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vocab astronomy 1
tejencky 2odd- maile
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| astronomy | the science that deals with the universe beyond the earths atmosphere |
| geocentric | having the earth as a center |
| heliocentric | measured as being seen from the center of the sun |
| retrograde motion | the motion of a planet to move in a direction opposite of the others in the system |
| ellipse | a plane curve that shows each point in its fixed point are equal. |
| astronomical unit | a unit of length equal to the distance of the earth from the sun |
| rotation | the movement of the earth turning on its axis |
| revolution | one complete rotation |
| precession | the slow motion of the earths axis of rotation |
| perihelion | the point in the orbit of a planet or a comet at which it is closest from the sun |
| aphelion | the point in the orbit of a planet or a comet at which it is farthest from the sun |
| perigree | the point in the orbit of the moon when its closest to earth |
| apogee | the point in the orbit of the moon when its farthest from earth |
| phases of the moon | how the moon is shaped after each night or term |
| solar eclipse | the light of the sun and moon shining on the earth between it and earth |
| lunar eclipse | the light of the sun and moon shining on the earth |
| crater | the cup shaped depression or dip on the surface of the earth |
| terrestrial planet | an inner planet |
| jovian planet | any of the four large outer planets: jupiter, saturn, uranus,and neptune |
| nebula | a cloud of interstellar gas and dust |
| planetsimal | one of the small celestial bodies that were fused together to make the planets of the solar system |
| asteroid | a minor planet |
| comet | a celestial body moving about the sun |
| coma | the nebulous envelope around the nucleus of a comet |
| meteoroid | small bodies, often remnants of comets, traveling through space |
| meteor | astronomy |
| meteorite | a mass of pieces of stone or metal that has reached the earth from outer space |
| electromagnetic spectrum | a continuum, of all kinds of electric, magnetic, and visible radiation, from gamma rays |
| photon | a quantum of electromagnetic radiation, |
| spectroscopy | the science that deals with the use of the spectroscope |
| doppler effect | the shift in frequency of acoustic or electromagnetic radiation emitted by a source moving |
| refracting telescope | has two lenses to enlarge objects |
| reflecting telescope | a telescope with a mirror to gather light from objects in earths orbit |
| radio telescope | system that has antenna, used to gather radio waves emitted by celestial sources |
| hubble telescope | a telescope launched into orbit around the earth in 1990 to provide information about the universe |
| space shuttle | a rocket launched spacecraft able to land making journeys between earth and its orbit |