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Universe Unit Vocab
Earth Science, Universe Unit, Chapters 27-30
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| cosmology | study of the origin, properties, and evolution of the universe |
| electromagnetic spectrum | all wavelengths of electromagnetic radiation |
| radiation | energy |
| red light | longer wavelengths |
| blue light | shorter wavelengths |
| red-shifted galaxies | moving away |
| blue-shifted galaxies | moving toward |
| big bang theory | idea that about 14 billion years ago, all matter wave compressed into a small volume which exploded and expanded rapidly |
| big bang | the event that created the universe |
| cosmic background radiation | the energy remnant of the big bang |
| solar system | the sun and all the planets and other bodies that travel around the sun |
| planet | a celestial body that orbits around the sun, is round because of its own gravity, and has cleared the neighborhood around its orbital path |
| solar nebula | a rotating cloud of gas and dust from which the sun and planets formed |
| planetesimal | a small body from which a planet originated in the early stages of development |
| protoplanet | collided planetesimals |
| nuclear fusion | combining of nuclei of small atoms to form a more massive nucleus |
| theory of relativity | a large amount of energy can be produced from a small mass |
| core | center of the interior of the sun, nuclear fusion occurs here |
| radiative zone | middle layer of sun's interior, energy moves by radiation |
| convective zone | outer layer of sun's interior, energy moves by convection |
| convection | transfer of energy by moving matter |
| photosphere | deepest layer of sun's atmosphere, energy given off as visible light |
| photo- | light |
| chromo- | color |
| chromosphere | middle layer of sun's atmosphere, glows red |
| corona | outermost layer of sun's atmosphere, keeps ions from escaping |
| ions | electrically charged particles |
| solar wind | ions that escape from the corona and travel through space |
| sunspot | cooler area of photosphere |
| prominence | loop or arch of cool gases |
| solar flare | explosive release of energy from sun |
| coronal mass ejection | gas from corona is thrown into space |
| aurora | colored light produced by ions from solar wind that interact with hydrogen and oxygen in Earth's atmosphere |
| star | ball of gases that give off a large amount of energy |
| spectrograph | separates light into colors (spectrum) |
| red stars | coolest temperatures |
| blue stars | hottest temperatures |
| H-R diagram | plots all stars based on color (temperature) and luminosity (energy produced) |
| main-sequence stars | dwarfs |
| main sequence | location on H-R diagram where most stars are located |
| nebula | cloud of gas and dust |
| law of universal gravitation | all objects in the universe attract each other with force that increases as the mass of an object increases or the distance between objects decreases |
| protostar | central region of a spinning nebula |
| birth of a star | marked by the start of nuclear fusion |
| giant star | a very large, bright star whose hot core has used up most of the hydrogen |
| supergiant | a more massive giant star created from a star at least 8 times larger than our sun |
| planetary nebula | cloud of gas that forms around a dying sun-like star |
| white dwarf | a small, hot dim star that is the leftover center of a sun-like star |
| nova | a star that suddenly becomes brighter |
| supernova | a violent explosion of a star at the end of its lifecycle |
| neutron star | a small, dense ball of neutrons |
| pulsar | a neutron star that rotates rapidly, emitting radio and optical energy |
| black hole | an object so massive and so dense that even light cannot escape its gravity |
| first law of planetary motion | objects orbit the sun in the pattern of an ellipse |
| second law of planetary motion | objects that orbit the sun move more quickly when they are closer to the sun and more slowly when they are farther away from the sun |
| third law of planetary motion | the greater the average distance from a planet to the sun, the longer the orbital period |
| orbital period | time required for a body to complete a single orbit |
| satellite | any natural or artificial body that revolves around another celestial body that is greater in mass |
| moon | a natural satellite |
| eclipse | an event in which the shadow of one celestial body falls on another |
| umbra | inner, cone-shaped shadow, complete block |
| penumbra | outer part of the shadow, partial block |
| solar eclipse | moon passes between Earth and the sun |
| lunar eclipse | Earth passes between the moon and the sun |
| asteroid | fragment of rock that orbits around the sun, most are located between Mars and Jupiter |
| comet | small body of rock, ice, and dust that follows an elliptical orbit around the sun |
| Kuiper belt | region of the solar system beyond Neptune's orbit, contains dwarf planets |
| Oort cloud | spherical region of the solar system, beyond Kuiper belt, contains comets |
| meteoroid | a relatively small body that travels through space |
| meteor | a meteoroid in Earth's atmosphere |
| meteorite | a meteoroid that did not completely burn up in Earth's atmosphere, on Earth's surface |
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jrobinson214
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