Solar System Vocabulary

Front

What is a constellation?

Back

A pattern of stars that form an imaginary picture or design in the sky.

Front

What natural body revolves around a planet?

Back

Moon

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS1-1

Front

What is a satellite?

Back

A man-made object or vehicle intended to orbit the Earth or the Moon.

Front

What is the solar system?

Back

A star and all the planets and other objects that revolve around it.

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS1-2

NGSS.MS-ESS1-3

Front

What is astronomy?

Back

The study of objects and matter outside of Earth's atmosphere.

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS1-2

NGSS.MS-ESS1-3

Front

What is a planet?

Back

A large celestial body that orbits a star.

Front

What is a comet?

Back

A small icy body that, when passing close to the Sun, heats up and begins to release gases, forming a glowing coma and sometimes a tail.

Front

What is an asteroid?

Back

A small rocky body that orbits the Sun, mostly found in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.

Front

What is a meteorite?

Back

A solid fragment of a meteoroid that survives its passage through the Earth's atmosphere and lands on the surface.

Front

What is the difference between a star and a planet?

Back

A star is a massive, luminous sphere of plasma, while a planet is a celestial body that orbits a star and does not produce its own light.