Sedna (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/sedna-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 Sedna (dwarf planet)?March 31, 2003
2. What is the orbital period?Approximately 10,500 years
3. What is the perihelion distance?About 76 AU
4. What is Sedna?Sedna is a very cold dwarf planet that travels far beyond Neptune in our solar system.
5. How far is Sedna from the Sun?At its closest, Sedna is about 76 times farther from the Sun than Earth, and at its farthest it can be 937 times farther away.

Trans-Neptunian Object (TNO): Any celestial body orbiting the Sun that is beyond the orbit of Neptune.
Perihelion: The point in an orbit where a celestial body is closest to the Sun.
Aphelion: The point in an orbit where a celestial body is farthest from the Sun.
Tholins: Complex organic molecules formed by ultraviolet irradiation of simple nitrogen and carbon compounds.