Big Bang theory Parts of our solar system Planet characteristics Galaxies Constellations Nebulas

Questions? Where did our universe come from? Why did it appear?  A theory about the origins of our universe (where planets, stars, moons all began)  Occurred about 10 billion and 20 billion years ago  Cataclysmic explosion of a small volume of matter at extremely high density and temperature formed the universe we know of  The expansion of atoms cooling and heating resulted in our universe being formed (a supernova exploded)

 Inside our universe we find our solar system.  Our solar system consists of astronomical objects that are bounded by gravity.  This includes: sun, planets, stars, moons, dwarf planets, comets, asteroids, inter-planetary dust.

 A planet is an object that orbits (moves) around a star(sun) and does not make its own energy. There are 8 planets in our solar system.  Terrestrial (rock or solid) Planets:  Inner solid planets that look like Earth-contain rocks  Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars  Inside the asteroid belt

 Asteroid Belt: region that contains asteroids (rocks) between Mars and Jupiter.  Jovian (Gaseous) Planets:  Larger outer planets composed of hydrogen gas  Outside of the asteroid belt  Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune

 Moons:  A moon is any natural satellite that orbits a planet.  Found near planets  Earth’s moon helps the ocean tides  Mercury and Venus do not have moons.  Comets: Made of dust and rocky material mixed with frozen gas and water.  Dwarf: small stars

 The “Big Rang” is the theory that suggests how our universe formed.  Gaseous planets are planets that contain oxygen gas.  Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars are terrestrial planets.  The asteroid belt is located between Earth and Mars.  Earth only has one moon that helps give us ocean tides.

 Sun: is the star at the center of the Solar System  Created by a collision of hydrogen and helium atoms  All planets orbit at different speeds around the sun  Supplies energy  Supports all life on Earth  Moves counterclockwise  Stars: a ball of plasma. A star begins as a cloud made of gas (hydrogen and helium atoms)

 Mercury: super-heated during day, freezing temperatures at night; dusty surface with craters; looks like our moon, no atmosphere; one day=59 Earth days long  Venus: intense heat and volcanic activity; thick toxic atmosphere (yellow clouds); tall mountains, deep valleys; strong winds; one day=243 Earth days long  Earth: air, water, land and life; a planet that is still evolving; one day=24 hours long  Mars: a dry desert world; ice caps at poles, iron for soil, storms, no atmosphere, very cold; one day=24.5 Earth hours long

 Jupiter: largest planet, intense magnetic field; swirling wind and different moons; one day=10 Earth hours  Saturn: concentric rings made up of ice and rock; one day=10.5 Earth hours  Uranus: only planet tipped on its side; may have hit a planet similar in size to Earth; thin rings, blue green, one-day=17 Earth hours  Neptune: very cold due to distance from sun; high winds with many storms, large blue green ball of gas, covered in clouds.

 Asteroid (s): small building blocks for planets that existed when the solar system was forming (remnants of the suns solar nebula); considered minor planets  Meteoroid (s):  A small or big rock moving throughout space  Meteor (s):  When meteoroid/asteroid enters Earth’s atmosphere and becomes visible to the naked eye.  Called a "shooting star" or "falling star”.  On reaching the ground, called a meteorite. Many meteors are part of a meteor shower.

1. The sun is a source of energy for all life on Earth. 2. Mercury looks like our moon and has an atmosphere. 3. Planet Venus has a thick toxic atmosphere. 4. Earth completes one revolution around the sun in 365 days. 5. Mars has volcanoes at each of its poles. 6. Jupiter is one of the smallest planets in our solar system. 7. Saturn has rings made up of ice and rock. 8. Uranus has thin rings and is the only planet tipped on its side. 9. Neptune is characterized by hot temperatures and volcanoes. 10. A falling star is also called an asteroid.

 Galaxies: a massive system consisting of stars, dust, gas and dark matter.  Milky way, star systems, Interstellar clouds The Milky Way

 Constellations: are groups of stars that appear to form shapes in the sky.

Nebulas:  a large cloud of gas, dust and plasma  seen in the dark night sky as bright colors  created by both formation and destruction of stars  may hold the key to the creation of our universe

 Rotation: A single turn of something around an axis or a point. Earth rotates counterclockwise (to the left)  Ie. motion of a wheel  Tilt: position of an object on its side (slanted) ie Earth has a tilt of 23.5 degrees  Revolution: one complete circular movement made by something round. (Ie. Earth, a basketball, wheel)  Orbit: a single revolution of a planet, moon or satellite around a larger celestial body such as the sun. ature=related