Our Solar System - Overview

Our Solar System

Please open another tab and then copy and paste the link below. Let's explore our solar system...

https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/overview/

Multiple Choice

What unit are astronomers most likely to use to describe distances in the solar system?

• Light year

• Kilometers

• Astronomical Units

• Miles

SOLAR SYSTEM

The Sun & bodies orbiting around it:

-8 planets with about 210 known planetary satellites (moons)

-5 dwarf planets

-countless asteroids, some with moons!

-comets and other icy bodies

-vast amounts of gas/dust (nebula)

Multiple Choice

The spinning of an object on its axis is called______

• orbit

• rotation

• revolution

• tide

Multiple Choice

What makes up most of the mass in our solar system?

• Jupiter

• All the asteroids combined

• The Sun

• The Moon

Multiple Choice

Which of the following is not in our solar system ?

• Constellations

• The Sun

• Planets

• Asteroids

Multiple Choice

Which of the following is a true statement?

• The galactic center is also the center of our solar system.

• The Sun is the center of the solar system.

• Our solar system is near the galactic center of the Milky Way.

• The Sun is the center of the Milky Way galaxy.

Our Solar System - Overview

Let's start with the basics about our solar system....

Multiple Choice

How long ago was our solar system formed?

• about 4.5 million years ago

• about 9.2 million years ago

• about 4.5 billion years ago

• about 9.2 billion years ago

8 Planets

• Terrestrial (Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars)

• Jovian (Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune)

Multiple Choice

The plane that the 8 planets all orbit in is called the

• Planetary plane

• Ecliptic plane

• Elliptical plane

• Promenade plane

Multiple Choice

Which is the correct order of the planets?

• Mercury, Venus, Mars, Earth, Saturn, Jupiter, Neptune, Uranus

• Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Uranus, Saturn, Neptune

• Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Nepture

• Mercury, Venus, Earth, Jupiter, Saturn, Mars, Uranus, Neptune

Terrestrial Planets

• Made of rocky material

• Solid surfaces

• No rings

• Few moons

• Small

• Liquid core of heavy metal

Multiple Choice

How is Earth different from all the other planets in our solar system?

• It is the only planet with its own moon.

• It has storms in the atmosphere.

• It has liquid water that allows plants and animals to live.

• It is close enough to the sun to get heat energy.

Multiple Choice

Which best describes the terrestrial planets?

• Large, planetary rings

• Small, dense, rocky

• Rocky cores, close to sun, surface craters

• Made of helium and hydrogen

Multiple Choice

Earth completes one full ___________ on its axis every 24 hours.

• rotation
• revolution
• resolution
• reservation 

Multiple Choice

How long does it take Earth to complete one revolution around the Sun?

• 24 hours
• one week
• one month
• one year

Multiple Choice

A force of attraction between any two objects is called _____________.

• static electricity 
• rotation
• gravity
• orbit

Multiple Choice

Planets that are closer to the sun

• take more time to orbit.

• take less time to orbit.

Multiple Choice

Earth and the other planets closest to the Sun are made mostly of _______

• gas
• metal
• water
• rock

Jovian Planets

• Gas Giants = Jupiter & Saturn

• Made of helium & hydrogen

• Ice Giants = Uranus & Neptune

• Made of rock, ice, H₂O, CH₄, & NH₃

• Multiple moons

• No solid surface !

• Rings

Multiple Choice

Saturn is the only planet with a ring system.

• True

• False

Multiple Choice

What is special about Pluto's orbit?

• It is a perfect circle

• It is much more tilted than the others

• Pluto orbits tthe sun in the opposite direction

• Pluto's orbit places it close to another solar system

Multiple Choice

What is Ceres?

• Asteroid

• Comet

• Meteroite

• Dwarf Planet

Asteroid Belt & Kuiper Belt

-Flat discs of rocks and ice orbiting our sun

-Leftover from our solar system's formation

Asteroid Belt

• Collection of ice and rocks located between Mars & Jupiter

• 2 - 4 AUs from the sun

• Pebbles to dwarf planets like Ceres

Multiple Choice

Between which two planets would you find the asteroid belt?

• Earth and Mars

• Saturn and Jupiter

• Mars and Jupiter

• Saturn and Uranus

Multiple Choice

What is the largest object in the asteroid belt?

• Eris

• Vesta

• Ceres

• Hygeia

Multiple Choice

Which planets are the asteroid belt in between?

• Venus & Earth

• Earth & Mars

• Mars & Jupiter

• Jupiter & Saturn

• Saturn & Uranus

Kuiper Belt - 30 to 50 AUs from the sun

• Pluto discovered in 1930

• Gerard Kuiper predicts a belt of icy objects beyond Neptune (1951)

• Jane Luu & David Jewitt discover it in 1992

• Collection of icy objects outside the orbit of Neptune

Multiple Choice

Pluto was discovered in what year?

• 2015

• 1776

• 1930

• 1945

Kuiper Belts Objects (KBOs)

• Also known as trans-Neptunian objects (TNOs)

• Millions of them!

• Include dwarf planets: Pluto, Eris, Haumea, & Makemake

• Small KBOs occasionally are tugged free by the sun and become COMETS

Multiple Choice

What is in the Kuiper Belt?

• Vbucks

• Debris left over from the formation of the solar system

• hot pockets

• dark matter

Multiple Choice

What distance from the sun is the inner edge of the Kuiper belt?

• 30 AU

• 100 AU

• 4 gallons

• 55 AU

Multiple Select

Objects in the Kuiper Belt are known as what?

• Asteroids

• Comets

• Kuiper Belt Objects

• trans-Neptunian objects

Multiple Choice

What was the first Kuiper Belt Object discovered?

• Makemake

• Haumea

• Neptune

• Pluto

Multiple Select

Select three known Kuiper Belt Objects....

• Makemake

• Pluto

• Neptune

• Eris

• Titan

Multiple Choice

Who is the Kuiper Belt named after?

• Henry Ford

• Donald Trump

• Gerard Kuiper

• Bram Stoker

Oort Cloud

• NOT a belt

• It is a SPHERE

• Collection of icy debris

• Edge of our solar system

Multiple Choice

What distance from the sun is the outer edge of the Oort cloud?

• 30 AU

• 100,000 AU

• 1 mile

• 1 Lightyear

Multiple Choice

The Oort Cloud is an origin of ___

• asteroids

• Thanos

• moons

• comets