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Space Flash
Filled With Vocabulary For My Space Unit In Science Class
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Meteor | a streak of light in the sky produced by the burning of a meteoroid in Earth''s atmosphere |
| Asteroid Belt | any of thousands of dense rocky objects in orbit around the sun between Mars and Jupiter |
| Comet | a ball of ice, dust, and frozen gases that orbits the sun |
| Revolution | the movement of an object around another object |
| Rotation | the spinning motion of a planet on its axis |
| Outer Planets | gas giant planets found outside of the asteroid belt |
| Inner Planets | terrestrial (earth-like) planets that are dense solids located between the sun and the asteroid belt |
| Gravity | the attractive force between two objects. (The more massive an object, the greater its gravitational force. Example: Earth’s gravity is greater than the gravity of the moon |
| Axial Tilt | the invisible axis that are tilted allowing for seasons to occur |
| Probe | a robotic spacecraft that leaves Earth’s orbit and explores space |
| Satellite | any object that revolves around another object in space. Can be artificial or natural like the Moon |
| Heliocentric | Nicolaus Copernicus’ idea that the Earth, planets, and stars all revolved around the Sun |
| Geocentric | Aristotle & Ptolemy believed that the Earth was the center of the Universe and all objects revolved around it |
| Tides | the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of gravitational forces exerted by the Moon |
| Green House Effect | is the process by which radiation from a planet's atmosphere warms the planet's surface to a temperature above what it would be without an atmosphere |
| illuminated | to light up |
| Celestial Objects | Known collectively by astronomers as celestial bodies, astronomical objects, and astronomical bodies, they are the stuff that fills the empty space of the universe |
| Lunar Eclipse | occurs when the Earth is between the sun and moon. Sunlight is blocked by the Earth |
| Solar Eclipse | occurs during the NEW MOON PHASE when the moon passes between the Sun and Earth, and the moon fully or partially blocks the Sun |
| Autumn | the season between summer and winter known as fall in North America |
| Equinox | the time and date when the sun passes directly over the equator; the length of day and night are equal (12 hours each) |
| Solstice | the time and date when the sun is at its greatest distance from the equator; length of day and night show greatest difference |
| Orbit | revolve around circle around go around travel around |
| Diameter | a straight line passing from side to side through the center of a circle or sphere the measurement from one side of a circle/sphere to the other side as you pass directly through the center. The equator is the diameter of the Earth |
| Survivable Temperatures | the highest and lowest temperatures that humans can stand without dying |
| Astronomer | the study of celestial objects (stars, galaxies, planets, moons, asteroids, comets and nebulae) and all phenomena that originate outside the atmosphere of Earth |