Solar System and Earth's Structure

A set of vocabulary flashcards covering key concepts about the solar system, planetary structures, and geological processes related to Earth and other celestial bodies.

Trans-Neptunian Objects (TNOs)

Non-cometary objects with semimajor axes beyond Neptune's orbit.

Jovian Planets

Gaseous planets that are larger and farther from the Sun, including Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune.

Asteroids

Rocky bodies in space with diameters greater than 1km, mostly found between Mars and Jupiter.

Terrestrial Planets

Rocky, relatively small planets close to the Sun, including Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars.

Oort Cloud

A distant spherical shell of icy objects that are kicked out of the main solar system by Jovian planets.

Meteoroids

Small rocky or metallic objects in space, generally less than 1 km in size.

Meteorites

Meteors that survive passage through the Earth's atmosphere and land on Earth.

Binding Energy

The energy required to remove an object from a gravitational influence to infinity.

Differentiation

The process where gravity sorts materials by density, creating layered structures in a planet.

Plate Tectonics

The theory that explains the movement of Earth's lithospheric plates and how they shape the Earth's surface.

Neutrinos

Very light particles produced by nuclear processes that can pass through matter easily.

Ecliptic Plane

The imaginary plane that contains Earth's orbit around the Sun, where most planets and asteroids orbit.

Ceres

The largest asteroid and a dwarf planet located in the asteroid belt.

Comets

Icy bodies that can develop tails and comas when close to the Sun due to melting.

Internal Structure of Earth

Order of density layers in Earth, consisting of the crust, mantle, and core.

Heat of Formation

The energy released when an object falls into the Earth from a height, heating the ground.