Gonggong (dwarf planet)

High school (ages 12+)
Space & Astronomy

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/gonggong-dwarf-planet

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. Who discovered Gonggong (dwarf planet)?July 17, 2007
2. What is the orbital period?Approximately 550.3 Earth years
3. What is the semi-major axis?Approximately 67.7 AU
4. What is Gonggong and where is it located?Gonggong is a dwarf planet that lives in the Kuiper Belt, a region far beyond Neptune in our solar system.
5. Why does Gonggong spin in a wobbly way?Its moon, Xiangliu, is very big compared to Gonggong, which makes Gonggong tilt about 30 degrees and spin slowly.

Trans-Neptunian Object (TNO): Any minor planet in the Solar System whose orbit lies entirely beyond that of Neptune.
Kuiper Belt: A circumstellar disc in the outer Solar System, extending from the orbit of Neptune at 30 AU to approximately 50 AU.
Hydrostatic Equilibrium: The balance of forces within a celestial body where internal pressure balances the inward pull of gravity, resulting in a spherical shape.
Tholins: Complex organic molecules formed by ultraviolet irradiation of simple nitrogen and carbon compounds, often found on icy bodies in the outer solar system.