Astronomy Unit Glossary

Fill in the blank: A large space rock that orbits the sun is called a(n) _________.

• Asteroid

• Comet

• Meteor

• Planet

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS1-3

Fill in the blank: The area between Mars and Jupiter where most of the asteroids in our solar system are found orbiting the sun is called the _________.

• Asteroid Belt

• Kuiper Belt

• Oort Cloud

• Van Allen Belt

Fill in the blank: The mixture of gasses around a planet is called the _________. Earth's _________ allows us to have liquid water on the planet’s surface and protects us from the sun’s rays and meteors.

• Atmosphere

• Lithosphere

• Hydrosphere

• Biosphere

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS2-6

Fill in the blank: The angle between a planet’s rotational axis and its orbital axis is called _________.

• Axial Tilt

• Orbital Period

• Escape Velocity

• Solar Constant

Fill in the blank: An imaginary line that a body, such as a planet, rotates around is called its _________.

• Axis

• Orbit

• Equator

• Hemisphere

Fill in the blank: A special quality or feature that makes a person, place, or thing different from others is called a _________.

• Characteristic

• Location

• Emotion

• Habit

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS4-4

Fill in the blank: A mountain-size chunk of ice and dust that orbits the sun is called a _________.

• Comet

• Asteroid

• Meteor

• Planet

Fill in the blank: A straight line passing from one side of a circle or sphere to the other side, through the center, is called the _________?

• Diameter

• Radius

• Chord

• Tangent

Fill in the blank: A celestial body that orbits the sun, has enough mass to have a nearly round shape, but has not cleared the neighborhood around its orbit is called a _________.

• Dwarf Planet

• Comet

• Asteroid

• Meteor

Fill in the blank: The third planet from the sun is called _________.

• Earth

• Mars

• Venus

• Jupiter