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Unit 11 Vocabulary
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| universe | all space and the matter space contains |
| star | a self-luminous celestial body consisting of a mass of gas held together by its own gravity in which the energy is generated by nuclear reactions in its interior |
| Hertzsprung-Russell Diagram | a plot of the surface temperature (color) of stars vs. their luminosity |
| luminosity | the intensity of light from a celestial body that can be used to determine differences in the bodies |
| Main Sequence | Stable middle development phase stars that plot along a continuous diagonal belt on the H-R diagram |
| nebula | large cloud of dust and gas in interstellar space; the location of star formation |
| supernova | the death of a large star by explosion |
| black hole | an object with the mass of more than 4 suns squeezed into a ball only 10 km across whose gravity is so strong that even light can not escape |
| galaxy | a large grouping of stars in space |
| elliptical-shaped galaxy | a galaxy with a long oval shape, a bright center, no apparent internal structure or spiral arms, and very little dust or gas |
| spiral-shaped galaxy | a galaxy with a bulge in the center and very distinct long arms winding around the center |
| irregular-shaped galaxy | a galaxy that does not fit into any category; a galaxy with very little symmetry |
| sun | the luminous star around which the Earth and other planets revolve; composed mainly of hydrogen and helium |
| Milky Way Galaxy | the huge grouping of stars that rotate around a center of which the Sun and the solar system are a part |
| spiral arms | areas of stars that spread out from the center of a spiral galaxy |
| galactic center | rotational center of a huge galaxy such as the Milky Way galaxy |
| dust lanes | bands of dust that appear as dark ribbons against the bright stars in a galaxy |
| solar mass | used in astronomy as a standard unit to compare the size of other stars with our Sun |
| apparent magnitude | how bright an object appears in the sky from Earth |
| absolute magnitude | the apparent magnitude an object would have if it were located at a distance of 10 parsecs |
| wavelength | the distance between any two corresponding points that are adjacent on a wave, such as from peak to peak |
| electromagnetic radiation | the type of energy released by stars consisting of electric and magnetic waves that travel at the speed of light |
| radiation | the transfer of energy through matter or space as electromagnetic waves, such as visible light and infrared waves |
| radio waves | electromagnetic waves with long wavelengths and low frequencies |
| microwaves | electromagnetic waves that are between radio waves and infrared waves in the electromagnetic spectrum |
| infrared waves | electromagnetic waves with longer wavelengths than visible light, but shorter than radio waves |
| light waves | provides us with visible light spectrum, the colors we see |
| ultraviolet waves | electromagnetic waves with a shorter wavelength than visible light, but longer than x-rays |
| x-rays | electromagnetic waves that are the second highest in energy and are used in medical and astronomical applications |
| gamma ray | electromagnetic waves with the highest energy; produced by supernovas, the destruction of atoms, or the decay of radioactive material |
| Radio Astronomy | the study of celestial objects that emit radio waves |
| Redshift | the change in wavelength that allows us to determine if an object is moving toward us or away from us |
| Electromagnetic Spectrum | a grouping of all possible energy levels of electromagnetic radiation from radio waves to gamma radiation and includes visible light |
Created by:
tamiwaller
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