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Journey through the wonders of the Solar System from rocky asteroids to majestic planets and mysterious comets. Learn about meteors and eclipses for an out-of-this-world experience!
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Solar System By: Siena Trifiro
Asteroids • A rocky mass of several hundred kilometers wide that revolves around the sun in uneven shapes. • Asteroids mostly orbit in the region between Mars and Jupiter called the asteroid belt. • Most asteroids complete a revolution in three to six years.
Meteors • Did you know that shooting stars are actually meteors? This happens when a meteoroid hits Earth’s atmosphere and a small piece breaks off and goes flying through space. • When it shoots through the air, it heats up quickly. It gets so hot that glowing streaks go through the air, but burn up before they hit Earth.
Comets • A comet is a frozen mass with different types of ice and dust orbiting the sun. Comets come from areas beyond Neptune. Only several comets come a year. You may not see them. • Most comets you see through a telescope which can be very exciting.
Planets • There are eight planets in our universe. They are: Mercury, Venus, Mars, Earth, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. • The largest planet is Jupiter. It is 88,736 miles. The smallest planet is Mercury at 3,030 miles.
Lunar and Solar Eclipses • A lunar eclipse occurs when the moon passes through the shadow of the earth. A lunar eclipse can last up to an hour and a half. During a lunar eclipse, the moon may turn a reddish color. It is not dangerous at all to look at a lunar eclipse because the moon does not make its own light. • A Solar Eclipse occurs when the moon goes in front of the sun and blocks most of the sun's light from the earth. During a total eclipse, all you can see from earth is a ring of light around the moon which is part of the sun the moon did not cover. It is dangerous to look at a solar eclipse directly, even if you have sunglasses or smoked glass. It is better to view solar eclipses through a pin hole projector.