Vocab Solar System Part 1

Dwarf planet

• A celestial body that orbits the sun and has enough mass to assume a nearly round shape but has not cleared its orbital path of other debris.

• A large planet that has a strong gravitational pull and can clear its orbital path of other debris.

• A small celestial body that orbits a planet and is not massive enough to be considered a planet.

• A star that has not yet ignited nuclear fusion in its core.

Astronomical Unit (AU)

• The average distance between Earth and the Sun; used as a standard for measuring distances in the solar system

• A unit of measurement for the brightness of stars

• The distance light travels in one year

• A measure of the mass of celestial bodies

nebula (pl. nebulae)

• a cloud of interstellar gas and dust

• a type of star

• a planet in formation

• a black hole

terrestrial planets

• The planets that are composed primarily of silicate rocks or metals.

• The planets that are primarily made of gas and ice.

• The planets that have no solid surface and are mostly liquid.

• The planets that are located farthest from the sun.

parallax

• the apparent change in position of an object due to the change in position of the observer

• the optical illusion of an object moving when viewed from different angles

• the phenomenon where light bends when passing through different mediums

• the effect of gravity on the trajectory of a moving object

Kuiper Belt

• Region beyond Neptune; location of asteroids, comets and other unused debris during the formation of the solar system

• A belt of planets located between Mars and Jupiter

• The area around the Sun where most comets originate

• A region within the Milky Way galaxy where stars are formed

Planetesimal

• small icy bodies that formed in the outer solar system

• small rocky debris that accreted to form larger rocky clumps; led to the formation of the planets

• large gas giants that formed in the inner solar system

• massive celestial bodies that orbit stars

asteroid

• small rocky body that orbits the Sun between Mars and Jupiter

• large gaseous planet located beyond Neptune

• frozen mass of ice and dust that travels through space

• small rocky body that orbits the Sun between Mars and Jupiter or beyond the orbit of Neptune; leftover debris from the formation of the planets

Jovian planet

• planets with relatively small rocky or icy cores surrounded by swirling gaseous atmospheres

• planets that are primarily composed of rock and metal

• planets that have a solid surface and are smaller than Earth

• planets that orbit close to the sun and have high temperatures

planet

• orbits the Sun; nearly spherical in shape due to its large mass; has cleared its orbit of (most) debris

• is a large celestial body that does not orbit the Sun

• is a small rocky body that orbits a planet

• is a massive star that emits light and heat