Astr Solar System Review Sheet

1 Name _____________________ Solar System Review Sheet Our Solar System  A solar system is a _____________ and all of the objects that travel around it.  A _____________ is a huge ball of glowing gas that gives off light and heat. Therefore, the _____________ is the star in our solar system.  A ______________ is a smaller object that travels around a _______________ object. _________________ is the force that keeps each planet in its path around the sun.  Satellites of our sun are: _____________, ______________, ______________, ________________, and _________________.  The path a planet takes around the sun is its ______________. It’s not an exact circle. The orbit of the planets is oval-shaped, or an ________________.  If you include Pluto, there are ____ major planets in our solar system.  To remember the order of the planets, use the mnemonic device from class: My Very Educated Monkey Just Served Us Nachos! Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune  All of the gases that surround a planet are its _____________________. Characteristic Material Diameter Length of orbit/year Rotation speed Number of rings Number of moons 4 Inner Planets (____________, _________, ___________, ___________) rocky with craters 4 Outer Planets (___________, __________, ___________, ___________) larger shorter faster none many  Because of the tremendous size of our solar system, scale models help us show the relative ____________ or _______________ of the planets. 2 Movement of the Earth  The earth moves in two ways: 1) The earth _________________ around the sun. The path that the planet takes as it revolves is the planet’s _____________. One revolution around the sun is called a ______________. 2) The earth _______________, or spins, on its axis. An axis is an ________________ line through the center of a planet. One rotation of the earth is called a ____________. Therefore, we have day and night because the earth rotates on its axis.  A year on another planet may be longer or shorter than on earth because the planet’s orbit may be ________________ or ______________ than earth’s orbit. Seasons on Earth  The northern part of the earth’s _____________ always points toward the ____________ ____________, also known as _______________.  This causes the earth to ___________ on its axis. Because of this tilt, we have ________________.  It is summer when your hemisphere is pointing ______________ the sun and we receive _________________ sunlight. Direct light from the sun is ______________ and stronger. There are also ____________ hours of daylight than night during the summer, causing the temperature to be warmer.  It is winter when your hemisphere is pointing ____________ from the sun and we receive _________________ sunlight. Indirect light from the sun is _______________ and more spread out. There are _____________ hours of daylight than night during the winter, causing the temperature to be cooler.  The northern and southern hemisphere have ______________ seasons: Season in the Northern Hemisphere spring _______________ fall _______________ Season in the Southern Hemisphere ______________ winter ______________ summer  Seasons are NOT caused by how close the earth is to the sun. We know this because the earth is closest to the sun during ________________ in the northern hemisphere! 3  The ___________ ____________ is the first day of spring that occurs in March when the hours of daylight are equal to the hours of night time.  The ____________ ______________ is the first day of summer that occurs in June and is the longest day of the year.  The _____________ _____________ is the first day of fall that occurs in September when the hours of daylight are equal to the hours of night time.  The _______________ _____________ is the first day of winter that occurs in December and is the shortest day of the year. Our Moon  Earth has ________ moon that revolves around us.  It formed about the ___________ time as the earth.  Its surface has _____________ changed in the past 3 billion years because there is no wind or water, so there is no erosion.  Asteroids have hit the surface of the moon causing ______________.  The moon causes _______________ on earth – 2 high tides and 2 low tides each day.  The sun always lights up ____________ of the moon. We see the moon’s phases because we see ________________ amounts of the moon’s ________ surface.  Here are the 8 phases of the moon: _______ _______ ________ ________ _______ _______ _______ ________ ________ _________ _________ _______ _______ ________ ________ ________ _______ _______  A ___________ eclipse is when the moon moves between the earth and the sun, causing a shadow to fall on the earth.  A ___________ eclipse is when the earth moves between the sun and the moon, causing a shadow to fall on the moon. 4 The Solar System’s Rubbish  There are millions of other objects in the solar system other than planets and moons.  ______________ are pieces of rock that orbit the sun. Most of them are in the ______________ __________ between Mars and Jupiter.  A ____________ is a frozen chunk of dust, ice, and gases that revolves around the sun and has a glowing tail of melting ice. The tail points _________ from the sun.  A ________________ is a chunk of rock moving towards earth. As the chunk of rock shoots through the earth’s atmosphere, _________________ causes it to heat up and burn and it becomes a _______________. A meteor is another name for a shooting star! If the chunk of rock is large enough, it may not burn up completely. If it hits the earth’s surface, it is called a ___________________.  Draw a picture of the meteoroid - - meteor - - meteorite process:  If one of these space objects hits a planet, a bowl-shaped hole known as a _______________ forms.