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Astronomy 4-5.4

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Term
Definition
electromagnetic radiation   changing electric and magnetic fields that travel through space and transfer energy from one place to another; examples are light and radio waves  
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wavelength   the distance between successive peaks or troughs of a wave, usually represented by a lowercase Greek lambda  
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nanometer   a unit of distance equaling one-billionth of a meter, commonly used to measure the wavelength of light  
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angstrom   a unit of distance commonly used to measure the wavelength of light  
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ultraviolet   the portion of the electromagnetic spectrum with wavelengths shorter than violet light, between visible light and X-rays  
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x-rays   electromagnetic waves with wavelengths shorter than ultraviolet light  
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gamma rays   the shortest-wavelength electromagnetic waves  
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photon   a quantum of electromagnetic energy that carries an amount of energy that depends inversely on its wavelength  
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atmospheric window   wavelength region in which our atmosphere is transparent - at visual, radio, and some infrared wavelengths  
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refracting telescope   a telescope that forms images by bending light with a lens  
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reflecting telescope   a telescope that forms images by reflecting light with a mirror  
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primary lens   in a refracting telescope, the largest lens  
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primary mirror   in a reflecting telescope, the largest mirror  
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eyepiece   a short-focal-length lens used to enlarge the image in a telescope. the lens nearest the eye  
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focal length   of a lens or mirror is the distance from that lens or mirror to the point where it focuses parallel rays of light  
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chromatic aberration   a distortion found in refracting telescopes because lenses focus different colors at slightly different distances. images are consequently surrounded by color fringes  
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optical telescope   telescope that gathers visible light  
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radio telescope   telescope that gathers radio radiation  
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light-gathering power   the ability of a telescope to collect light; proportional to the area of the telescope's primary lens or mirror  
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resolving power   the ability of a telescope to reveal fine detail. depends on the diameter of the telescope's primary lens or mirror  
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diffraction fringe   blurred fringe surrounding any image, caused by the wave properties of light. because of this, no image detail smaller than the fringe can be seen  
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interferometer   separated telescopes combined to produce a virtual telescope with the resolution of a much larger-diameter telescope  
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seeing   atmospheric conditions on a given night. when the atmosphere is unsteady, producing blurred images, the seeing is said to be poor  
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adaptive optics   a computer-controlled optical system in an astronomical telescope used to partially correct for seeing  
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magnifying power   the ability of a telescope to make an image larger  
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light pollution   the illumination of the night sky by waste light from cities and outdoor lighting, which prevents the observation of faint objects  
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sidereal tracking   the continuous movement of a telescope to keep it pointed at a star as Earth rotates  
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secondary mirror   can reflect the light through a hole in the primary mirror  
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cassegrain focus   focal arrangement that may be the most common form of astronomical telescope  
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newtonian focus   arrangement that Isaac Newton used in his first reflecting telescope, inconvenient for large telescopes  
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schmidt-cassegrain focus   a thin correcting plate improves the image but is too slightly curved to introduce serious chromatic aberration  
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photographic plate   the first image-recording device used with telescopes; it records the brightness of objects ,but with only moderate precision  
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photometer   sensitive astronomical instrument that measures the brightness of individual objects very precisely  
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charge-coupled device   an electronic device consisting of a large array of light-sensitive elements used to record very faint images  
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array detector   device for collecting and recording electromagnetic radiation using multiple individual detectors arrayed on the surface of a chip; for example, a CCD electronic camera  
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digitized   converted to numerical data that can be read directly into a computer memory for later analysis  
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false-color image   a representation of graphical data with added or enhanced color to reveal detail  
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spectrograph   a device that separates light by wavelengths to produce a spectrum  
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spectrum   a range of electromagnetic radiation spread into its component wavelengths (colors); for example, a rainbow  
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grating   a piece of material in which numerous microscopic parallel lines are scribed. light encountering a grating is dispersed to form a spectrum  
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spectral line   a feature in a spectrum at a specific wavelength produced by the absorption or emission of light by certain atoms  
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transits of venus   rare occasions when venus can be seen as a tiny dot directly between Earth and the sun  
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density   mass per volume  
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atom   the smallest unit of a chemical element, consisting of a nucleus containing protons and neutrons plus a surrounding cloud of electrons  
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nucleus   the central core of an atom containing protons and neutrons that carries a net positive charge  
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proton   a positively charged atomic particle contained in the nucleus of a hydrogen atom  
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neutron   an atomic particle with no charge and about the same mass as a proton  
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isotope   a form of an atom with the same number of protons but a different number of neutrons  
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electron   low-mass atomic particle carrying a negative charge  
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molecule   two or more atoms bonded together  
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heat   energy contained in matter in the form of agitation of its particles  
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temperature   a measure of the agitation among the atoms and molecules of a material  
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Kelvin temperature   a temperature scale using Celsius degrees and based on zero being equal to absolute zero  
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absolute zero   he theoretical lowest possible temperature at which a material contains no extractable heat energy. zero on the Kelvin temperature scale  
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blackbody radiation   spectrum of radiation emitted by an ideal perfect radiator. the spectrum is continuous and its characteristics depend only on the object's temperature  
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wavelength of maximum intensity   the wavelength at which the radiation emitted by a glowing object is most intense. depends inversely on the object's temperature  
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wien's law   the hotter a glowing object is, the shorter will be its wavelength of maximum intensity, inversely proportional to its temperature  
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stefan-boltzmann law   hotter objects emit more energy than cooler objects of the same size, in proportion to the fourth power of temperature  
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photosphere   the bright visible surface of the sun  
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sunspot   relatively dark spot on the sun that contains intense magnetic fields  
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granulation   the fine structure of bright grains with dark edges covering the sun's surface  
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convection   circulation in a fluid driven by heat. hot material rises and cool material sinks  
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coulomb force   the electrostatic force of repulsion or attraction between charged bodies  
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ion   an atom that has lost or gained one or more electrons  
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ionization   the process in which atoms lose or gain electrons  
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binding energy   the energy needed to pull an electron away from its atom  
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quantum mechanics   the study of behavior of atoms and atomic particles  
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permitted orbit   one of the unique orbits that an electron may occupy in an atom  
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energy level   one of a number of states an electron may occupy in an atom, depending on its binding energy  
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excited atom   an atom in which an electron has moved from a lower to a higher energy level  
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ground state   the lowest permitted electron energy level in an atom  
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quantum jump   jumps of electrons from one orbit or energy state to another  
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doppler effect   the change in the wavelength of radiation due to relative radial motion of source and observer  
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blueshift   a doppler shift toward shorter wavelengths caused by a velocity of approach  
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redshift   a doppler shift toward longer wavelengths caused by a velocity of recession  
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radial velocity   that component of an object's velocity directed away from or toward the observer  
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