Unit 5 Solar System

Unit 5 Solar System Key terms

78. Atmosphere - the envelope of gases surrounding the earth or another planet.

79. Solar system – a sun, its associated planets, asteroids, meteoroids, moons, dwarf planets, and comets that are captured in its orbit. These celestial bodies are trapped in a constant orbit around the Sun by its strong gravitational pull.

80. Comet - a celestial object consisting of a nucleus of ice and dust and, when near the sun, a “tail” of gas and dust particles pointing away from the sun.

81. Asteroid - a small rocky body orbiting the sun. Large numbers of these, ranging in size from nearly 600 miles (1,000 km) across (Ceres) to dust particles, are found (as the asteroid belt ) esp. between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter, though some have more eccentric orbits, and a few pass close to the earth or enter the atmosphere as meteors.

82. Meteoroid - is a small rocky or metallic body traveling through space. Meteoroids are significantly smaller than asteroids, and range in size from small grains to 1 meter-wide objects.[1][2][3][4] Most are fragments from comets or asteroids, while others are collision impact debris ejected from bodies such as the Moon or Mars.

83. Gravitational pull - Gravitation, or gravity, is a natural phenomenon by which all physical bodies attract each other. Cover page - Decorate with moons, stars planets etc Unit 5 Life in Our Solar System

Next front page after cover page – large and in marker

A solar system consists of a sun (central star) and its associated planets, asteroids, meteoroids, moons, dwarf planets, and comets that are captured in its orbit. These celestial bodies are trapped in a constant orbit around the sun by its strong gravitational pull