Terms you should know and use

Comets ­ Objects are made of ice, dust, and gases that orbit the sun and form a tail as it passes close to the sun.

Constellation ­ Agroup of stars forming a fixed pattern in the sky.

Distance ­ The measurement of the amount of space between objects.

Force ­ A push or a pull.

Galaxy ­ Many millions of stars grouped together in space.

Gravitational force ­ The pull that gravity has on an object.

Gravity ­ The power that attracts one object to another.

Light year - The distance light travels in one year; it is used to measure distances in space.

Mass - The amount of matter in an object.

Milky Way galaxy ­ A group of billions of stars that is home to our solar system.

Planets ­ Celestial objects that revolve around the sun and do not produce their own light.

Satellites ­ A natural or human-built object which revolves around another object in space; such as the moon.

Scale ­ A unit used to help understand size relationship.

Solar system ­ The system made of 9 unique planets and other objects that all orbit the sun; the sun is also part of the solar system.

Speed of light ­ How fast light travels which is 186,000 miles per second or 300,000 kilometers per second.

Star ­ A large celestial object made up of gases that gives off light and heat.

Sun ­ The star that is the center of our solar system.

Telescope ­ An instrument that makes distant objects appear larger by making them look closer.

Universe ­ EVERYTHING that is in space.