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ES1-Unit4 Astronomy
ES1-Unit 4 - Astronomy
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Astronomy | Branch of Earth Science that studies all that is outside the Earth |
| Spiral, Elliptical, Irregular (Nebular) | Types of Galaxies |
| Terrestrial Planets | Inner planets consisting mainly of solid rock |
| Asteroids | Planetoids made mostly of rocky materials and some metals |
| Asteroid Belt | Region of Rocky planetoids located between Mars and Jupiter |
| Mass | Property of a star that controls its brightness, temperature, length of life, and ultimate fate |
| Venus | Planet with a thick atmosphere made mostly of Carbon Dioxide, causing an active greenhouse effect. Earth's Twin. |
| Earth | Planet with atmosphere of Nitrogen and Oxygen. Water present as solid, liquid, and gas. |
| Mercury | Little atmosphere, smallest and fastest planet |
| Mars | Little atmosphere, length of year like Earth. Known as the Red Planet due to Iron oxidizing at surface. |
| Jupiter | Largest planet with shortest day. Hurricane-like red spot. |
| Saturn | Planet with a density of less than water. Most obvious ring system around the planet. |
| Uranus | Axis is nearly 90 degree tilt to its orbit, part of the year an entire hemisphere would have no night while the other hemisphere has only night. |
| Neptune | The most outward planet, it is coldest and has the longest year. |
| Pluto | No longer a planet, this Dwarf has an eccentric orbit that is tilted to the plane of the Solar System and sometimes enters inside Neptune's orbit. |
| Density | Equals = Mass / Volume This property will be the same no matter how much of the material is present. |
| Spring Tides | Caused when the Sun, Moon, and Earth are in alignment at Full and New moon phases. The tides are higher due the magnetic pull of the Sun and Moon on Earth's waters. |
| Neap Tides | Caused when the moon is at a right angle to the Sun and Earth, at first and third quarter moons. The tides are less influenced by the moon because the gravitational pull of the Sun is cancelling out the moon's influence. |
| Moon's Rotation | What the moon does at the same rate as its revolution so that the same side always faces Earth. |
| Black Dwarf | The end of our Sun's life cycle |
| Black Hole | When a supermassive star explodes in a supernova, it will sometimes condense into this dense dark space from which no matter, or even light, can escape |
| Absolute Magnitude | the actual brightness of a star, against which we compare the brightness of other stars |
| Apparent Magnitude | the perceived brightness of a star from Earth because light at different distances will not display its true brightness |
| 24 hours | Length of time for one Earth's rotation |
| 365 days | Length of time for one Earth's revolution |
| Lunar Eclipse | When the Earth blocks the light from the Sun and the moon darkens during full moon cycle. |
| Solar Eclipse | When the Moon blocks the light from the Sun and the sun darkens during new moon cycle |
| Nebula | A cloud of dust and gas, first step of a star's life cycle |
| Gravitational Pull | Different on each planet due to the planet's mass. The pull of a mass towards the center of a planet. |
| Light Year | The distance light travels in one year |
| Astronomical Unit | The distance from the Sun to Earth |
| Core | Hottest location in the Sun. Where Fusion of Hydrogen into Helium takes place. |
| Expanding Universe Theory | Supported by observed Red Shift, which informs us that galaxies are continually moving away from each other. |
| Oxygen | Essential gas in Earth's atmosphere for human life. Rare on other planets. |
| Winter | Summer in the Northern hemisphere means what season in the Southern hemisphere? |
| Apollo 11 | First manned mission to the Moon |
| Water | Present in Earth in solid, liquid, and gaseous form. This molecule is essential for life. |
| Comet | This type of planetoid leaves meteoroid debris in space, which the Earth sometimes passes through. When this happens, we have some lovely meteor showers. |
| Meteorite | When a meteor hits a planet or moon's surface we call it this. |
| Solar Wind | The force that pushes the tail (coma) of a comet away from the sun at all times. |
| Hydrogen | Predominant element found in most stars, creates the fusion to form Helium at Sun's core. |
| Earth's rotation | Reason the stars appear to change position in a single night. |
| Fusion | The combining of two or more nuclei of atoms to form an entirely new element. Occurs in the core of a star. |
| Red Shift | Increasing wavelength of energy to show movement away |
| Big Bang Theory | Scientific explanation for Universe formation |
Created by:
tejneckyc
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