* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
Download Solar System - Doral Academy Preparatory
Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems wikipedia , lookup
Advanced Composition Explorer wikipedia , lookup
Tropical year wikipedia , lookup
Rare Earth hypothesis wikipedia , lookup
Astrobiology wikipedia , lookup
Impact event wikipedia , lookup
Aquarius (constellation) wikipedia , lookup
Astronomical unit wikipedia , lookup
Asteroid impact avoidance wikipedia , lookup
Sample-return mission wikipedia , lookup
Planets in astrology wikipedia , lookup
Directed panspermia wikipedia , lookup
Planets beyond Neptune wikipedia , lookup
Extraterrestrial life wikipedia , lookup
History of Solar System formation and evolution hypotheses wikipedia , lookup
Comparative planetary science wikipedia , lookup
Satellite system (astronomy) wikipedia , lookup
Planetary habitability wikipedia , lookup
Astronomical naming conventions wikipedia , lookup
Dwarf planet wikipedia , lookup
Definition of planet wikipedia , lookup
IAU definition of planet wikipedia , lookup
Formation and evolution of the Solar System wikipedia , lookup
Smaller Objects in the Solar System Scientists classify small objects in the Solar System by size, shape, composition and orbits. Types of Small Objects in the Solar System Dwarf planet Comet Asteroid Meteoroids Dwarf Planets orbit the Sun have enough gravity to pull themselves into spheres BUT have other objects in the path of their orbit. Comets Clumps of ice, dust and small rocky particles whose orbits can be very long, narrow ellipses. Most comets originate in the Oort Cloud! The Oort Cloud surrounds the entire Solar System. It extends to the limits of the Sun’s gravity… 5,000 to 100,000 AU !! (Remember, the distance from the Sun to Pluto is 40 AU) A Comet’s Orbit Asteroids • • • • • Irregular shaped (not spheres) Rocky Orbit the Sun Too small to be planets Believed to be leftover pieces from the birth of the Solar System that never merged into planets. The asteroid belt is between the orbits of MARS and JUPITER Meteoroids, Meteors and Meteorites Shooting Star Song Meteors A meteoroid that has entered Earth’s atmosphere. Meteoroids Chunks of rock or dust smaller than asteroids. Friction with the air creates heat and light. They usually burn up in mesosphere. * sometimes called a shooting star Meteorites Larger meteors that do not burn in the atmosphere and hit the surface of the Earth. Dwarf planet Asteroid Meteoroid Comet Asteroids and meteoroids because they are made of similar materials.