The Solar System

Answers may vary but might include that there are eight, Jupiter is the largest, Earth is the only one with life, they orbit the Sun, and Pluto is no longer considered a planet.

Answers may vary but might include that the Moon orbits Earth, the planets orbit the Sun, and man-made satellites orbit Earth and other planets. Any object that circles another object in space would be considered an orbit.

There is a force that keeps us orbiting around the Sun. Students may or may not use the term gravity at this point.

Scientists send rockets into space carrying satellites, astronauts, rovers, and other equipment to study the planets. Scientists also observe our solar system using cameras and telescopes.

Answers may vary but might include that it is a galaxy that contains many stars, solar systems, and it has clouds made of space dust.

Answers may vary but might include moons, asteroids, meteors, comets, ice, dust, rocks, dwarf planets. Students may include stars, but do not correct this misconception until the questions that follow the video but allow for a discussion between students on this topic.

So that we are better able to understand the actual distances between and sizes of the planets. Many models misrepresent this mathematical information.

The only star in our solar system is the Sun which contains 99.8% of all the solar system’s mass. It is an exploding ball of hot gases.

In order to be a planet, it must: 1. Orbit the Sun 2. Be massive enough to be round due to gravity, 3. Have cleared the neighborhood around its orbit of other objects

The Kuiper belt is a region beyond Neptune made up of comets and dwarf planet including Pluto, Eris, Makemake, and Haumea. It is a very cold region that is 20 times larger than the asteroid belt and also contains millions of pieces of ice and rock.

The habitable zone is the region around the Sun where life can exist because the temperatures are moderate enough to sustain life. The distance is not too close to the Sun that everything would burn, but not too far so that everything would freeze.

Because the Sun is so massive, its gravitational force keeps all the planets orbiting around it. Gravity is an attractive force between two masses; the larger the mass, the stronger the force. The Sun is constantly pulling on the planets to keep them in orbit around the Sun. Planets also have their own gravitational pull on their moons. Gravity plays a role in the formation of the asteroid belt, where many asteroids and other materials orbit the Sun between Mars and Jupiter. Saturn’s rings are made of rock, ice, and dust, and are held in place by Saturn’s gravitational pull.