Unit 5.1: Components of the Solar System

Front

What is a celestial body that orbits the sun, is round because of its own gravity, and has cleared the neighborhood around its orbital path?

Back

Planet

Front

What is a region of the solar system that starts just beyond the orbit of Neptune and contains dwarf planets and other small bodies made mostly of ice?

Back

Kuiper belt

Front

What is a small body of ice, rock, and cosmic dust that follows an elliptical orbit around the sun and gives off gas and dust in the form of a tail as it passes close to the sun?

Back

Comet

Front

Which modern scientific tool was crucial in identifying objects in the Kuiper belt and the Oort cloud?

Back

Detecting faint objects with an advanced telescope

Front

What is a celestial body that revolves around a body that is greater in mass than itself and is a natural satellite?

Back

Moon

Front

What is the name of the hypothetical region of space that is believed to surround the solar system and contains many icy bodies?

Back

Oort cloud

Front

What is the term for a small rocky body that orbits the sun, primarily found between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter?

Back

Asteroid

Front

What is the term for a natural satellite that orbits a planet?

Back

Moon

Front

What is the main difference between a planet and a dwarf planet?

Back

A dwarf planet has not cleared its orbital path of other debris.

Front

What is the primary component of a comet that allows it to form a tail when it approaches the sun?

Back

Ice and gas.