what are the four inner planets?. mercury, venus, earth, and mars

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 = landforms3. Water exists in all 3 states = essential to life

4. Magnetic field = protection against cosmic rays5. 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