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Earth, Moon and Sun
Term | Definition |
---|---|
astronomy | the study of the moon, stars and other objects in space |
astronomer | a scientist who studies the universe beyond Earth |
axis | an imaginary line that passes through Earth's center and the North and South poles |
eclipse | when the moon's shadow hits Earth or Earth's shadow hits the moon |
lunar eclipse | the blocking of sunlight to the moon that occurs when Earth is directly between the sun and the moon |
moon | a natural satellite that revolves around a planet |
orbit | the path of an object as it revolves around another object in space |
phase | one of the different apparent shapes of the moon as seen from Earth |
rotation | the spinning motion of a planet on its axis |
satellite | an object that revolves around another object in space |
solar eclipse | the blocking of sunlight to Earth that occurs when the moon is directly between the sun and Earth |
solstice | the two days of the year on which the sun reaches its greatest distance north or south of the equator, first day of summer or first day of winter |
equinox | the two days of the year on which neither hemisphere is tilted toward or away from the sun, first day of spring or fall |
seasons | each of the four divisions of the year (spring, summer, autumn, and winter) marked by particular weather patterns and daylight hours, resulting from the earth's changing position with regard to the sun. |
full moon | the entire sunlit side of the moon faces the Earth |
new moon | the sunlight side of the moon faces away from Earth |
waxing | the lighted part of the moon is increasing, light is on the right |
waning | the lighted part of the moon is decreasing, light is on the left |
rotation | the Earth spins on it axis once every 24 hours |
revolution | the Earth revolves or orbits around the sun once every 365 1/4 days |
Northern hemisphere | the area of Earth north of the equator |
Southern hemisphere | the area of Earth south of the equator |
countercloclwise | when an object moves in the opposite direction of the hands on a clock |