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Galaxies and Stars

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Term
Definition
constellation   a pattern of stars in the sky.  
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visible light   electromagnetic radiation that can be seen with the unaided eye.  
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electromagnetic radiation   energy that travels through space in the form of waves.  
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wavelength   the distance between the crest of one wave and the crest of the next.  
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spectrum   the range of wavelengths of electro magnetic waves.  
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refracting telescope   a telescope that uses convex lenses to gather and focus light.  
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convex lens   a piece of transparent glass curved so that the middle is thicker than the edges.  
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reflecting telescope   a telescope that uses one or more mirrors to gather light.  
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observatory   a building that contains one or more telescopes.  
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spectrograph   an instrument that separates light into colors and photographs the resulting spectrum.  
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galaxy   a giant structure that contains hundreds of billions of stars.  
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universe   all of space and everything in it.  
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light-year   the distance that light travels in one year.  
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parallax   the apparent change in position of an object when seen from different places.  
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giant star   a very large star, much larger than the sun.  
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apparent magnitude   the brightness of a star as seen from earth.  
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absolute magnitude   the brightness of a star if it were a standard distance from earth.  
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Hertzsprung-Russell Diagram   a graph relating the temperature and brightness of stars.  
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main sequence   an area on the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram that runs from the upper left to the lower right and includes more than 90 percent of all stars.  
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pulsar   a neutron star that produces radio waves.  
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nebula   a large abount of gas and dust in space, spread out in an immense volume.  
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protostar   a contracting cloud of gas and dust; the earliest stage of a star's life  
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white dwarf   the remaining hot core of a star after its outer layers have expanded and drifted out into space.  
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supernova   the explosion of a dying giant or super giant star.  
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neutron star   a tiny star that remains after a supernova explosion.  
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black hole   the remains of an extremely massive star pulled into a small volume by the force of gravity.  
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quasar   a distant galaxy with a black hole at its center.  
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binary star   a star system that contains two stars.  
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eclipsing binary   a star system in which one star periodically blocks the light from another.  
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spiral galaxy   a galaxy whose arms curve outward in a pinwheel pattern.  
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elliptical galaxy   a galaxy shaped like a flattened ball, containing only old stars with little to not gas and dust.  
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irregular galaxy   a galaxy that does not have a regular shape.  
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big bang   the initial explosion that resulted in the formation and expansion of the universe.  
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