Physics - Astronomy Flashcards
(10 cards)
Elliptical
Highly oval
Name the order that the planets are in starting from the planet closest to the sun
Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune
Dwarf planets
planets that are not big enough to be considered an actual planet
Comets
lumps of ice and dust - sped most of their time in the outskirts of the solar system, but spend a short period of their time close to the sun, where they travel much faster
Universe
A collection of billions of Galaxies
Galaxy
A collection of billions of stars
Moons
Orbit planets near-circles, what we call natural satellites
Asteroids
lumps of rock and metal that orbit the sun. Most of them exist in a “belt” between Mars and Jupiter, known as the Asteroid belt
geostationary satellites
Ones that orbit sun at the same rate as the Earth’s spin - ideal for communications
How is gravitational pull increased?
- A greater mass
- Being closer