Solar System Vocab

An elliptical pathway of an object around another object

Planets that are small and solid

Planets that are large and gaseous

Energy released from the sun

High energy radiation from the sun, helps the human body make vitamin D

Invisible energy in the form of heat, released by the Sun

The ever-expanding expanse that contains everything that exists, i.e. galaxies, solar systems, stars and planets

Balls of frozen dust, rock and ice that orbit the Sun

Large rock moving in the solar system that would become a meteor upon entry to the Earth’s atmosphere

A rock from space that burns up as it passes through the Earth’s atmosphere. Colloquially known as “shooting stars”

Meteoroid that is large enough to pass through the Earth’s atmosphere and reach the ground

When the Moon moves in between the Earth and sun, causing a shadow to fall on the Earth.

When the Earth moves in between the Sun and the moon, causing a shadow to fall on the Moon which sometimes appears red

When only a part of the Moon is in the shadow of the Earth

Study of the stars, planets and other objects that make up the universe

Lumps of rock or metal that travel around the solar system orbiting the Sun, mostly between Mars and Jupiter