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vocab astronomy 2
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| photosphere | the luminous envelope of a star from which its light and heat radiate |
| chromosphere | a reddish gaseous layer immediately above the photosphere of the sun or another star |
| corona | the rarefied gaseous envelope of the sun and other stars |
| solar wind | the continuous flow of charged particles from the sun that permeates the solar system |
| sunspot | a spot or patch appearing from time to time on the sun's surface, appearing dark by contrast with its surroundings |
| prominence | condition of standing out from something by physically projecting or being particularly noticeable |
| solar flare | a brief eruption of intense high-energy radiation from the sun's surface |
| aurora | a natural electrical phenomenon characterized by the appearance of reddish or greenish light in the sky |
| nuclear fusion | a nuclear reaction in which atomic nuclei of low atomic number fuse to form a heavier nucleus with the release of energy |
| constellation | a group of stars forming a recognizable pattern that is traditionally named after its apparent form or identified with a mythological figure |
| binary star | a system of two stars in which one star revolves around the other or both revolve around a common center |
| light year | a unit of astronomical distance equivalent to the distance that light travels in one year |
| apparent magnitude | the magnitude of a celestial object as it is actually measured from the earth |
| absolute magnitude | the magnitude of a celestial object as it would be seen at a standard distance of 10 parsecs |
| main sequence star | star that fuses hydrogen in its core and has a stable balance of outward pressure from core nuclear fusion and gravitational forces pushing inward |
| red giant | a very large star of high luminosity and low surface temperature |
| supergiant | a very large star that is even brighter than a giant, often despite being relatively cool |
| cepheid variable | a variable star having a regular cycle of brightness with a frequency related to its luminosity |
| nova | a star showing a sudden large increase in brightness and then slowly returning to its original state over a few months |
| nebulae | a cloud of gas and dust in outer space |
| hertzsprung-russell- diagram | in which the absolute magnitudes of stars are plotted against their spectral types |
| protostar | a contracting mass of gas that represents an early stage in the formation of a star |
| supernova | a star that suddenly increases greatly in brightness |
| white dwarf | a small very dense star that is typically the size of a planet |
| neutron star | a celestial object of very small radius and very high density, composed predominantly of closely packed neutrons |
| pulsar | a celestial object,that emits regular pulses of radio waves and other electromagnetic radiation |
| black hole | a region of space having a gravitational field so intense that no matter or radiation can escape |
| galaxy | a system of millions or billions of stars, together with gas and dust, held together by gravitational attraction |
| hubbles law | A law of cosmology stating that the rate at which astronomical objects in the universe move apart from each other is proportional to their distance from each other |
| big bang therory | prevailing cosmological model for the universe from the earliest known periods through its subsequent large-scale evolution |
Created by:
mailepaek
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