Solar System Fun Facts and Vocabulary ©2012HappyEdugator

Astronomer An astronomer is a scientist who spends time studying space. Astronomers study the make-up of the universe and the movements of the planets and the stars. More importantly, astronomers are searching for answers to big questions like: How did the universe begin? How did the stars begin to shine? How did the solar system form? How did the earth and the planets develop? Why are we here? Is there any other life in space? Another word or synonym for astronomer is stargazer. ©2012HappyEdugator

Telescope A telescope is a tool astronomers use to look into space to study the planets and the stars. The telescope was invented in 1608 in Holland by Hans Lipperhey. A few other inventors were at the same time coming up with the idea of putting concave and convex lenses together in a tube to magnify distant objects. It was Galileo, an Italian astronomer, who made the telescope famous when he turned a 20 powered instrument to the sky and discovered four moons circling Jupiter. Galileo’s telescope ©2012HappyEdugator

Observations Observations are records of what you see or witness. After the telescope was invented and used to study the night sky, astronomers began making observations of the stars and the planets that led to great discoveries. As bigger and more powerful telescopes were invented, astronomers were able to see farther and more clearly into space and learn more about the nature of the universe. ©2012HappyEdugator

Constellation In astronomy, a constellation is a group of stars visible from Earth that forms a distinctive pattern and has a name, often derived from Greek mythology, linked to its shape. There are 88 constellations and the groupings are historical rather than scientific. ©2012HappyEdugator

Solar System The solar system is the Sun and all the planets, satellites, asteroids, meteors, and comets that are subject to the sun’s gravitational pull and are in orbit around it. ©2012HappyEdugator

Orbit/Revolution Orbit is the path that an astronomical object such as a planet, moon, or satellite follows around a larger astronomical object such as the Sun. A revolution is a complete circle made around something, e.g. the orbit made by a planet or satellite around another body. ©2012HappyEdugator

The Terrestrial Planets The four planets closest to the sun and most similar to our own Earth are called the Terrestrial planets, and include Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars. ©2012HappyEdugator

Mercury Mercury is the closest planet to the sun. It has no moons. 1 day on Mercury is equal to 59 days on Earth. Mercury is similar in appearance to the moon. It has many craters covering its surface. ©2012HappyEdugator

Venus Venus is called Earth’s sister planet. It has many mountains and volcanoes. It has a gaseous atmosphere. 1 day on Venus equals 243 days on Earth. Venus rotates in the opposite direction of the other planets. Venus does not have any moons. ©2012HappyEdugator

Earth Earth’s surface is about 70 percent water. Earth is the only known planet to have life. 1 day on Earth equals 24 hours. Earth has 1 moon. ©2012HappyEdugator

Mars The surface of Mars is red rock and dust. This is why it is also called the “Red Planet.” Mars has two moons, Deimos and Phobos. Mars has a very thin atmosphere. Mars has the largest volcano in the solar system. 1 day on Mars equals 24 hours and 37 minutes on Earth. ©2012HappyEdugator

Asteroid Belt The asteroid belt is a region of the solar system located between Mars and Jupiter. It is made up of millions of pieces of rock. The largest of these, Ceres, is classified as a dwarf planet. ©2012HappyEdugator

The Gaseous Giants Jupiter Saturn Uranus Neptune The next four planets in the solar system are called the gaseous giants. ©2012HappyEdugator

Jupiter Jupiter’s the largest planet in our solar system. It has very faint rings. It has 50 moons that we know of. 1 day equals 9 hours and 55 minutes on Earth. The Great Red Spot just south of its equator is a giant storm in its atmosphere that has been going on for at least 300 years. Three earths could fit inside of it. ©2012HappyEdugator

Saturn Saturn is made up of frozen gases and liquids, mostly hydrogen and helium. Super fast winds in the atmosphere and rising heat cause the banded pattern on the surface. It is best known for its large rings, which are mostly made of water ice. It has 52 known moons. Titan, the largest, is bigger than the planet Mercury. 1 day is equal to 10 hours and 13 minutes.

Uranus Uranus is the seventh planet from the sun. It is named after the Greek god of the sky. It is similar in composition to Jupiter and Saturn, but has more ice. Uranus also has rings. Uranus has 27 moons. ©2012HappyEdugator

Neptune Neptune is the eighth and farthest planet from the sun. It is also the fourth largest. It is known as the Blue Giant. Neptune takes 165 years to orbit the sun. In 2011, it completed its first orbit since its discovery. Neptune is the last of the hydrogen helium gas giants. It is extremely cold and it is whipped by supersonic winds. Neptune has 13 known moons. Neptune is named for the Roman god of the sea. ©2012HappyEdugator

Pluto Pluto was discovered in Until recently, it was considered the outermost planet of the solar system, or the ninth planet. Pluto, however, is very small, and similar objects have since been found further out in the solar system, in an area called the Kuiper Belt. It is a large belt of rocks similar to the asteroid belt, which extends out from the orbit of Neptune. Scientists have now classified Pluto as a dwarf planet like Ceres, and it no longer is considered a true planet. ©2012HappyEdugator

Comets A comet is a small icy body that, when close to the Sun, shows a visible coma (a thin, fuzzy, atmosphere) and sometimes a tail follows it. There are two kinds of comets:  Short period comets may return in a few years, and probably come from the Kuiper Belt.  Long period comets have orbits that may take hundreds of thousands of years. Scientists believe they may come from the theoretical Oort Cloud on the extreme outer edge of the solar system, which is so far away it has not been actually observed to prove its existence. ©2012HappyEdugator