Space

Vocabulary Solar system Orbit planet Asteroid Comet Gravity Revolution Rotation

Vocabulary Solar system- is the sun and the objects that orbit around it. Orbit- is the path an object takes as it moves around another object in space. Planet- is a large body of rock or gas that orbits the sun. Gravity- the force of one object’s pull on another

Rotation Is the spinning of an object on its axis. Earth’s axis is an imaginary line that goes through the North Pole and the South Pole.

Revolution A revolution is the movement of one object around another object. For example the Earth makes one revolution around the sun every 365 ¼ days.

asteroid An asteroid is a chunk of rock or metal that orbits the sun There are thousands of asteroids in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.

Comet A comet is a large ball of ice and dust that orbits the sun. The orbit of a comet is shaped like a large, flat, oval

The Solar System All the planets orbit the sun The solar system has eight planets including Earth. Moons are large, rocky objects that orbit planets. Earth has one moon.

The Sun The sun is the center of the solar system The sun is a star, a hot ball of glowing gases. All the planets and moons in our solar system could fit inside the sun.

The Inner Planets The four planets closest to the sun are called the inner Mercury Venus Earth Mars The four inner planets all have rocky surfaces, they are warmer and they are smaller than the outer planets, None of them have more than two moons.

Mercury It’s the 1st planet from the sun In the daytime Mercury’s surface is hot enough to melt lead Its surface is rocky with many craters It has no moons

Venus It is the 2nd planet from the Sun Its surface is rocky with constant cover of thick clouds It rotates backward compared with most of the other planets

Earth Earth has a watery surface It has a lot of oxygen and also it has plant and animal life. It is the 3rd planet from the sun

Mars The 4th planet from the Sun Mars has a rocky surface with volcanoes, canyons, and red dust. Mars has the largest volcano in the solar system, Olympus Mons.

The Outer Planets The five planets farthest from the sun are called the outer planets. Jupiter Saturn Uranus Neptune Pluto The outer planets are mad up of frozen gases, they are colder and they are larger than the inner planets.

Jupiter Jupiter is the 5th planet from the sun Two Earths could fit inside Jupiter’s Great Red Spot. Jupiter has a huge hurricane like storm on its surface called the Great Red Spot. Jupiter does not have a solid surface it is just cold slushy gases It has 16 moons

Saturn Saturn is the 6th planet from the sun It has a large system of rings that reaches 260,000 miles from its surface Its surface is frozen gases It has 18 moons

Uranus Uranus is the 7th planet from the sun Uranus rolls on its side as it orbits the sun It has 15 moons And its surface is made up of frozen gases

Neptune Neptune is the farthest planet from the sun for 20 year periods when Pluto crosses it orbit It is the 8th planet from the sun It has 8 moons Its surface is made up of frozen gases

Questions 1.) What is a planet? 2.) List three ways the inner planets are alike. 3.) List three ways the outer planets are alike. 4.) How are asteroids and meteorites alike and how are they different? (create a Venn diagram)

Questions 1.) What is a revolution? 2.) when it is winter in the northern half of Earth, what season is it in the southern half? 3.) Why are many places warmer in summer than in winter? 4.) How would day and night be different if Earth did not rotate?

References http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=solar+system&FORM=IGRE1&adlt=strict#focal=36abca82baf827b22f5c277f99991792&furl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.laughtergenealogy.com%2Fbin%2Fspace%2Fsolar-system.jpg