Celestial Objects – Flashcards
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Celestial Objects
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Objects such as planets, moons, and stars that are located in the sky or in space.
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System
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A group of interacting or interdependent parts forming a complex whole; for example, all the factors or variables in an environment or all the planetary bodies revolving around a star.
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Solar System
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The Sun together with the group of planets and other celestial bodies that are held by its gravitational attraction and revolve around it.
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Gravity
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The force of attraction that pulls objects toward each other; the force that controls the motion of our solar system.
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Orbital Path
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A curved path traveled by a satellite as it revolves around an object in space.
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Sun
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The luminous celestial body around which Earth and other planets revolve and from which they receive heat and light.
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Star
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A ball of gas in space that produces its own light and heat.
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Planet
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Any of the large celestial bodies that revolve around the Sun in the solar system
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Inner Plate
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Any of the rocky, terrestrial planets of Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars, whose orbits are inside the asteroid belt.
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Rocky
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Made of rocks.
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Terrestrial
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Earth-like.
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Outer Planet
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Any of the planets Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune, whose orbits lie beyond the asteroid belt.
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Asteroids
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Large and small rocks or metallic masses orbiting the Sun; made up of materials similar to those that formed the planets.
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Asteroid Belt
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The region between the inner and outer planets where most asteroids orbit around the Sun.
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Meteoroid
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A natural chunk of rock or dust existing outside of Earth's atmosphere.
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Meteor
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Small meteoroid that burns upon entry into Earth's atmosphere.
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Meteorites
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Remains of meteoroids that strike the surface of Earth or the Moon.
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Satellite
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Something that orbits around another object; for example, a moon orbiting a planet or a human-made object orbiting Earth.
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Moon
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A celestial body that revolves around a planet.
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Galilean Moons
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The four largest and brightest moons of Jupiter, which were discovered by Galileo Galilei: Ganymede, Io, Callisto, and Europa.
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Comet
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A celestial body of ice, dust, and rock with an elongated and elliptical orbit.
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Coma
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Glowing, heated dust and vaporized gas that surrounds the icy comet nucleus as it travels near the Sun; solar winds cause heated gases to stream out of the nucleus, forming a tail, which points away from the Sun.
