Lesson 2: Objects in the Universe

 Massive, hot balls of super heated gas called plasma.

 Orbits the sun  Round  Dominates its orbit

 Orbits the sun  Round  Has not cleared it’s orbit

 Natural or artificial objects that revolve around larger objects like planets.  All planets except for Mercury and Venus have moons. Mars’ moon, Phobos

 A small object made of rock and ice that orbit the sun.  When a comet passes close enough to the sun, the solar radiation heats up the ice causing it to melt and form a gas in the form of a tail.

 Small, rocky object that orbits the sun.  Have irregular shapes (not round).  Most asteroids orbit the sun in the wide region between Mars and Jupiter – this is called the Asteroid Belt.

 Small, rocky object that orbits the sun  Smaller than an asteroid Meteorite – when the meteoroid enters the Earth’s atmosphere and strikes the ground. Meteor – the bright streak formed when a meteoroid or a comet burns up in the atmosphere.

 Solar System Sort