Teacher Matthew 403: The Solar System

The Moon is a satellite, an object that moves in an orbit around a large object
The Sun has many satellites
Sun and all objects in it's orbit make up the solar system, the center is the sun

Planets-round objects in space that are satellites of the sun, 8 planets, smaller and cooler than stars, reflect the light of Sun
Planets circle the sun in an ellipse, flattened circle or oval
Gravity-attraction between objects
Inertia-object wants to keep moving in a straight line
Lenses-curved pieces of glass that are used to see far away
Telescopes-make far away objects seem closer
NASA-National Aeronautic and Space Administration, 1960's launched rockets that took astronauts into space

Mercury-closest to sun, very hot, little water and air, many craters, smallest rocky planet, no moon
Venus-second closest to sun, thick CO2 atmosphere does not allow heat to escape, very hot, volcanoes, no moon
Earth-oxygen, liquid water, atmosphere good for life, only planet with life
Mars-most like Earth, 2 moons, thin atmosphere, inactive volcanoes, frozen ice caps at poles
Gas giants-planets made mostly of gasses, not solid surfaces, mostly hydrogen and helium, may have rock or ice at core, have rings and many moons

Jupiter-largest planet, 63 moons, winds in atmosphere blow in opposite directions, giant "red storm" for 300 years
Saturn-2nd largest planet, large rings of ice and rock, 34 moons
Uranus-rotates on it's side, 27 moons, atmosphere gasses give unusual color
Neptune-winds of 2000km/hr, 13 moons, volcanoes
Dwarf Planets-small, rock and ice, cross orbits of other planets, pluto
Comet-mostly ice mixed with rocvk and dust, heats up quickly next to sun leaving a trail of gas and dust

Teacher Matthew 403