Science Space And Orbits

Galaxy

A huge collection of stars, gas, and dust all held together by gravitational attraction.

Planet

Giant spherical objects that are usually made out of rock, gas, or ice. They orbit around stars, and they have moons orbiting them.

Moon

Spherical objects that range in size, are made of rock and/or ice, and orbit around planets.

Star

Produce heat and light, they can be red, yellow, blue, or white, and they are made of hot gases. Drastically vary in size and temperature. Usually the blue ones are the hottest, and the red ones are the coolest.

Solar System

Consists of the sun and everything that orbits around the sun.

Gravity

An invisible force that pulls objects toward each other. In space, the sun's powerful gravitational force makes sure the planets in our solar system stay in orbit.

Terrestrial Planet

They are rocky and solid, and Earth is one.

Gas Giant Planet

Mostly made of gas, and Saturn is one.

Dwarf Planet

They aren’t classified as planets because they aren’t able to clear their orbit of debris.

Comet

Leftovers from our solar system. They are made of rocks, ice, and dust. They also orbit the sun.

Asteroid

Small, rocky objects that orbit the sun. They are much smaller than planets. Asteroids are usually found in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.

Relationship Between Mass And Gravity

Direct (More mass, more gravity).

Relationship Between Distance And Gravity

Indirect (Less distance, more gravity).

Why is scaling important for modeling?

Ensures accurate representation of the distance between things and their sizes.

Why the size and distance of planets from the sun need two different scales.

Because the distances between the planets in our solar system are enormous. And the sun is significantly bigger than the planets.

All planets have different…

Orbital Planes

Orbital Velocity

The velocity at which a body revolves around another massive body in a circular motion. Earth has an orbital velocity of 6.8 km/s.

Escape Velocity

The lowest velocity needed in order to escape orbit. Earth has an escape velocity of 10.1 km/s.

When the velocity of a planet is increased, the orbit…

Becomes larger (weaker gravitational pull) and the shape changes from circular to elliptical.

When the velocity of a planet is decreased, the orbit…

Becomes smaller (stronger gravitational pull).

As a planet’s distance from the sun increases, its average orbital speed…

Decreases because of the weaker gravitational pull.

As a planet’s distance from the sun decreases, its average orbital speed…

Increases because of the stronger gravitational pull.

Elliptical Orbit

An oval-shaped orbit.