Astronomy Cards

Front 1

What is an asteroid? Where are most asteroids in the solar system located? Where is it?

Back 1

An asteroid is a piece of rock similar to but smaller than a planet orbiting the sun. The are usually found in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.

Front 2

What is a comet? What are its three main parts?

Back 2

Mass of rock and dust mixed with frozen water, methane and ammonia. The 3 main parts are the coma, Nucleus, and Tail.

Front 3

Which direction does the tail of the comet point? Why?

Back 3

The tail points in the direction away from the sun. The solar winds push it away from the sun.

Front 4

Does a comet always have a tail? Explain.

Back 4

Comets do not always have a tail that is because the comets only have tails when they get to close to the sun.

Front 5

What is the difference between a meteoroid, a meteorite, and a meteor? Which is commonly known as a shooting star?

Back 5

A meteoroid floats in space, a meteorite Rock that hits the earth, and a meteor is rock that entered the atmosphere. Meteors are commonly known as a shooting star.

Front 6

Where do most meteoroids come from? What causes a meteor shower?

Back 6

Meteoroids come from passing comets. When many comets come through and many parts fly off from them.

Front 7

What are the two main differences between meteoroids and asteroids?

Back 7

Asteroids are much larger and they orbit around the sun.

Front 8

Why does the surface of the moon or Mercury have many craters while the surface of Venus or the Earth does not?

Back 8

Because moon and mercury are closer to the kuiper belt and Oort cloud.

Front 9

List the planets from largest diameter to smallest diameter. Where are most of the small planets located?

Back 9

Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Earth, venus, Mercury, and Pluto. The are located closest to the sun.

Front 10

What happens to the distances between the planets the farther they get from the sun?

Back 10

The distance gets bigger as the planets get farther away from the sun.

Front 11

What happens to the length of a planets year the farther they get from the sun? Give an example. What two factors cause this?

Back 11

The year gets longer when it is farther away from the sun because its orbit is longer. Gravity and inertia cause this.

Front 12

In general, how does the size of the planet affect the length of its day? Give an example.

Back 12

It varies. Mars has a diameter of 6,794 km but its length of year is 10 months. , Neptune has a diameter of 30,777 but its length of a year is 164 years.

Front 13

List the 4 rocky planets. List the 4 gas giants.

Back 13

Rocky planets : mercury, venus, earth, mar. Gas planets: Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune.

Front 14

Which planets have rings? Why so you think these planets have rings and the others do not?

Back 14

Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune have rings. I think that some planets have rings and some don’t because of its size.

Front 15

Which planets have 0 moons? 1 moon? 2moons? More than 2 moons

Back 15

Mercury and venus have no moons. Earth and Pluto have 1 moon. Mars has 2 moons. Jupiter (61 moons), Saturn (33 moons), Uranus (11 moons), and Neptune ( 13 moons ) have more than 2.

Front 16

Which planet has the widest range in temperature? Why do you think this is?

Back 16

Mercury because it has no atmosphere which can cause temperature to change.

Front 17

Why is the sky black on Mercury?

Back 17

the sky is black on Mercury because there is no atmoshere.

Front 18

What is the hottest planet in the solar system? Why?

Back 18

venus because it is the closest planet to the sun.

Front 19

List three reasons why NASA is so interested in exploring Mars?

Back 19

NASA is so interested on exploring mars because people think that oceans once covered it. Also they think that there could be life on Mars. And covered the North Pole.

Front 20

What causes the banding appearance on the gas giants? What are the spots? Which planet has the highest winds?

Back 20

Turbulent winds cause the banding appearance on the gas giants. The spots are high winds. Saturn has the highest winds.

Front 21

What is unique about Venus’ rotation? What is unique about Uranus’ rotation?

Back 21

Venus rotates clockwise. Uranus rings are vertical other than horizontal like Saturn’s rings.

Front 22

What planet was first discovered by telescope? What planet was first discovered by a mathematical formula?

Back 22

Uranus was the first planet discovered by telescope.

Front 23

What is unique about the orbit of Neptune and Pluto?

Back 23

Neptune and Pluto orbits are unique because they cross each other.

Front 24

Pluto is located in what region of space?

Back 24

The kuiper belt

Front 25

What ptomely think?

Back 25

He thought that all the planets evolved around the sun and geoentric

Front 26

What did curpericus think?

Back 26

• Heliocentric – sun is the center of the solar system
o Moon revolves around the earth; earth and moon revolve around the sun
o Daily movement of sun and stars caused by rotation of the earth

Front 27

how did the solar system form?

Back 27

• 4.6 billion years ago solar system was a vast swirling cloud of gas, ice, and dust called a nebulae (A).
• Gravity started contracting particles into a large tightly packed spinning disk (B).
o Matter condensed in the center attracting 99% of all matter in solar system
o Center so hot (1o million Digress Celsius) nuclear fusion began and the sun was born
o Solar wind kept rest of material from being pulled into the sun
• Rest of material cooled and clumped into scattered solids
• Clumps collided and combined to form the nine planets
o Inner planets – made of heavy elements – because sun couldn’t push away
o Outer planets – made of light gasses that got pushed away from the sun

Front 28

how much mass does the sun have in our solar system

Back 28

99%

Front 29

what are keplers laws of planetery motion?

Back 29

Ellipicle orbits not cirrcular.
un not centered in the orbit
o Aphelion – point of orbit farthest from the sun
o Perihelion – point of orbit closest to the sun
• Closer planets travel faster around the sun than farther planets
o Inner planets – smaller orbit and faster speed ( Mercury = 88 earth days )
o Outer planters – larger orbit and slower speed ( Neptune = 155 earth days)