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

  1. Also called minor planets.
  2. Are small fragments of rocks left going around the sun when the solar system was formed
  3. Found between Mass and Jupiter
  4. Are 1500 in number
  5. They sometimes collide with each other and planets due to Jupiter’s gravitational pull causing them to move in erratic orbits.

Comets

  1. Heavenly bodies which appear to have a head and a long tail
  2. Made of ice, dust and frozen gas
  3. The head is made of many particles of dust, rock and frozen gases.
  4. Their tail is made of gases and points away from the sun.
  5. Move around the sun in extremely long and oval orbits
  6. 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

  1. Remains of a meteoroid which have reached the earth’s surface or incompletely burnt up meteoroid.
  2. When they fall they sink into the ground forming craters
  3. They are rich in iron

The Moon

  1. A natural satellite
  2. Receives its light from the sun and reflects it onto the earth.
  3. It revolves around the earth
  4. Takes 29.5 days to complete one revolution around the earth
  5. Its orbit is almost circular
  6. As it revolves around the sun it appears in various shapes ranging from crescent/new moon, half moon, gibbons moon and full moon.
  7. Has gravitational pull which causes the rising and falling of the ocean level
  8. As the moon orbits around the earth it creates an event called eclipse.

Eclipse

-Phenomenon occurring when the rays of the sun are blocked from reaching the earth or the moon.

Solar/Sun Eclipse

  1. The moon comes between the earth and the sun
  2. The moon’s shadow is cast on the earth
  3. The sun appears to be covered by darkness

Lunar/moon Eclipse

  1. The earth comes between the moon and the sun
  2. The earths shadow is cast on the moon
  3. The moon appears to be covered by darkness
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