs are relatively small and not
very hot, like our sun. These stars are very common throughout our universe.
White dwarfs are small, very hot and very dense stars; their sizes are close to that of
Earth. White dwarfs are mainly composed of carbon and are the remnants of a Red Giant
that has
lost its outer layers during the final stages of its life.
Brown dwarfs are stars that do not have enough mass to continue nuclear fusion within
the core.
2. Giants-There are three main categories of giants: red, blue and super-giants.
i.
Red giant is a star that has expanded from its original size in the last stages of its life. They
become cooler and are usually orange in color.
ii.
Blue giants are also very large and very massive, but unlike red giants, they are very hot as
well.
iii.
Super-giants are extremely large stars, sometimes the size of our solar system. These stars
are rare in the universe and they die in the form of a cataclysmic explosion called a
supernova and result in the formation of a black hole.
3. Binary stars
4. Neutron stars.
There are many types of stars/suns ranging from the very small and dense, to the very large and hot.
All have different properties as well and are categorized into four main groups: dwarfs, giants,
binary stars and neutron stars. Dwarf stars are classified in four groups: red, yellow, white and brown
dwarfs. Red dwarfs are small, somewhat cool stars; yellow dwarfs are relatively small and not very hot,
like our sun. These stars are very common throughout our universe. White dwarfs are small, very hot
and very dense stars; their sizes are close to that of Earth. White dwarfs are mainly composed of carbon
and are the remnants of a Red Giant that has lost its outer layers during the final stages of its life. Brown
dwarfs are stars that do not have enough mass to continue nuclear fusion within the core.
There are three main categories of giants: red, blue and super-giants. A red giant is a star that has
expanded from its original size in the last stages of its life. They become cooler and are usually orange
in color. Blue giants are also very large and very massive, but unlike red giants, they are very hot as
well. Super-giants are extremely large stars, sometimes the size of our solar system. These stars are rare
in the universe and they die in the form of a cataclysmic explosion called a supernova and result in the
formation of a black hole
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Comets are basically
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packs of ice, made of water and gas, and dust orbiting stars at high speeds.
The comets in our solar system, such as Comet Halley, usually have very long orbits and spend
most of this time away from the sun. During these periods, comets appear to be just simple heaps
of rock, dust and ice traveling through the cosmos. But when a comet is traveling towards and
near the sun, it has several clear parts: the nucleus, coma, hydrogen cloud, dust tail and ion tail.
The nucleus is a mostly solid, stable core composed of ice, gas, dust and some other solids. The
coma is the part of the comet in which the water, carbon dioxide and other gases have sublimed,
or turned from a solid phase directly to a gaseous phase.
The Hydrogen cloud is a giant envelope of hydrogen gas surrounding the comet.
The dust tail is the very prominent feature of the comet that can be seen with the unaided eye.
This tail can often be millions of kilometers long and is made up of small sized dust particles
driven off the nucleus by the escaping gas. The ion tail is even longer than the dust tail, often as
much as 100 million kilometers in length. This tail is made of plasma and other effects created
by the comet's interaction with the solar wind.
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Asteroids are small, rocky celestial bodies.
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The most familiar group of asteroids to many is the Asteroid Belt, located between Mars and
Jupiter.
Most of these extraterrestrial rocks are small in size.
However, extremely large ones have been noted, such as the asteroid Ceres, which is
approximately 930 kilometers in diameter.
There are two other main groups of asteroids in our solar system.
One of these groups is called the Near Earth Asteroids. These rocks, while orbiting the sun, often
are in close proximity to the Earth and there have been some fears that possible collisions may
occur, but so far nothing on any great scale has taken place in the past decade or so.
The reason why most asteroids look so unique is due to the number of collisions they have
suffered.
There are three types of objects which sometimes resemble asteroids. These are the meteor,
meteorite, and meteoroid, each describing the phase of the objects life: moving in space,
through the atmosphere, and having struck a surface, respectfully.
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Meteor
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a small solid body known as a meteoroid that enters a planet's atmosphere from outer space and
is raised to incandescence by the friction resulting from its rapid motion.
Brilliant meteors, known as fireballs, occur singly and generally consist of a luminous head,
followed by a comet like train of light that may persist for several minutes; some, called bolides,
have been seen to explode with a sound like thunder.
Fainter meteors, called shooting or falling stars, usually occur singly and sporadically. At
intervals, however, hundreds of such meteors occur simultaneously and appear to emanate from
a fixed point. These swarms are called meteor showers and are named after the constellation in
which they seem to have their point of origin.
Most meteors are dissipated ( they are burned up) in flight and fall to the earth as dust; a meteor
that reaches the surface of the earth or another planet is called a meteorite.
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Planets-are round bodies in space that orbit stars.
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To be a planet, a body must be big enough to settle into a rounded shape from the inward pull of
its own gravitation.
A planet shines by reflecting light and not by releasing nuclear energy the way a star does.
Our solar system has eight major planets—Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus,
and Neptune—
and a number of small, dwarf planets, including Pluto, Eris, and Ceres.
A planet-like body that revolves around a larger planet is called a satellite or moon rather than a
planet.
Planets are distinct from asteroids and comets, smaller bodies that also orbit stars.
Eath’s Moon is the only natural satellite of Earth:
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It is the second brightest object in the sky after the Sun. Due to its size and composition, the
Moon is sometimes classified as a terrestrial "planet" along with Mercury, Venus, Earth and
Mars.
The gravitational forces between the Earth and the Moon cause some interesting effects. The
most obvious is the tides. The Moon's gravitational attraction is stronger on the side of the Earth
nearest to the Moon and weaker on the opposite side.
(Note: there is no "dark side" of the Moon; all parts of the Moon get sunlight half the time
(except for a few deep craters near the poles).
The Moon has no atmosphere. But evidence from Clementine suggested that there may be water
ice in some deep craters near the Moon's south pole which are permanently shaded.
The Moon shows progressively different phases as it moves along its orbit around Earth. Half the
Moon is always in sunlight, just as half of Earth has day while the other half has night. Thus,
there is no permanent “dark side of the Moon,” which is sometimes confused with the Moon’s
far side—the side that always faces away from Earth. The phases of the Moon depend on how
much of the sunlit half can be seen at any one time
The Moon is in the sky about 12 hours a day. At new moon it is in the sky during daylight hours,
rising just after dawn. At full moon it is visible throughout the night, rising at sunset.
The phases of the Moon occur because of the Moons position in the sky relative to Earth and the
Sun.
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