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22 Cards in this Set

  • Front
  • Back
Gravity
physical phenomenon that produces an attractive force between every pair of objects in the universe.
Ellipse
of an oval shape with two foci points instead of one center point.
Eccentricity
The flatness of a circle; Eccentricity of zero is a perfect circle; the greater the value, the more elliptical the shape.
Major axis
long diameter of an ellipse.
Minor axis
short diameter of an ellipse.
Perihelion
The area closer to the main focus (the sun).
Aphelion
The area further from the main focus (the sun).
Newton’s Law of Universal Gravitation.
All objects attract each other with a force of gravitational attraction (even people!), but this force of gravitational attraction is directly dependent upon the masses of both objects and inversely proportional to the square of the distance which separates their centers. (The greater the mass, the larger the gravitational effect; the greater the distance from the center of gravity, the smaller the gravitational effect)
Third Law of Planetary Motion
The further a planet is from the Sun, the slower its mean orbital velocity.
Relationship between Newton’s and Kepler’s Laws
The further the planet is from the Sun, the less gravitational effect the Sun will have on that planet, making its speed around the Sun slower.
Meteor (shooting star)
A meteoroid that burns up in Earth’s atmosphere.
Meteorite
A meteoroid that does not completely burn up in the atmosphere and strikes the surface of a moon or planet.
Meteoroid
Small pieces of rock in space.
Asteroid
A larger piece of rock similar to the material that formed into planets; usually found in the asteroid belt.
Asteroid Belt
Most asteroids can be found in the asteroid belt, which is located just outside of Mars’ orbit. The asteroid belt divides the inner planets from the outer planets.
Comet
A mass that travels through space and is composed of rock particles and dust mixed with frozen water, methane, and ammonia; tends to vaporize and break up after passing the Sun many times.
Sublimation
To change from a solid state to a gaseous state without going through an intermediate liquid state.
Oort Cloud
Oort Cloud contains small icy fragments that are distributed in a shell around the Solar System. It is located a great distance outside Pluto’s orbit. Comets originate from here and/or the Kuiper Belt.
Kuiper Belt
The Kuiper belt contains a large collection of icy objects outside the orbit of Neptune. Comets originate from here and/or the Oort Cloud.
Explain how meteor showers occur
Earth passes through a loose group of particles within the old orbit of a comet, as it does, many small particles of rock and dust enter Earth’s atmosphere . More meteors are seen, it is called a meteor shower.
Classify comets, asteroids, and meteoroids based on their characteristics and composition
Comets are composed of ice, methane, ammonia, and rock particles, similar to the outer planets. Asteroids are larger pieces of rock similar to the material that formed into planets; usually found in the asteroid belt. Meteoroids are small pieces of rock in space.
Describe the formation and orbit of a comet.
Most comets begin their path around the solar system in the Oort Cloud, which is located outside of Pluto’s orbit. Their path continues in the Kuiper Belt which is highly elliptical and will bring the comet closer to the Sun at some point in its orbit. They generally are far enough away to not melt completely.