Unit 3: The Solar System ESS Vocab.

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Asteroid

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A small, rocky body, which can range in size from a few hundred kilometers to less than a kilometer; mainly found between Mars and Jupiter.

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Planetesimal

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Colliding matter formed small irregularly shaped bodies.

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Jovian Planet

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The Jupiter-like planets: Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune; these planets have relatively low densities and are huge gas giants.

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Dwarf Planet

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A round object that orbits the sun but has not cleared the neighborhood around its orbit.

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Comet

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A small body made of rocky and metallic pieces held together by frozen gases; generally revolve about the sun in an elongated orbit.

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Terrestrial Planet

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Rocky planets that are closer to the sun, including Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars.

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Nebula

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A giant cloud of dust and gas in space, often the birthplace of stars.

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Meteor

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A small body from space that enters the Earth's atmosphere and burns up, creating a bright streak of light.

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Meteoroid

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A small rocky or metallic body in outer space, smaller than an asteroid.

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Exoplanet

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A planet that orbits a star outside our solar system.