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Ch. 27
Vocabulary
Term | Definition |
---|---|
electromagnetic spectrum | all types of electromagnetic radiation arranged according to wavelength and frequency. |
interferometry | process that links separate telescopes so they act as oe telescope, producing more detailed images as the distance between them increases. |
reflecting telescope | telescope that uses mirrors to focus visible light. |
refracting telescope | telescope that uses lenses to focus visible light. |
albedo | percentage of sunlight that is reflected by the surface of a planet or a satellite, such as the Moon. |
ejecta | material that falls back to the lunar surface after being blasted out by the impact of a space object. |
highland | light-colored, mountainous, heavily cratered area of the Moon, composed mostly of lunar breccias. |
impact crater | crater formed when space material impacted on Moon's surface. |
maria | dark-colored, smooth plains on the Moons surface. |
ray | long trail of ejecta that radiates outward from a Moon crater. |
regolith | layer of loose, ground-up rock on the lunar surface. |
rille | valley like structure that meanders across some regions of the Moon's maria. |
apogee | farthest point in the Moon's elliptical orbit to Earth. |
ecliptic plane | plane of Earth's orbit around the Sun. |
equinox | time of year during which Earth's axis is at a 90 degree angle to the Sun; both hemispheres receive exactly 12 hours of sunlight and the Sun is directly overhead at the equator. |
lunar eclipse | when Earth passes between the Sun and the Moon, and Earth's shadow falls on the Moon; occurs only during a full moon. |
perigee | closest point in the Moon's elliptical orbit to Earth. |
solar eclipse | when the Moon passes between earth and the Sun and the Moon casts a shadow on Earth, blocking Earth's view of the Sun' can be partial or total. |
solstice | Period when the Sun is overhead at its farthest distance either north or south of the Equator. |
synchronous rotation | the state at which the Moon's orbital and rotational periods are equal. |