click below
click below
Normal Size Small Size show me how
PS Investigation 6/7
Vocab Planetary Science
Term | Definition |
---|---|
ACCRETION | STICKING TOGETHER |
ASTRONOMICAL UNIT (AU) | THE AVERAGE DISTANCE BETWEEN EARTH AND THE SUN, ABOUT 150 MILLION KILOMETERS. |
GALAXY | AN ENORMOUS COLLECTION OF TENS OF MILLIONS TO HUNDREDS OF BILLIONS OF STARS, INTERSTELLAR GAS, AND DUST |
GRAVITY | A FORCE OF ATTRACTION BETWEEN MASSES. |
LIGHT-YEAR (LY) | THE DISTANCE LIGHT TRAVELS IN 1 YEAR. |
NEBULA | A CLOUD OF GAS AND DUST IN SPACE BETWEEN STARS. |
ORBITAL RADIUS | THE AVERAGE DISTANCE BETWEEN AN OBJECT AND THE OBJECT IT IS ORBITING. |
SOLAR SYSTEM | A REGION OF SPACE OCCUPIED BY A SYSTEM OF OBJECTS ORBITING A STAR, SUCH AS THE SUN AND ALL THINGS ORBITING IT. |
UNIVERSE | THE SUM TOTAL OF ALL THINGS THAT CAN BE OBSERVED OR DETECTED. |
ANTHROPOCENE | A NEW GEOLOGIC EPOCH SOME SCIENTISTS THINK WE HAVE ENTERED BECAUSE OF HUMAN-DRIVEN CHANGES |
ATMOSPHERE | A LAYER OF GASES THAT SURROUND AN OBJECT, HELD IN PLACE BY GRAVITY. |
EXOPLANET | A PLANET ORBITING A STAR OTHER THAN THE SUN. |