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Science Vocab
Mss. Middleton 3rd Period
Term | Definition |
---|---|
rotation | the spin of an object in space |
revolution | the elliptical motion of a body as it travels around another more massive body in space |
orbit | the elliptical PATH an object takes in space while revolving around another planet |
gravity | the attracting force due to mass or rotation |
atmosphere | mixture of gases that surrounds a planet |
sun | a medium sized star;the center of our solar system |
planet | body that orbit around the sun or a star and does not produce its own light |
terrestrial planet | a small, dense, rocky planet similar to earth |
gas giant | a large, gaseous planet of the outer solar system with no known solid surface |
natural satellite | smaller body that orbits around a larger body |
moon | a natural satellite of a planet |
artificial satellite | any human made object placed in orbit around a body in space |
comet | a small body of ice, rock, and cosmic dust loosely packed together |
asteroid | a small, rocky body that revolves around the sun |
meteoroid | a very small, rocky body found in space |
meteorite | a meteoroid that reaches Earth’s surface without burning up completely |
meteo | a bright streak of light caused when a meteoroid or comet dust burns up in the atmosphere |
thrust | the force that accelerates a rocket |
orbital velocity | the speed and direction a rocket must have in order to orbit Earth |
escape velocity | the speed and direction a rocket must have in order to completely breakaway from a planet’s gravitational pull |
centripetal force | the force that causes an object to follow a curved path |