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Stars & Galaxies
vocabulary words
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Constelation | Patterns of stars in the night sky |
| Absolute Magnitude | The measure of the amount of light it gives off. |
| Apparent Magnitude | A measure of the amount of light received from a star on light from Earth. |
| Light Year | Distance that light travels in one year. 300,000 km/s |
| Photosphere | The lowest layer of the Suns atmosphere - the layer from which light is given off. |
| Chromosphere | The layer of the Sun above the photosphere. |
| Corona | The largest layer of the Sun's atmosphere; extends millions of kilometers into space. |
| Sunspots | The areas that appear dark on the sun; they are cooler than the area surrounding the spot. |
| Nebula | A large cloud of dust and gas where stars begin to form. |
| Giant Star | A star that is in the late stage of its life cycle |
| White Dwarf | A star about the size of Earth, eventually it cools and stops giving off light. |
| Super Giant | A massive star that continues to heat up and contains very heavy elements that form by fusion. |
| Neutron Star | The core of a star that has collapsed and only neutrons exist. |
| Black Hole | The core of a supernova that has collapsed inward on itself - gravity is so great not even light can escape. |
| Galaxy | Large group of stars, gas, and dust held together by gravity. |
| Big Bang Theory | The leading theory about the formation of the universe. |