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Glossary term: Planetary Science

Description: Planetary science is the branch of science which deals with the nature, origin, and evolution of planets in our Solar System and beyond.

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Term and definition status: This term and its definition have been approved by a research astronomer and a teacher

The OAE Multilingual Glossary is a project of the IAU Office of Astronomy for Education (OAE) in collaboration with the IAU Office of Astronomy Outreach (OAO). The terms and definitions were chosen, written and reviewed by a collective effort from the OAE, the OAE Centers and Nodes, the OAE National Astronomy Education Coordinators (NAECs) and other volunteers. You can find a full list of credits here. All glossary terms and their definitions are released under a Creative Commons CC BY-4.0 license and should be credited to "IAU OAE".

Related Activities


Children's Planetary Maps: Venus

Children's Planetary Maps: Venus

astroEDU educational activity (links to astroEDU website)
Description: Learn more about our nearest neighbour

License: CC-BY-4.0 Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) icons

Tags: Planetary cartography , Spatial thinking
Age Ranges: 6-8 , 8-10 , 10-12 , 12-14
Education Level: Middle School , Primary , Secondary
Areas of Learning: Social Research
Costs: Low Cost
Duration: 2 hours
Group Size: Group
Skills: Analysing and interpreting data , Asking questions , Communicating information , Constructing explanations , Developing and using models , Engaging in argument from evidence , Planning and carrying out investigations

Children's Planetary Maps: Mars

Children's Planetary Maps: Mars

astroEDU educational activity (links to astroEDU website)
Description: Explore planet Mars, learning how to use planetary maps!

License: CC-BY-4.0 Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) icons

Tags: Maps , Planetary cartography
Age Ranges: 6-8 , 8-10 , 10-12 , 12-14
Education Level: Middle School , Primary , Secondary
Areas of Learning: Social Research
Costs: Free
Duration: 2 hours
Group Size: Group
Skills: Analysing and interpreting data , Asking questions , Constructing explanations

Children's Planetary Maps: The Moon

Children's Planetary Maps: The Moon

astroEDU educational activity (links to astroEDU website)
Description: An up close look at our own satellite

License: CC-BY-4.0 Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) icons

Tags: Maps , Planetary cartography , Spatial thinking
Age Ranges: 6-8 , 8-10 , 10-12 , 12-14
Education Level: Middle School , Primary , Secondary
Areas of Learning: Social Research
Costs: Low Cost
Duration: 2 hours
Group Size: Group
Skills: Analysing and interpreting data , Asking questions , Communicating information , Constructing explanations , Developing and using models , Engaging in argument from evidence , Planning and carrying out investigations

Children's Planetary Maps: Io

Children's Planetary Maps: Io

astroEDU educational activity (links to astroEDU website)
Description: Learn about the most geologically active world in our Solar System

License: CC-BY-4.0 Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) icons

Tags: Maps , Planetary cartography , Spatial thinking
Age Ranges: 6-8 , 8-10 , 10-12 , 12-14
Education Level: Middle School , Primary , Secondary
Areas of Learning: Social Research
Costs: Low Cost
Duration: 2 hours
Group Size: Group
Skills: Analysing and interpreting data , Asking questions , Communicating information , Constructing explanations , Developing and using models , Engaging in argument from evidence , Planning and carrying out investigations

Children's Planetary Maps: Titan

Children's Planetary Maps: Titan

astroEDU educational activity (links to astroEDU website)
Description: Learn about the only other known body in the Solar System with Seas and Lakes

License: CC-BY-4.0 Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) icons

Tags: Maps , Planetary cartography , Spatial thinking
Age Ranges: 6-8 , 8-10 , 10-12
Education Level: Middle School , Primary , Secondary
Areas of Learning: Social Research
Costs: Low Cost
Duration: 2 hours
Group Size: Group
Skills: Analysing and interpreting data , Asking questions , Communicating information , Constructing explanations , Developing and using models , Engaging in argument from evidence , Planning and carrying out investigations

Children's Planetary Maps: Pluto & Charon

Children's Planetary Maps: Pluto & Charon

astroEDU educational activity (links to astroEDU website)
Description: Learn about our furthest neighbors

License: CC-BY-4.0 Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) icons

Tags: Maps , Planetary cartography , Spatial thinking , Charon
Age Ranges: 6-8 , 8-10 , 10-12 , 12-14
Education Level: Middle School , Primary , Secondary
Areas of Learning: Social Research
Costs: Low Cost
Duration: 2 hours
Group Size: Group
Skills: Analysing and interpreting data , Asking questions , Communicating information , Constructing explanations , Developing and using models , Engaging in argument from evidence , Planning and carrying out investigations

Country Movers – Visualizing Spatial Scales in Planetary and Earth Sciences

Country Movers – Visualizing Spatial Scales in Planetary and Earth Sciences

astroEDU educational activity (links to astroEDU website)
Description: Play with maps, moving your country to another planet!

License: CC-BY-4.0 Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) icons

Tags: Software , Distances , Geography , Maps , Spatial thinking , size
Age Ranges: 12-14 , 14-16 , 16-19 , 19+
Education Level: Middle School , Secondary , University
Areas of Learning: Guided-discovery learning
Costs: Low Cost
Duration: 2 hours
Group Size: Group
Skills: Analysing and interpreting data , Communicating information , Constructing explanations , Planning and carrying out investigations

Age that crater!

Age that crater!

astroEDU educational activity (links to astroEDU website)
Description: Learn how to age craters with this Predict, Explain, Observe, Explain Activity!

License: CC-BY-4.0 Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) icons

Tags: Craters , Game , Maps , Geology
Age Ranges: 4-6 , 6-8 , 8-10
Education Level: Middle School , Primary
Areas of Learning: Observation based , Social Research
Costs: Low Cost
Duration: 1 hour
Group Size: Group
Skills: Asking questions , Communicating information , Constructing explanations , Developing and using models , Engaging in argument from evidence