What are the four inner planets?
Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars
What are the gaseous planets or what planets are called “gas giants”?
Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune
Which planets have rings?
Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune
One astronomical unit (AU) is the distance between…
Earth and Sun
Which is the largest? Solar system, universe, or galaxy?
Universe
What is the largest planet in our solar system?
Jupiter
What is the order of the planets from the sun?
Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune
Where is the asteroid belt located?
Between Mars and Jupiter
How long does it take the Earth to rotate once?
24 hours
What does Earth’s rotation on its axis give us?
day and night
What is the imaginary line that a planet spins around?
Axis
A light year is defined as…
The distance that light travels in one year
Who was the first person in space?
Yuri Gagarin (Russia)
How long does it take for the Earth to revolve around the sun?
1 year
What is the sun?
A star
How long does it take the moon to rotate once?
27 days
What scientist improved the telescope and used this telescope to see the moons of Jupiter?
Galileo
What astronomer was the “grandfather” of science, believed the Earth was in the center of the solar system, and said that we can logically study planets, animals, and people?
Aristotle
If there is a high tide at 2pm, when is the next high tide?
2am
Which two ancient astronomers believed the heliocentric theory of the solar system?
Copernicus and Galileo
Which planet takes the longest to revolve around the sun?
Neptune
What planet takes the shortest time to revolve around the sun?
Mercury
In what direction do all of the planets and the asteroid belt revolve around the sun?
Counter clockwise
What is the name of the famous comet that orbits clockwise around the sun every 76 years?
Halley’s comet
How far is Earth tilted?
23.5 degrees
Earth’s tilt causes what?
Seasons
What is caused primarily by the gravitational force between the Earth, Moon, and Sun?
Tides
What planet is the smallest?
Mercury
Why does the Moon orbit Earth?
The gravitational attraction between the Moon and the Earth
What layer of our atmosphere burns up most meteors?
Mesosphere
What layer of our atmosphere contains the ozone layer and protects us against most UV radiation from the sun?
Stratosphere
Why is Pluto a “dwarf planet”?
Because it cannot clear its own orbit
What happens to the distances between the planets going away from the sun?
The distances increase
If you live in the Northern Hemisphere and this hemisphere is tilted away from the sun, what season are you experiencing?
Winter
If you live in the Southern Hemisphere and this hemisphere is tilted away from the sun, what season are you experiencing?
Winter
What part of Earth receives the most direct sunlight?
The equator
What is a meteoroid that has entered Earth’s atmosphere called?
Meteor
What is frozen ball or ice, dust, and gases called?
Comet
What is the path that the planets travel called?
orbit
What is the rising and falling of the ocean water levels on the face of the Earth called?
Tides
What planets are 1 AU or less from the Sun?
Mercury, Venus, and Earth
Why did scientists develop new methods to measure distance in space?
Because distances in space are so large
When one celestial body moves into the shadow of another celestial body and is ether partially or totally obscured by it, this is called what?
Eclipse
How long does the moon take to revolve around Earth?
27 days
What is the movement of a planet in an elliptical orbit around the sun called?
Revolution
What happens to cause moon phases?
Moon’s revolution around Earth
During which phase does the Moon receive sunlight only on the side facing away from Earth?
New moon
What makes Earth the “Goldilocks” planet?
1. Perfect size = mass = gravity to keep us on the planet 2. Tectonic plates = landforms 3. Water exists in all 3 states = essential to life 4. Magnetic field = protection against cosmic rays 5. Only planet known to sustain life 6. Protective atmosphere = stratosphere (ozone layer); mesosphere (burn up meteors) 7. Perfect distance from sun = perfect temperature
What does “dark side of the moon” mean?
The side of the Moon that Earth doesn’t see
Why don’t we have eclipses every month?
Moon’s orbit is tilted at 5 degrees and not always lined up with Earth’s orbit
What would happen if the sun’s gravity suddenly stopped?
Earth would go flying out in a straight line
What are some characteristics that the inner planets share?
rocky, terrestrial, small, no rings, closer to the sun, before the asteroid belt, faster revolution,
What are some characteristics that the outer planets share?
gaseous, Jovian, large, rings, farther to the sun, after the asteroid belt, slower revolution, moons
What project was responsible for putting men on the moon?
Project Apollo: landed 12 humans on the moon between 1969 and 1972
What program sent the first Americans into space in 1961?
Mercury Program
What was launched in 1990 and produces images five times as sharp as those from any telescope on Earth?
Hubble Telescope
What probes used instruments to see through the thick clouds of Venus?
Pioneer Probes
What are the first useable spacecraft in use since 1981?
Space shuttles
What landed on Mars and sent back data about the planet’s soil and atmosphere?
Viking 1 and 2
What event launched modern space exploration in 1957?
Soviet launch of the satellite, Sputnik 1
What space probe sent back pictures of Jupiter, Saturn, and Neptune?
Voyager Space Probes