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ES. Ch27 Vocab.
Term | Definition |
---|---|
electromagnetic spectrum | includes visible light, infrared and ultraviolet radiation, radio waves, microwaves, X rays, and gamma rays |
refracting telescope | uses lenses to focus visible |
reflecting telescope | use mirrors to focus visible light |
interferometry | is a process that links separate telescopes so they act as one telescope |
albedo | percentage of sunlight that is reflected by the surface of a planet or a satellite, such as the moon |
highland | light-colored, mountainous, heavily cratered area of the moon, composed mostly of lunar breccias |
impact crater | a crater on a planet or moon caused by the impact of a meteorite or other object, typically circular with a raised rim. |
ejecta | material that is forced or thrown out, especially as a result of volcanic eruption, meteoritic impact, or stellar explosion. |
ray | long trail of ejecta that radiates outward from a Moon crater. |
rille | valley like structure that meanders across some regions of the Moon's maria. |
regolith | layer of loose, ground-up rock on the lunar surface. |
ecliptic plane | plane of Earth's orbit around the Sun. |
solstice | either of the two times in the year, the summer solstice and the winter solstice, when the sun reaches its highest or lowest point in the sky at noon, marked by the longest and shortest days. |
equinox | time of year during which Earth's axis does not point directly toward the Sun; both hemispheres receive exactly 12 hours of sunlight and the Sun is directly overhead at the equator |
synchronous rotation | he state at which the Moon's orbital and rotational periods are equal. |
solar eclipse | an eclipse in which the sun is obscured by the moon. |
perigee | is the closest point to the earth and it is in this stage that the moon appears larger. looking at the moon in the sky without anything to compare it to, you wouldn't notice any size difference. |
apogee | farthest point in the moon's elliptical orbit to earth |
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 |