7th Grade Unit 6 Solar System Vocabulary

Small, rocky bodies that orbit the Sun, mostly found in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter-

• Kuiper belt

• Revolution

• Asteroids

• Comets

The layer of gases surrounding Earth, primarily nitrogen and oxygen, which supports life and protects from harmful radiation-

• Gravity

• Atmosphere

• Meteor

• Planets

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS2-5

Icy bodies that release gas and dust as they approach the Sun, forming a glowing tail-

• Comets

• Oort cloud

• Meteor

• Kuiper belt

Force by which a planet or other body draws objects toward its center -

• Asteroids

• Gravity

• Moons

• Moons

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS1-1

NGSS.MS-ESS1-2

NGSS.MS-PS2-4

NGSS.MS-PS2-5

The distance from a star at which liquid water could exist on orbiting planets' surfaces-

• Asteroids

• Kuiper belt

• Habitable zone

• Planets

In a region of space located past Neptune -

• Oort cloud

• Moons

• Meteor

• Kuiper Belt

A small piece of matter from outer space that becomes a streak of light when it falls through Earth’s atmosphere and burns up -

• Moons

• Asteroids

• Meteor

• Planets

Natural satellites that orbit planets -

• Atmosphere

• Moons

• Orbit

• Rotation

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS1-2

NGSS.MS-PS2-4

Most distant region of our solar system

• Habitable zone

• Moons

• Oort Cloud

• Asteroids

The curved path of a celestial body around a star, planet, or moon -

• Moons

• Revolution

• Orbit

• Planets

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS1-2

NGSS.MS-PS2-4