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WorksheetsOuter Solar System
Total questions: 10
Worksheet time: 11mins
How is Pluto different from Planet X?
Planet X was never discovered; Pluto was
Planet X is a gas giant; Pluto is a dwarf planet
Planet X has several moons; Pluto has no moons
Planet X contains single-celled life forms; Pluto does not
Why is Pluto no longer considered a planet?
Its orbit is too irregular
Its orbit is too far away from the sun
It isn't large enough
It orbits Neptune, not the sun
Place the following in order, from closest to furthest away: A) The scattered disc; B) The Kuiper Belt; C) The Oort cloud
A, B, C
C, B, A
B, A, C
C, A, B
What can you infer about the Kuiper Belt from the objects that orbit within it?
It's very small
It's very cold
It's very dense
It's very close to Neptune
How is Orcus different from Charon?
Orcus orbits the sun; Charon orbits Pluto
Orcus is a dwarf planet; Charon is a Kuiper Belt object
Orcus is a comet; Charon is a trans-Neptunian object
Orcus is very large; Charon is very small
Place the following objects in order, according to size: A) Earth; B) Pluto; C) Eris
A, C, B
B, A, C
C, A, B
A, B, C
Which of the following objects most likely originated in the Oort Cloud?
Eris
Pluto
Comet Hale-Bopp
Varuna
What is the difference between the termination shock and the heliopause?
The termination shock slows the solar wind and the heliopause stops it
The heliopause slows the solar wind and the termination shock stops it
Sunlight is not visible from the heliopause; it is visible from the termination shock
Sunlight is not visible from the termination shock; it is visible from the heliopause
What do the Voyager and Pioneer probes have in common?
They've both passed the heliopause
They were all launched during the 1980s
They've all been very easy to track
They're all unmanned spacecraft
If you had a spaceship that could travel at the speed of light, how long would it take you to reach the Oort cloud?
About a year
About six moths
About a month
About a week
