Blasting Off in 2014!

Welcome back, and Happy New Year! In science we are excited to be beginning our unit on space exploration. Here are a few pictures of our time in lab today making a comet model. Just below these pictures, you will also find a copy of our space vocabulary study guide. This vocabulary quiz will be held on Thursday, January 16th. Your child has a copy of this study guide in his/her binder as well. 3, 2, 1 blast off!

 

 

Space Exploration—Vocabulary Study Guide

Inner Planets—the small, solid, rocky planets between the sun and the asteroid belt

1. Mercury—the smallest planet, which is also closest to the sun

2.  Venus—the hottest and brightest planet; a day on this planet is longer than a year and it rotates in the opposite direction of Earth

3. Earth—the planet on which we live that is perfectly designed by God for human, plant, and animal life; it is also the only planet with liquid water

4.  Mars—the “red” planet whose red color comes from the iron in soil and rocks, like rust

Outer Planets—the large, gaseous planets that are beyond the asteroid belt

5. Jupiter—the largest planet, known for its huge storm, the Great Red Spot

6.  Saturn—this ringed planet has such a low density that it could float on water; its north pole jet stream is in the shape of a hexagon

7. Uranus—this greenish planet has an extreme tilt and 11 very thin rings

8.  Neptune—this cool blue planet is furthest from the sun and is sometimes called the Ice Giant

Dwarf Planet—an object in space, smaller than a true planet, that orbits the sun but may not stay in its own orbit (examples include Ceres and Pluto)

ISS—the International Space Station (an experiment facility orbiting earth where up to 7 astronauts from various countries can safely live and conduct experiments in space)

NASA—National Aeronautics and Space Administration of the US (the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for flight and space research)

Astronaut—a person who travels in space

Asteroid—a space rock orbiting the earth, mainly found between Mars and Jupiter

Comet—a small frozen mass of gas, dust, and ice that may have a nucleus, a coma, and a tail

Rotate—what the earth does on its axis (approximately 24 hours)

Revolve—what the earth does around the sun (approximately 365 days)

Seasons—each of the four divisions of the year (spring, summer, autumn, and winter) that are marked by weather patterns and daylight hours and that result from the earth's changing position with regard to the sun.

Star—a ball of hot, bright gas that produces energy by a nuclear reaction; the sun is an example

Constellation—a group of stars within a region of the night sky that are said to look like animals or mythological characters

Solar System—the sun and everything that revolves around it

Galaxy—a huge system or family of stars; our galaxy is called the Milky Way

Astronomy—the study of stars and planets