Other Heavenly Bodies
Answer Text: Natural Satellites • Any natural heavenly body that orbits around a planet e.g. moon for earth, tritan for Saturn and Triton for Neptune. Asteroids/Planetoids • Also called minor planets. • Are small fragments of rocks left going around the sun when the solar system was formed.• Found between Mass and Jupiter • Are 1500 in number • They sometimes collide with each other and planets due to Jupiter’s gravitational pull causing them to move in erratic orbits. Comets • Heavenly bodies which appear to have a head and a long tail• Made of ice, dust and frozen gas • The head is made of many particles of dust, rock and frozen gases. • Their tail is made of gases and points away from the sun. • Move around the sun in extremely long and oval orbits • Their orbits cross the earth’s orbits e.g. Halley’s Comet which appears after every 76 years.Meteoroid • Small heavenly body which strays from its orbit in the solar system and enters the earth’s atmosphere at very high speed. Meteor • A meteoroid which is burning out due to friction after entering the earth’s atmosphere. Meteorite• Remains of a meteoroid which have reached the earth’s surface or incompletely burnt up meteoroid. • When they fall they sink into the ground forming craters •They are rich in iron The Moon • A natural satellite • Receives its light from the sun and reflects it onto the earth.• It revolves around the earth • Takes 29.5 days to complete one revolution around the earth • Its orbit is almost circular • As it revolves around the sun it appears in various shapes ranging from crescent/new moon, half moon, gibbons moon and full moon. • Has gravitational pull which causes the rising and falling of the ocean level• As the moon orbits around the earth it creates an event called eclipse.
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