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FCSDGeo-Space
Beyond Planet Earth vocabulary (11)
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| angular diameter | angle formed between opposite sides of an object & an observer's eye |
| apparent diameter | how large an object looks, which depends on its size & distance from an observer |
| asteroid | one of tens of thousands of rocky objects located, for the most part, in a belt between the orbits of Mars & Jupiter |
| big bang | theory that the universe began as the rapid expansion of an infinitesimal object of incredible mass & density |
| big crunch | theory that gravity will reverse the expansion of the universe so that it contracts to a black hole |
| comet | icy object that most likely originated in a region beyond the planets; some travel in highly elliptical orbits |
| eccentricity | degree of elongatoins of an ellipse |
| eclipse | occurs when one celestial object casts its shadow on another celestial object (ex. lunar, solar) |
| focus | one of two fixed points that determine the shape & position of an ellipse |
| galaxy | huge bodiy of stars & other matter in space |
| gravity | gravitational force; attractive force between objects that is directly proportional to their masses & inversely proportional to the distance between them |
| inertia | tendency of an object to remain at rest, or, if it is moving, to move at a constant speed in an unchanging direction |
| light-year | distance light travels in one year |
| luminosity | amount of light given off by a star |
| major axis | line through the widest part of an ellipse |
| meteor | solid particle from space caught by Earth's gravity that as they fall are heated by friction woth Earth's atmospjere & burn, producing streaks of light visible at night; "shooting stars" |
| meteorite | natural object that has fallen to Earth from space |
| meteoroid | potential meteors in space |
| nuclear fusion | under conditions of extreme heat & pressure i the sun, the nuclei of two hydrogen atoms join to form one helium nucleus |
| phase | physical state of matterm solid, liquid or gas; apparent change in shape of the lighted portion of a celestial object (phases of the moon) |
| primary | object (lying along the major axis of an ellipse) around which a satellite moves (ex. sun for the earth, Earth for the moon) |
| redshift | displacement of spectral lines of distant stars toward the red end of the spectrum; Doppler shift |
| satellite | artificial or natural celestial object that revolves around another object; the primary |
| solar system | planets & other objects that revolve around the sun |
| star | large, self-luminous body in space that creates its own radiant energy |
| sunspot | temporary storm on the visible surface of the sun |
| tides | twice daily rise & fall of the oceans caused by the gravitational attraction of the moon & the sun |
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