Solar System Vocabulary

Front

Rocks floating around in space. Some are the size of a pick-up truck. Others are hundreds of miles across.

Back

Asteroid

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS1-2

NGSS.MS-ESS1-3

Front

Round objects orbiting the sun, unable to clear their path. Smaller than planets, like Pluto.

Back

Dwarf planet

Front

A planet that orbits a star outside our solar system or floats freely between stars.

Back

Exoplanet

Front

A loose collection of atoms moving around each other.

Back

Gas

Tags

NGSS.MS-PS1-4

NGSS.MS-PS3-4

Front

A force that pulls matter together.

Back

Gravity

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS1-2

NGSS.MS-PS2-4

NGSS.MS-PS2-5

Front

A donut-shaped ring of icy objects beyond Neptune's orbit, including Pluto.

Back

Kuiper Belt

Front

The distance light travels in one year, about 5.88 trillion miles.

Back

Light year

Front

The substance everything is made of, from atoms to planets.

Back

Matter

Tags

NGSS.MS-PS1-4

NGSS.MS-PS1-5

Front

The smallest planet and closest planet to the Sun. This planet is about 1/3rd the size of Earth.

Back

Mercury

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS1-3

Front

The hottest planet, due to its CO2 atmosphere, and second closest planet to the sun. This planet is about the same size as earth.

Back

Venus