Solar System Overview Quiz

Solar System Components

• The Solar System consists of the Sun, planets, dwarf planets, moons, asteroids, meteors and meteorites, and comets.
• The Sun is the center of the Solar System and is a star.
• Planets orbit the Sun in fixed paths.
• Dwarf planets orbit the Sun but cannot clear their orbit from other objects.
• Moons are natural satellites that orbit larger objects.
• Asteroids are metal-like rocks with irregular shapes.
• Meteors and meteorites are small pieces of rock orbiting the Sun.
• Comets are masses of ice, rocks, dust, and frozen gas.

The Sun

• The Sun is a star and the main source of energy in the Solar System.
• The Sun's energy comes from nuclear reactions where hydrogen gas is converted into helium gas.
• Dark spots on the Sun are called sunspots.

Planets

• Mercury: Heavy, primarily iron, covered in craters, thin atmosphere.
• Venus: Atmosphere composed of carbon dioxide, dry planet, volcanoes on surface, hottest planet in the Solar System.
• Earth: Supports life due to oxygen, temperature range, water, and sunlight.
• Mars: Ice-cold desert, dust storms with yellow dust clouds, red surface ("Red planet").
• Jupiter: Largest planet, gas giant, no solid surface, famous for the "Eye of Jupiter" - a swirling red storm.
• Saturn: Known for its beautiful rings, second largest planet, gas giant, lightest planet (mainly hydrogen and helium).
• Uranus: Gas giant, rotates on its side, has six rings.
• Neptune: Smallest of the four gas giants, huge white cloud in its atmosphere, known for its high winds.

Dwarf Planets

• Pluto is a dwarf planet.
• Orbits the Sun but does not clear its orbital path of other objects.
• Pluto is smaller than Earth's moon.
• Other dwarf planets include Eris and Ceres.

Interesting Facts

• The distance between celestial bodies is so vast that collisions are rare.
• The Milky Way galaxy is spiral shaped and is approximately 150,000 light-years in diameter.
• The observable universe is estimated to be 28 billion light-years in size.
• The nearest star to our solar system is Proxima Centauri.

Comets

• Comets are masses of ice, rock, dust, and frozen gases.
• Have three parts: nucleus, coma, and tail.
• Comets are only visible when they approach the sun, where they melt and release gas and dust clouds creating a tail.
• A comet's tail always points away from the Sun.
• Some comets take thousands of years to orbit the Sun.

Kuiper Belt

• A region beyond the orbit of Neptune, past Pluto where many icy objects reside.
• Contains at least 70,000 comets.
• These comets can be 100 km or more in diameter.
• Located 30-50 AU from the Sun. (AU = Astronomical Units).

Optical Telescopes

• Sensitive instruments that require protection from bad weather housed in observatories.
• Observatories often located in desolate areas with clear skies, dry air, and high altitude, for optimal viewing conditions.
• Can focus light using either refraction (lenses) or reflection (mirrors).
• Example: Paranal Observatory in Chile, the highest observatory, located atop a mountain (5,640 m) in the Atacama Desert, Chile.

SALT Telescope

• The SALT telescope is the largest in the Southern Hemisphere.
• It is an optical telescope located in Sutherland, South Africa, and was operational in 2005.
• Six countries partnered on the project: South Africa, Germany, USA, Britain, Poland, and New Zealand.
• Sutherland is ideal for the SALT telescope because it has minimal light pollution, a relatively high altitude and low rainfall.
• The SALT telescope is based on a reflector telescope with a 11m diameter mirror, which is composed of 91 smaller mirrors.
• The mirrors are computer-controlled for clear focusing on objects.
• SALT is so powerful that it can observe a candle burning on the moon's surface.

Hubble Telescope

• NASA has four large orbiting space telescopes, including the Hubble Telescope.
• Each telescope is designed to focus on a different section of the electromagnetic spectrum in space.
• Other NASA space telescopes in addition to the Hubble include: Chandra, Spitzer, and Compton.