Our Solar System

Our Solar SystemMost of our Solar System is “empty” –

meaning it lacks __________Our Solar System is made up of:

The SunPlanetsMoonsAsteroidsCometsMeteoroids

mass

Solar SystemsThe term “solar system” refers to any star (or

group of stars) that has non-stars _____________ around it

Our Solar System is made up of the ______ and all other objects that orbit under its _________________ influence

orbiting

gravitationalSun

The SunOur Solar System revolves a large mass at

the center called ___________Our Sun is a medium-sized

___________________ star about 5 billion years old

The Sun is the __________________ center of our Solar System

It makes up about ____ percent of the mass of the whole Solar System

The SunMain Sequence

gravitational

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The SunThe Sun

produces its energy in its _________ through a process called Nuclear _________

core

Fusion

The PlanetsThere are ___ planets in our Solar System

The planets are the largest objects that orbit the Sun

Planets are generally ____________ in shape

There are two types of planets in our Solar System:1. ________________________2. ________________________

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spherical

Terrestrial PlanetsJovian Planets

Terrestrial PlanetsThe Terrestrial Planets are the planets that are

__________ to the Sun

They are mostly ______ with very high ___________

The Terrestrial Planets in our Solar System are:MercuryVenusEarthMar

These planets are the most like Earth out of all of the planets in the Solar System

closest

solid densities

Terrestrial Planets

Jovian PlanetsThe Jovian Planets are _____________ from the Sun

These planets are mostly ___________ but do have a solid core

They are extremely large in ______ but low in ___________

The Jovian Planets in our Solar System are:JupiterSaturnUranusNeptune

far away

gaseous

size density

Jovian Planets

AsteroidsDefinition:An asteroid is a solid rocky or __________ body

that independently orbits the Sun

Asteroids have an irregular shape, however they get more ___________ as they get larger

They do not have an ______________

metallic

spherical

atmosphere

AsteroidsMost asteroids are in orbits between Mars

and __________Jupiter

MoonsDefinition:A moon is a body that __________ a planet or

asteroid as those objects orbit the Sun

There are approximately _____ known moons

Moons can vary in size from larger than ___________ to only a few kilometers in diameter

orbits

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Mercury

MoonsMoons can vary greatly in their ______________Some moons have craters (like our moon),

volcanoes, ice, etc.

appearance

CometsDefinition:A comet is a solid composed mostly of _____

made from frozen water and methaneThey are usually covered in small pieces of

________ or metallic solidsMost comets are only 1 to 100 kilometers in

diameter

ice

rocky

CometsWhen comets

get near the Sun, some of their ices turn to ________

As theses gases are released they form spectacular _______ visible in the Earth’s sky

tails

gases

MeteoroidsDefinition:Meteoroids are very small solid fragments

that orbit the SunMost meteoroids are the size of a _______ or a

grain of sand

There is a difference between:MeteoroidsMeteorsand Meteorites

dime

MeteorsA meteoroid that is passing through the

Earth’s _______________ is called a METEOR

As they burn up, they leave a brief streak that we can see from Earth

atmosphere

MeteoriteIf a meteoroid survives its trip through

Earth’s atmosphere and lands on the _________________ it is called a METEORITE

Some meteorites have enough mass to create a _______________ in the Earth’s crust called an IMPACT CRATER

How would these impact craters be indicated on a topographic map?

Earth’s surface

depression

Impact Crater in AZ