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.

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.

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

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.

Eclipse

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