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Vocab 1
Astronomy Vocab
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Astronomy | Science that deals with celestial objects, space, and the physicla universe. |
| Geocentric | Having or representing the earth as the center, as in former astronomical systems. |
| Heliocentric | Having or representing the sun as the center, as in the accepted astronomical model of the solar system. |
| Retrograde motion | A planet moving in the opposite direction of the other plants in its solar system. |
| Ellipse | A regular oval shape, traced by a point moving in a plane so that the sum of its distances from two other points (the foci) is constant, or resulting when a cone is cut by an oblique plane that does not intersect the base. |
| Astronomical unit (AU) | a unit of measurement equal to 149.6 million kilometers, the mean distance from the center of the earth to the center of the sun |
| Rotation | the action of rotating around an axis or center |
| Revolution | an instance of revolving. |
| Precession | the slow movement of the axis of a spinning body around another axis due to a torque (such as gravitational influence) acting to change the direction of the first axis. |
| Perihelion | the point in the orbit of a planet, asteroid, or comet at which it is closest to the sun. |
| Aphelion | the point in the orbit of a planet, asteroid, or comet at which it is furthest from the sun. |
| Perigee | the point in the orbit of the moon or a satellite at which it is nearest to the earth. |
| Apogee | the point in the orbit of the moon or a satellite at which it is furthest from the earth. |
| Phases on the moon | shape of th eilluminated part of the moon |
| Solar ecplipse | an eclipse in which the sun is obscured by the moon. |
| lunar eclipse | an eclipse in which the moon appears darkened as it passes into the earth's shadow. |
| Crater | a large, bowl-shaped cavity in the ground or on the surface of a planet or the moon, typically one caused by an explosion or the impact of a meteorite or other celestial body |
| Terrestrial planet | a planet made up of mostly solid rocks and metals |
| Jovian planet | plantes mostly made up of gasses. |
| Nebula | a cloud of gas and dust in outer space, visible in the night sky either as an indistinct bright patch or as a dark silhouette against other luminous matter. |
| Planetesimal | a minute planet; a body that could or did come together with many others under gravitation to form a planet. |
| Asteriod | a small rocky body orbiting the sun. |
| Comet | a celestial object consisting of a nucleus of ice and dust and, when near the sun, a “tail” of gas and dust particles pointing away from the sun. |
| Coma | a diffuse cloud of gas and dust surrounding the nucleus of a comet. |
| Meteoroid | a small body moving in the solar system that would become a meteor if it entered the earth's atmosphere. |
| Meteor | A meteor is the flash of light that we see in the night sky when a small chunk of interplanetary debris burns up as it passes through our atmosphere |
| Meteorite | a meteor that survives its passage through the earth's atmosphere such that part of it strikes the ground |
| Electromagnetic spectrum | the range of wavelengths or frequencies over which electromagnetic radiation extends. |
| Photon | a particle representing a quantum of light or other electromagnetic radiation. |
| Spectroscopy | the branch of science concerned with the investigation and measurement of spectra produced when matter interacts with or emits electromagnetic radiation. |
| Doppler effect | an increase (or decrease) in the frequency of sound, light, or other waves as the source and observer move toward (or away from) each other |
| Refracting telescope | a telescope that uses a converging lens to collect light |
| Reflecting telescope | a telescope in which a mirror is used to collect and focus light |
| Radio telescope | an instrument used to detect radio emissions from the sky, whether from natural celestial objects or from artificial satellites |
| Hubble telescope | The Hubble Space Telescope (HST) is a space-based telescope that was launched in 1990 by the space shuttle |
| Space shuttle | a rocket-launched spacecraft, able to land like an unpowered aircraft, used to make repeated journeys between the earth and earth orbit |
Created by:
Alex Kidd
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