Na m e : ___ Date: _
Directions: Each passage gives clues to the identity of something in our solar system. Name it.Venus Jupiter
meteor- Has mountains, canyons, volcanoes, and
even seasons. Known as the red planet
because of the dusty surface soil is filled
with iron oxide (rust).
- Debris from space that’s entered Earth’s
atmosphere. Heat from friction causes it
to glow. As it moves, it is seen as a streak
of light—but it is NOT a star, shooting or
otherwise.
- The star nearest Earth (93 million miles)
and the only star in our solar system.
Medium-sized as stars go.
- Known for its red spot and swirling
colors, it is the largest planet in the solar
system. It has 16 moons and no solid
surface.
5. Smaller than Earth’s moon, it has a long
and lopsided orbit. Sometimes it is closer
to the sun than Neptune and other times
further.
_______________________________
6. Called the “morning star” but actually a
planet about the size of Earth. Covered in
a thick blanket of yellow clouds containing
deadly sulfuric acid.
_______________________________
7. Orbits Earth only 239,000 miles away. Has
no atmosphere. Its gravity (1/5 of Earth’s)
causes the ocean tides.
_______________________________
8. When Galileo first observed it in 1610, he
called its rings “ears.” They are really more
than 1,000 bands of rock and ice orbiting
this planet.
_______________________________
Pluto
Mercurythe sun
Earth’s moon
SaturnMars