Objects in Space There are many things in space other than planets and stars. The universe is incredibly huge, so there are billions of smaller objects. Some are small, like our human-made space station. Some are larger, like moons and dwarf planets. Lets explore some of these common objects found all over our galaxy.
Asteroids Most asteroids are covered in dust. An asteroid is a small rocky body that orbits the sun. Most asteroids are covered in dust. An asteroid may have killed the dinosaurs causing debris to be thrown in to the air. That changed the climate on Earth. Asteroids are also known as planetoids.
Stars http://www.kidsastronomy.com/stars.htm Are formed initially from gas and dust and are composed mainly of the hydrogen gas. Are very hot and give off huge amounts of energy in the form of heat and light. Our Sun is a medium sized star. Have a life-span of about 10 billion years, after which they will cease to exist. Are very far away from Earth. The closest Star is about 23.5 trillion miles away. Go through many stages in their lifetime. Some of the names for these stages are Red Giant, Planetary Nebulae, White Dwarf, Neutron and even Black Holes.
Galaxies composed of gas, dust, and at least 100 billion stars http://www.kidsastronomy.com/galaxys.htm composed of gas, dust, and at least 100 billion stars Earth is inside the Milky Way Galaxy which is a spiral galaxy Spiral galaxy Elliptical Galaxy Irregular Galaxy
Moons/natural satellites Celestial body that orbits around a planet or smaller body There are 174 natural moons in the solar system. Mercury and Venus have no moons that orbit them.
Comets http://www.kidsastronomy.com/comets.htm Comets are in orbit around the Sun as are our planets. Comets are composed of ice, dust, and rocky debris carried from the early formation of the solar system about 4.5 billion years ago. If the comet is traveling towards the sun, the tail will be behind it and in front of it if it is traveling away from the sun. Comet orbits are elliptical. It brings them close to the sun and takes them far away. Comets have three parts: the nucleus, the coma and the tails.
Meteors, Meteoroids, and Meteorites Tektites Many meteors appearing seconds or minutes apart are called a meteor shower. A meteoroid is a sand- to boulder-sized particle of debris in the Solar System. If a meteoroid reaches the ground and survives impact, then it is called a meteorite. Meteoroids range in size from a particle of dust to 10 meters in diameter.
Dwarf Planets A dwarf planet is a celestial body orbiting the Sun that is massive enough to be spherical as a result of its own gravity but has not cleared its neighboring region of planets and is not a satellite. There are five recognized dwarf planets—Ceres, Pluto, Haumea, Makemake, and Eris. It is suspected that at least another 40 known objects in the Solar System are dwarf planets.
Planets Smallest/rocky planets: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars Giant/gas planets: Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune
Space Stations The International Space Station is humans attempt to live and work in space. Many countries are involved in the building of this space laboratory orbiting the Earth.