Moons, Comets, Meteors, and Asteroids 8 th Grade Earth and Space Science Megan Seivert, ©2015 Pre-Lesson Worksheet can be found HERE HERE All images from National Aeronautics and Space Administration

 A satellite is a moon, planet or machine that orbits a planet or star. There are both artificial satellites that we create and launch into orbit and also natural satellites like the Earth (orbiting the Sun) and Moon (Orbiting the Earth). Satellites To learn even more about satellites, click this photo

 A moon is a natural satellite that can come in many shapes, sizes and types. They are generally solid and very few have atmospheres. Moons Assignment: Click on the picture and read the document posted by NASA about the different moons of our solar system. Pay special attention to the discussion of Pluto and its moons and look at the significant dates. Then write down something interesting that you didn’t know before reading the article. I will walk around and check them for completion as you work.

Jupiter’s Galilean Satellites (four largest moons): Io is the most volcanically active body in the solar system with a surface covered in different forms of sulfur. Ganymede is the largest moon in the solar system (bigger that Mercury) and is the only moon known to have it’s own internally generated magnetic field. Callisto has a heavily cratered and ancient surface that shows a visible record of events from the early history of the solar system. However, there are signs of surface activity. Europa has a surface of mostly ice water and there is evidence that it covers an ocean of water or slushy ice. This is interesting because of it’s potential as a “habitable zone”. Some Important Moons Our Moon: This natural satellite is special because of how it helps stabilize the wobble in Earth’s tilt. It is also the reason for the tides of our oceans.

 Saturn’s Titan is the second largest moon in the solar system. This moon is known for it’s dense earth- like atmosphere and flowing lakes, seas and rivers on its surface. Of course the liquid is methane and ethane instead of water.  Saturn’s Iapetus is a two-toned moon with one hemisphere as black as coal and the opposite side is as bright as snow.  Neptune’s Nereid travels in the most eccentric orbit of any moon in the solar system. A few more interesting moons

 Comets are cosmic “snowballs” of frozen gases, rock, and dust roughly the size of a small town. When a comet’s orbit brings it close to the sun, it heats up and spews dust and gas into a giant glowing head, which then forms a tail that stretches away from the sun for millions of kilometers. Comets What does a passing comet sound like? Click here to find out!

Meteoroids are little chunks of rock and debris in space. These become Meteors – Shooting Stars – when they burn up in an atmosphere, leaving a bright trail. Meteorites are pieces that survive the atmosphere and hit the ground Meteoroids, Meteors, and Meteorites

 Asteroids, sometimes called minor planets, are remnants left over from the early formation of our solar system about 4.6 billion years ago. They’re solid, rocky, and irregular bodies with no atmosphere that are too small to be planets. Asteroids

 Most asteroids can be found orbiting the sun in a huge disk between Mars and Jupiter within the main asteroid belt. Asteroid Belt Go to this link to find out more about our Asteroid Belt and how it evolved

 National Aeronautics and Space Administration, United States Government (June 2015). “Images”. Retrieved June  Ibid. (June 2015). Solar System Exploration: Planets Retrieved June 2015 from:  Ibid. (June 2015). NASA Education: What is a Satellite. Retrieved June 2015 from: 8/features/what-is-a-satellite-58.html#.VXc_9mNOV8E 8/features/what-is-a-satellite-58.html#.VXc_9mNOV8Ehttp:// 8/features/what-is-a-satellite-58.html#.VXc_9mNOV8E  Ibid. (June 2015). Hubble Space Telescope: Asteroid Belts of Just the Right Size are Friendly to Life. Retrieved June 2015 from sized-belts.html sized-belts.html sized-belts.htmlCredits