Download Solar System Study Guide

Solar System Study Guide
Solar System The sun, the eight planets and all the celestial
bodies (moons, asteroids, comets meteoroids) that orbit the
sun in its gravitational pull. The solar system is 4.6 billion years
old.
Geocentric The belief that the Earth was the center of the solar
system.
Heliocentric The belief that the sun is in the center of the solar
system.
Planet Celestial object that revolves around a star.
Asteroid A solid body that orbits the sun. (Minor planets or
planetoids.)
Asteroid Belt 90% of the asteroids are found orbiting in
between Mars and Jupiter.
Comet An icy body that releases gases or dust AKA dirty
snowballs. Comets travel around the sun in long, highly elliptical
orbits.
Meteoroid A sand to boulder size particle of rocky, metallic
(iron-nickel) debris in our solar system.
Meteor In Earth’s atmosphere AKA “shooting star”
Meteorite Right on Earth’s surface.
Gravity The attractive force that exists between every object in
the Universe. Gravity is stronger than natures other
fundamental forces, because it acts over great distances and
between all bodies of possessing mass. Gravity has played a
major part in shaping the Universe. It is also crucial in
determining orbits and creating phenomena such as planetary
rings and black holes. As mass increases, gravitational pull
increases. As distance increases, gravitational pull decreases.
Gravity is responsible for rings and the gas planets.
Terrestrial Planets
 Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars.
 Solid and rocky (iron/nickel core and silicate surface.)
 Low Mass
 Small Volume
 High Density
 State of Matter: Solid
 Atmosphere: Carbon dioxide, nitrogen, and oxygen. Little or
no atmosphere.
 Small and less moons. Few or no moons.
 No rings
Jovian Planets
 Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune.
 Gaseous (Hydrogen, Helium, Methane, Gas and rock core)
 High Mass
 Large Volume
 Low Mass
 State of Matter: Gas
 Atmosphere: Hydrogen, helium and methane. (Thick
atmosphere)
 Bigger and greater moons. Greater than 20 moons.
 Many rings
The solar system formed from a gigantic cloud of gas and
dust called the solar nebula. This cloud was seven times
bigger than the sun. It collapsed into a flat, spinning disk,
which had a hot, dense central region. This central part of the
disk became the Sun, while the planets and everything else
formed from the remaining material.