Other Solar System Objects / Study Guide

Other Solar System Objects / Study Guide

Most of the smaller objects in the solar system are found in three different regions: the asteroid belt, the Kuiper Belt, and the Oort Cloud. The asteroid belt is an area between Mars and Jupiter. Most asteroids, as well as one dwarf planet, are located in the asteroid belt.

The Kuiper Belt is an area beyond the orbit of Neptune. Most dwarf planets are found in the Kuiper Belt. The Oort Cloud is the region that surrounds the solar system. It extends from beyond the Kuiper Belt halfway to the next nearest star. Most comets originate in the Kuiper Belt and Oort Cloud.

Multiple Choice

The _____ is an area between Mars and Jupiter.

• Milky Way Galaxy

• Oort Cloud

• Kuiper Belt

• asteroid belt

Multiple Choice

The _____ is an area beyond the orbit of Neptune where most dwarf planets are found.

• Milky Way Galaxy

• Oort Cloud

• Kuiper Belt

• asteroid belt

Multiple Choice

The _____ is the region that surrounds the solar system and extends halfway to the next nearest star.

• Milky Way Galaxy

• Oort Cloud

• Kuiper Belt

• asteroid belt

Like a planet, a dwarf planet is a spherical object that orbits the Sun. However, a dwarf planet does not have enough mass to clear other celestial bodies out of its orbit. For example, the dwarf planet Eris shares its orbital path with Neptune and Pluto. Therefore, it is not in the same category as a planet. A dwarf planet is a spherical object that orbits the Sun and does not clear the area of its orbit.

There are five dwarf planets that have been identified in our solar system. They include Pluto, Ceres, Makemake, Haumea, and Eris. All of the dwarf planets are made out of ice and rock, and all have masses smaller than Earth's Moon. Despite their small size, dwarf planets can have moons. For example, Pluto has five moons. All of the dwarf planets except for Ceres are located in the Kuiper Belt. Ceres is located in the asteroid belt.

Pluto was classified as a planet until 2006, when it was reclassified as a dwarf planet. In 2015, a spacecraft approached Pluto and took detailed images of it. These new images are helping astronomers to further study and understand dwarf planets.

Multiple Choice

Which of these features are unique to a Planet, as compared to a Dwarf Planet

• spherical

• clears the area of its orbit

• orbits the sun

• does not clear the area of its orbit

Multiple Choice

Most dwarf planets in the solar system are located in the _________.

• Dwarf Galaxy

• asteroid belt

• Kuiper Belt

• meteoroid belt

• Oort Cloud

Multiple Choice

All dwarf planets are smaller than Earth's moon.

Multiple Choice

A dwarf planet is not considered a planet because people cannot live on it.

Multiple Choice

Dwarf planets orbit other planets.

Multiple Choice

Dwarf planets can have moons.

Multiple Choice

Pluto is a dwarf moon.

A comet is an object is an object consisting of mostly ice and dust that usually orbits a star in a long, narrow, elliptical path. Most comets in our solar system originate from either the Oort or the Kuiper Belt. Learn about the four main parts of a comet as labeled at right.

#1 / Nucleus - The nucleus of the comet is the solid, inner core made of ice and rock.

#2 / Coma - If comets get close to the Sun, the heat will cause the ice inside of the nucleus to change to gas. Gas and dust form in layers around the nucleus and create a coma. The coma is a spherical cloud of gas and dust that extends out from the nucleus.

#3 / Gas Tail - Comets have two tails that can point in different directions. The gas tail always points away from the Sun because particles from the Sun push the gas outwards. Comet tails become longer as they get closer to the Sun and more ice turns to gas.

#4 / Dust Tail - The dust tail of the comet points along the path the comet has taken and is often curved.

Multiple Choice

The ______ of the comet is the solid, inner core made of ice and rock.

• dust tail

• nucleus

• oort tail

• coma

• gas tail

Multiple Choice

The ______ is the spherical cloud of gas and dust that extends off of the nucleus.

• dust tail

• nucleus

• oort tail

• coma

• gas tail

Multiple Choice

The ______ always points away from the Sun.

• dust tail

• nucleus

• oort tail

• coma

• gas tail

Multiple Choice

The ______ of the comet points along the path the comet has taken and is often curved.

• dust tail

• nucleus

• oort tail

• coma

• gas tail

Multiple Choice

Comets orbit the Earth.

Asteroids

If all of the asteroids in our solar system were combined together, they would still be smaller than Earth's Moon! An asteroid is an irregularly shaped, small, rocky object that orbits the Sun. Most asteroids are not spherical like planets or dwarf planets. Rather they have irregular shapes.

All asteroids except one are too small to be considered a planet or dwarf planet. The dwarf planet and an asteroid. Ceres is the largest known asteroid in the solar system, as it is more than 900 kilometers across. A space probe is currently in orbit around Ceres.

Most asteroids are located in what is called the asteroid belt. The asteroid belt is located between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. The asteroid belt is over 300 million kilometers wide and it contains hundreds of thousands of asteroids. Smaller groups of asteroids are located in between the orbits of Jupiter and Neptune, while others are located in the Kuiper Belt.

Multiple Choice

Most asteroids are about the size of Earth's Moon.

Multiple Choice

Most asteroids are located in the _________.

• Oort Cloud

• Kuiper Belt

• asteroid belt

• Jupiter

Multiple Choice

The asteroid belt is located between the orbits of Mars and ________.

• Earth

• Jupiter

• Mercury

• Neptune

Multiple Choice

Some asteroids are also located in the _______, which extends beyond the orbit of ________.

• Oort Cloud; the universe

• Oort Cloud; the Milky Way Galaxy

• Kuiper Belt; Neptune

• Kuiper Belt; Earth

Multiple Choice

Decide whether the following characteristic goes with asteroids or comets.

"have tails"

• asteroids

• comets

Multiple Choice

Decide whether the following characteristic goes with asteroids or comets.

"made of dust, gas, and ice"

• asteroids

• comets

Multiple Choice

Decide whether the following characteristic goes with asteroids or comets.

"from Oort cloud or Kuiper Belt"

• asteroids

• comets

Multiple Choice

Decide whether the following characteristic goes with asteroids or comets.

"made of rock"

• asteroids

• comets

Meteroids

There are some objects in space that orbit the Sun that are even smaller than asteroids. These are called meteoroids. A meteoroid is a body of rock or dust that is smaller than an asteroid. Most meteoroids are pieces of rock that come from an asteroid. Meteoroids can be as small as a grain of sand or as big as a boulder.

Sometimes, meteoroids enter Earth's atmosphere. Meteoroids move very fast, and the friction between the rock and the air creates heat and produces a bright streak of light. This creates a meteor. A meteor is a rocky body that burns as it moves through the atmosphere of a planet. Meteors often produce bright streaks of light in the sky. People often call meteors shooting stars. However, they are actually meteoroids that are burning up in the atmosphere before they reach Earth's surface.

Meteor showers on Earth occur when Earth orbits through an area with many meteoroids. Meteor showers occur every year when Earth passes through certain areas.

Multiple Choice

Yes or No: Do you think that meteorites can also be found on the surfaces of other planets, such as Mars?