Please study these famous astronomers and solar system information for a test on Friday, March 3.

Where are we? Our Solar System

Our solar system is located in the outer reaches of the Milky Way Galaxy, which is a spiral galaxy. The Milky Way Galaxy contains roughly 200 billion stars. Most of these stars are not visible from Earth. - Zoom Astronomy

Mr. Trent’s Homeroom

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The sun is an average sized star.

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It is about 4.6 billion years old.

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In about 5 billion years, our sun will begin to “die”.

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The Planets

The Inner Planets

The Outer Planets

ALL planets have the following characteristics: •

Our Star: The Sun

it orbits the sun it is large enough for gravity to form it into a ball it is the largest object in its orbit

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Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars

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Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune

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Characteristics of the inner planets:

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Characteristics of the inner planets:

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rocky surface (terrestrial)

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made of gas (gas giants)

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short revolution around the sun

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longer revolution around the sun

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rotate slowly on axis

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rotate quickly on axis

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small in size

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large in size

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few or no moons

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many moons, rings

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warmer average temperatures

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colder average temperatures

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Other Objects in our Solar System •

meteoroid- a relatively small, rocky body that travels through space.

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meteor- a meteoroid that enters the Earth’s atmosphere and burns up before hitting the surface. “Shooting Star”

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meteorite- a meteoroid that is large enough to enter the Earth’s atmosphere, pass through the atmosphere before burning up, and hit the Earth’s surface.

Other Objects in our Solar System - Continued •

Asteroid- a large piece of rock and metal mostly found in a belts between Mars and Jupiter & beyond Jupiter.

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Other Objects in our Solar System - Continued •

Comet- a small body of ice, rock, and cosmic dust that follows an elliptical orbit around the sun and gives off gas and dust in the form of a tail as it passes close to the sun.

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Our Solar System Vocabulary Please study the following vocabulary words for a quiz Friday, February 24. Meteors- a piece of rock and metal that burns up as it enters Earth’s atmosphere (often called a “shooting star”). Meteorite- a meteor that is large enough to pass through the atmosphere and hit the Earth’s surface before it is completely burnt up. Asteroid- large pieces of rock and metal mostly found in a belt between Mars and Jupiter. Meteoroid- a relatively small, rocky body that travels through space. Comet-a small body of ice, rock, and cosmic dust that follows an elliptical orbit around the sun and that gives off gas and dust in the form of a tail as it passes close to the sun. Nebula- a large cloud of gas and dust in interstellar space; a region where stars are born. Supernova- a gigantic explosion in which a massive star collapses and throws it outer layers into space. Galaxy- a collection of stars, dust, and gas bound together by gravity.