Outer Space Vocabulary

one of thousands of rocky objects that move in orbits mostly between those of Mars and Jupiter and have diameters from a fraction of a mile to nearly 500 miles (800 kilometers)

a heavenly body with such strong gravity that light cannot escape it and that is thought to be caused by the collapse of a massive star

a small bright heavenly body that develops a cloudy tail as it moves in an orbit around the sun

a heavenly body similar to a planet but too small to clear other objects from its orbit

Dwarf Planets in our solar system:

Ceres: a dwarf planet that orbits within the asteroid belt with a mean distance from the sun of 2.7 astronomical units (260 million miles) and a diameter of 590 miles (950 kilometers)

Eris: a dwarf planet with a mean distance from the sun of 67 astronomical units (6.2 billion miles) and a diameter of 1500 miles (2400 kilometers)

Haumea: a dwarf planet that orbits within the Kuiper belt with a mean distance from the sun of 43 astronomical units (6.45 billion kilometers) and a diameter of approximately 890 miles (1,430 kilometers)

Makemake: a dwarf planet that orbits within the Kuiper belt with a mean distance from the sun of 46 astronomical units (6.85 billion kilometers) and a diameter of approximately 930 miles (1,500 kilometers)

Pluto: a celestial object that orbits the sun at an average distance of 3.7 million miles (5.9 million kilometers) and has a diameter of about 1500 miles (2300 kilometers) and is often considered one of the planets

any one of the very large groups of stars that make up the universe

a unit of length in astronomy equal to the distance that light travels in one year or about 5.88 trillion miles (9.46 trillion kilometers)

one of the small pieces of matter in the solar system that enter the earth's atmosphere where friction may cause them to glow and form a streak of light

a broad band of light that stretches across the sky and is caused by the light of a very great number of faint stars

a smaller body that revolves around a planet

any large heavenly body that orbits a star (as the sun)

Planets in our solar system:

Mercury: the planet that is nearest the sun and has a diameter of about 3000 miles (4700 kilometers)

Venus: the planet that is second in order of distance from the sun and has a diameter of about 7,500 miles (12,100 kilometers)

Earth: the planet that is thirds in distance from the sun. The planet that we live on.

Mars: the planet that is fourth in order of distance from the sun, is known for its redness, and has a diameter of about 4200 miles (6800 kilometers)

Jupiter: the planet that is fifth in order of distance from the sun and is the largest of the planets with a diameter of about 89,000 miles (140,000 kilometers)

Saturn: the planet that is sixth in distance from the sun and has a diameter of about 75,000 miles (120,000 kilometers)

Uranus: the planet that is seventh in order of distance from the sun and has a diameter of about 32,000 miles (51,000 kilometers)

Neptune: the planet that is eighth in order of distance from the sun and has a diameter of about 31,000 miles (50,000 kilometers)

the sun and the planets, asteroids, comets, and meteors that revolve around it

any of the heavenly bodies except planets which are visible at night and look like fixed points of light

the heavenly body in our solar system whose light makes our day and around which the planets revolve