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Y7 Solar system
Key words
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| astronomy | The study of the universe |
| civilisation | A society in a particular time and place |
| eclipse | When one object obstructs another from view |
| equator | Point at 90 degrees from the axis |
| hieroglyphics | Pictures and symbols to communicate |
| codex (plural: codices) | Ancient books containing hieroglyphics |
| comet | An asteroid with an intergalactical orbit |
| satellite | When one object circles another |
| planet | An object large enough to make itself round by its own gravity |
| Solar System | The system of planets orbiting the Sun |
| anticlockwise | In opposite motion to a clock’s hands |
| revolution | To spin once on its axis |
| axis | The imaginary line about which an object turns |
| Poles | The upper and lower points on the surface where the axis is |
| tilted | Not completely vertical |
| altitude | The angle measured from the horizon |
| clinometer | Instrument to measure the altitude of the Sun |
| autumnal equinox | From summer into winter when the day and night are equal length |
| sundial | Using the sun to tell the time of day |
| Antarctica | Land mass at the South Pole |
| Arctic Circle | Ice mass at the North Pole |
| hemisphere | From the equator to the pole (Northern or Southern) |
| seasonal | Of the seasons – Summer, Autumn, Winter, Spring |
| atmosphere | Layer of air above the Earth’s surface |
| phases | The different shapes of the moon |
| waxes | Increasing in shape size |
| wanes | Decreasing in shape size |
| crescent | Shape that the moon takes |
| solar | Belonging to the Sun |
| annular | A partial eclipse |
| elliptical | In an oval shaped orbit |
| annulus | Area of sunlight showing around the moon in an eclispe |
| lunar | Belonging to the moon |
| scattered | Spread out |
| orbit | The path of motion of one object around another |
| asteroid | Large masses less than planets in space |
| meteor | Space rocks that burn up in the atmosphere |
| meteorite | Space rock |
| constellation | Groupings of stars |
| Milky Way | Our galaxy (containing the Solar system) |
| galaxy | A collection of star systems |
| Andromeda | The nearest galaxy to the Milky Way |