Grade 9 Academic Science – Unit 3 Space – What I already know

Stars Planets Deep Space Earth and Moon Other Stuff

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1.5 X 108 km

What is: The distance from Earth

to our Sun?

This distance is called an Astronomical Unit. This is the

unit of measurement used inside our Solar System

Eight minutes

What is: The time it takes light to

travel from the Sun through space to reach Earth?

A massive collection of gases held together by the force of its own gravity and emitting

large amounts of energy.

What is a star?

VY Canis Major is the largest known star. It is about 2000X

larger than our Sun

Betalgeuse, in the Orion constellation, is 1180X larger

than our Sun

The well-defined surface areas on the Sun that appear

darker than their surroundings because of

lower temperatures

What are Sun Spots?

It is the star nearest to Earth

What is the Sun?

The Romans named this planet after the God of

Battle.

What is Mars?

The density of this planet is so low that it would float if

you put the planet in a giant glass of water

What is Saturn?

Saturn’s density is 0.687 g/cm3 while the density of water is

0.998 g/cm3

It is the hottest planet

What is Venus?

While Venus is the second planet from the Sun, its

atmosphere traps solar energy and makes the surface

temperature 465OC

It was the first planet discovered with the aid of a

telescope

What is Uranus?

The “closer” planets can be seen without a telescope. Composed of mostly gas,

Uranus is blue-green because red wavelengths are absorbed by Uranus’

thick methane clouds

It was destroyed by Saturn’s gravity, and now, its

remnants make up the rings around Saturn

What is: A Moon that once orbited

Saturn?

These form when a star implodes (i.e., collapse in on

itself) at the end of its lifetime, and once formed, its

gravitational pull is so large that light is not emitted

What are Black Holes?

50 billion

What is: The number of galaxies

in the Universe?

The theory of the start of the Universe

What is the Big Bang?

Over four Light-Years away, this star is closest to

our Milky Way

What is Alpha Centauri?

It is where stars are “born”

What is a Nebula?

Almost 75% of the Earth’s surface is covered by this

compound.

What is water?

Our Moon formed when an object the size of Mars struck this planet and a large section

of the planet broke away

What is Earth?

A meteor becomes a meteorite when it impacts

this celestial body.

What is the Earth?

These are produced on Earth by the gravitational pull

of the Moon

What are Tides?

This eclipse occurs when the Earth

crosses in front of the Sun and the Moon

“disappears”

What is a Lunar Eclipse?

The name of our galaxy

What is the Milky Way?

300,000 km/s

What is the Speed of Light?

The astronomer who discovered the

Universe is expanding.

Who isEdwin Hubble?

Kepler’s First Law: This is the trajectory of a planet

What is an Ellipse?

It is not the shape of an egg; rather, it is like a stretched balloon with two axes of

symmetry: a major axis and a minor axis

It is NOT a measure of time;

rather, it is a measure of

distance

What is a Light Year?

A Light Year is the distance that light travels in a vacuum

(i.e., empty space) in one year…about 9.46 X 1012 km.