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Astronomy Part 1
Unit 2
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Astronomy | the science that deals with the material universe beyond the earth's atmosphere. |
| Geocentric | having or representing the earth as a center |
| Heliocentric | measured or considered as being seen from the center of the sun |
| Retrograde motion | moving backward |
| Ellipse | a plane curve such that the sums of the distances of each point in its periphery from two fixed points, the foci, are equal |
| Astronomical Unit (AU) | a unit of length, equal to the mean distance of the earth from the sun |
| Rotation | the act of rotating; a turning around as on an axis |
| Revolution | a moving in a circular or curving course, as about a central point |
| Precession | the act or fact of preceding; precedence |
| Perihelion | the point in the orbit of a planet or comet at which it is nearest to the sun |
| Aphelion | the point in the orbit of a planet or a comet at which it is farthest from the sun |
| Perigee | the point in the orbit of a heavenly body, especially the moon, or of an artificial satellite at which it is nearest to the earth |
| Apogee | the point in the orbit of a heavenly body, especially the moon, or of a man-made satellite at which it is farthest from the earth |
| Phases of the moon | new moon, full moon, half moon, waxing cresent, waning cresent, waxing gibbous, waning gibbous |
| Solar eclipse | the obscuration of the light of the sun by the intervention of the moon between it and a point on the earth |
| Lunar eclipse | the obscuration of the light of the moon by the intervention of the earth between it and the sun |
| Crater | the cup-shaped depression or cavity on the surface of the earth or other heavenly body marking the orifice of a volcano |
| Terrestrial planet | pertaining to, consisting of, or representing the earth as distinct from other planets |
| Jovian planet | of or relating to the planet Jupiter |
| Nebula | Also called diffuse nebula. a cloud of interstellar gas and dust. |
| Plantesimal | one of the small celestial bodies that, according to one theory (planetesimal hypothesis) were fused together to form the planets of the solar system |
| Asteroid | a minor planet |
| Comet | a celestial body moving about the sun, usually in a highly eccentric orbit, consisting of a central mass surrounded by an envelope of dust and gas that may form a tail that streams away from the sun |
| Coma | a state of prolonged unconsciousness, including a lack of response to stimuli, from which it is impossible to rouse a person |
| Meteroid | any of the small bodies, often remnants of comets, traveling through space |
| Meteor | a meteoroid that has entered the earth's atmosphere |
| Meteorite | a mass of stone or metal that has reached the earth from outer space |
| Electramagnetic spectrum | the entire spectrum, considered as a continuum, of all kinds of electric, magnetic, and visible radiation |
| Photon | a quantum of electromagnetic radiation, usually considered as an elementary particle that is its own antiparticle and that has zero rest mass and charge and a spin of one |
| Spectroscopy | the science that deals with the use of the spectroscope and with spectrum analysis |
| Doppler Effect | the shift in frequency of acoustic or electromagnetic radiation emitted by a source moving relative to an observer as perceived by the observer: the shift is to higher frequencies when the source approaches and to lower frequencies when it recedes. |
| Refracting Telescope | the observed altered location, as seen from the earth, of another planet or the like due to diffraction by the atmosphere |
| Reflecting Telescope | to cast back from a surface |
| Radio Telescope | a system consisting of an antenna, either parabolic or dipolar, used to gather radio waves emitted by celestial sources and bring them to a receiver placed in the focus |
| Hubble Telescope | a telescope launched into orbit around the earth in 1990 to provide information about the universe in the visible, infrared, and ultraviolet ranges |
| Space Shuttle | any of several U.S. space vehicles consisting of a reusable manned orbiter that touches down on a landing strip after an orbital mission |
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