Solar System

Lucretia B.
35 words 184 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

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  1. Oort
    Dutch astronomer who proved that the galaxy is rotating and proposed the existence of the Oort cloud (1900-1992)
    Comets come from two parts of the outer solar syste m: the Kuiper Belt and the Oort Cloud.
  2. solar wind
    a stream of protons moving radially from the sun
    The gases that surround the sun shoot out a stream of tiny particles called the solar wind.
  3. asteroid
    a small celestial body composed of rock and metal
    This includes the eight planets and their moons, dwarf planets, and countless asteroids, comets, and other small, icy objects.
  4. solar
    relating to the sun or utilizing the energies of the sun
    The solar syste m consists of the sun and everything that orbits, or travels around, the sun.
  5. orbit
    the path of a celestial body in its revolution about another
    The solar syste m consists of the sun and everything that orbits, or travels around, the sun.
  6. aurora
    bands of light caused by charged solar particles
    The solar wind is what causes auroras, or displays of colored light in the night sky in parts of Earth.
  7. planet
    a celestial body that revolves around the sun
    This includes the eight planets and their moons, dwarf planets, and countless asteroids, comets, and other small, icy objects.
  8. spacecraft
    a vehicle or device able to travel beyond Earth's atmosphere
    Since then, scientists have sent many spacecraft to explore various parts of the solar syste m.
  9. astronaut
    a person trained to travel in a spacecraft
    Spacecraft have carried astronauts into orbit around Earth, to the moon , and to man-made space stations.
  10. sputnik
    a Russian artificial satellite
    In 1957, the Soviet satellite Sputnik 1 became the first man-made object to orbit Earth.
  11. galaxy
    a collection of star systems
    The solar syste m itself is only a small part of a huge syste m of stars and other objects called the Milky Way galaxy .
  12. planetary
    of or relating to a celestial body that orbits around a star
    The solar syste m is also known as a planetary syste m.
  13. comet
    a small frozen mass that travels around the sun
    This includes the eight planets and their moons, dwarf planets, and countless asteroids, comets, and other small, icy objects.
  14. Milky Way
    the galaxy containing the solar system
    The solar syste m itself is only a small part of a huge syste m of stars and other objects called the Milky Way galaxy .
  15. helium
    a light colorless element that is one of the six inert gases
    The sun is a very hot ball of hydrogen and helium gases.
  16. northern lights
    the aurora of the northern hemisphere
    In the Northern Hemisphere these auroras are called the northern lights.
  17. Pluto
    the god of the underworld in ancient mythology
    Scientists used to call Pluto the ninth planet.
  18. scientist
    a person with advanced knowledge of empirical fields
    Scientists used to call Pluto the ninth planet.
  19. dimmer
    a rheostat that varies the current through an electric light in order to control the level of illumination
    Finding other planetary syste ms is not easy, however, because extra solar planets appear much dimmer than the stars they orbit.
  20. Uranus
    god of the heavens
    In order from closest to the sun, these planets are Mercury , Venus , Earth , Mars , Jupiter , Saturn , Uranus , and Neptune .
  21. Saturn
    god of agriculture and vegetation
    In order from closest to the sun, these planets are Mercury , Venus , Earth , Mars , Jupiter , Saturn , Uranus , and Neptune .
  22. radiation
    the act of spreading outward from a central source
    This process gives out huge amounts of radiation, or energy.
  23. hydrogen
    a colorless, odorless gas; the lightest chemical element
    The sun is a very hot ball of hydrogen and helium gases.
  24. meteor
    a small, solid space object that has entered Earth's atmosphere
    Small asteroids regularly fall to Earth or burn up in the sky as glowing meteors .
  25. Mars
    Roman god of war and agriculture
    In order from closest to the sun, these planets are Mercury , Venus , Earth , Mars , Jupiter , Saturn , Uranus , and Neptune .
  26. Mercury
    messenger of Jupiter and god of commerce
    In order from closest to the sun, these planets are Mercury , Venus , Earth , Mars , Jupiter , Saturn , Uranus , and Neptune .
  27. debris
    the remains of something that has been destroyed
    They are believed to be debris, or bits of material, left over from collisions between other bodies in the solar syste m.
  28. Jupiter
    supreme god of Romans; counterpart of Greek Zeus
    In order from closest to the sun, these planets are Mercury , Venus , Earth , Mars , Jupiter , Saturn , Uranus , and Neptune .
  29. Venus
    the second nearest planet to the sun
    In order from closest to the sun, these planets are Mercury , Venus , Earth , Mars , Jupiter , Saturn , Uranus , and Neptune .
  30. particle
    (nontechnical usage) a tiny piece of anything
    The gases that surround the sun shoot out a stream of tiny particles called the solar wind.
  31. hemisphere
    half of a round, three-dimensional shape
    In the Northern Hemisphere these auroras are called the northern lights.
  32. temperature
    the degree of hotness or coldness of a body or environment
    It has a temperature, at its core, of more than 28,080,000° F (15,600,000° C).
  33. satellite
    any celestial body orbiting around a planet or star
    In 1957, the Soviet satellite Sputnik 1 became the first man-made object to orbit Earth.
  34. metal
    a chemical element or alloy that is usually a shiny solid
    Millions of small chunks of metal and rock called asteroids also orbit the sun.
  35. universe
    everything that exists anywhere
    The Milky Way galaxy is just one of billions of galaxies that in turn make up the universe .
Created on Tue May 14 12:02:51 EDT 2013 (updated Tue May 14 12:04:53 EDT 2013)

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