Trojan (celestial body)

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/trojan-celestial-body

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. What is the planetary migration indicators?Their distribution and composition can provide evidence for past planetary migration events
2. What are Trojan asteroids?They are tiny space rocks that hang out at special spots called Lagrange points, staying with a big planet like Jupiter.
3. Why do Trojan asteroids stay in those spots?The Sun and the planet pull on them together, creating a stable balance that keeps the asteroids in place.

Lagrange Points: Five points in the orbital plane of two bodies where a small object can remain relatively stationary.
Solar Nebula: The cloud of gas and dust from which the Sun and planets formed.
Planetesimal Accretion: The process by which small bodies in the early solar system collided and merged to form larger objects.