NAME: ______DATE: ______
Planets and Other Objects in Space
Study Guide
Please know the following vocabulary:
_____ 1. Star- Burning sphere of gases
_____2. Comet- Small mass of ice and dust that orbits the sun
_____ 3. telescope - Instrument used to observe a distant object
_____ 4. Axis- Imaginary line the Earth rotates around
_____ 5. Satellite- An object that moves around another
_____ 6. Planet- Large object that moves around a star
_____7. outer planets- Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune
_____ 8. solar system- Central star and the objects that move around it
_____ 9. space probe- Vehicle sent to explore space
_____ 10. gas giants- Large spheres made mostly of gases
_____ 11. Orbit- Path an object takes when revolving around another object
_____ 12. Asteroids- Objects that move between Mars and Jupiter
_____13. Rotation- Spinning movement of Earth
_____ 14. Phases- Changes in apparent shape of the moon
_____ 15. Revolution- Movement of Earth around the sun
_____ 16. inner planets- Planets between the asteroid belt and the sun
17. How are rings around planets formed ?
rock, ice crystals, and dust
18. What are orbits like for planets that are close to the sun?
orbit faster than the outer planets
19. What has a space probe found that could prove liquid water may have once existed on
Mars?
sedimentary rocks- which are formed by water.
20. What does Earth have that other planets do not?
liquid water
21. What is the source of almost all the energy in our solar system?
the sun
22. How long does the moon’s cycle of phases take to complete?
About 28 days
23. What causes Earth’s seasons?
The Earth’s revolution around the sun and the tilt of its axis
24. Why do we see phases of the moon?
As the moon revolves around the Earth, different amounts of sunlight is reflected on the moon. The lit part that we see is a moon phase.
25. What does Earth’s orbit look like?
An oval or elliptical path. (Like an egg.)