Help
Options
Didn't know it?
click below
click below
Knew it?
click below
click below
Don't Know
Remaining cards (0)
Know
retry
shuffle
restart
0:00
Embed Code - If you would like this activity on your web page, copy the script below and paste it into your web page.
Normal Size Small Size show me how
Normal Size Small Size show me how
A Star is Born
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| nebula | large spiraling cloud of gas and dust |
| protostar | as nebula contracts, a small star is formed |
| nuclear fusion | hydrogen into helium |
| The life of the star after nuclear fusion is determined by | the mass of the star. |
| Solar System | the sun, planets, and many smaller objects that travel around the sun. |
| A cloud of hydrogen gas, helium gas, and dust particles begins a slow, counterclockwise rotation __________ billion years ago | five |
| planet | a body of matter that orbits a star |
| Solar System Planets | orbit the sun in a counterclockwise, elliptical path, all on the same plane |
| brightness of a star depends on | both temperature and size |
| absolute magnitude | actual brightness |
| apparent magnitude | brightness as seen from Earth |
| The distance between stars is measured in | light years |
| A light year is described as.... | the distance that light travels through space in one year |
| This is the center of our solar system... | the Sun |
| The Sun is a ________ mass star. | medium |
| The ____________ magnitude makes the Sun appear much larger. | apparent |
| The life expectancy of the Sun is about _____ ____________ years. | ten billion |
| Dense materials near the sun condensed to form these small, rocky planets. | Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars |
| Gases vaporized and pushed outward to form these huge, gaseous planets. | Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune |
| terrestrial planets | inner planets, smaller, close to the sun. Surfaces are made up of solid rock, few moons, no rings |
| jovian planets | outer planets, larger, further from the sun. composed mainly of gases, many moons and rings |
| rotation | length of time it takes a planet to spin on its axis. creates "night" and "day" |
| revolution/orbit | movement of a planet on a fixed path around the sun, counter-clockwise direction |
| motions of the moon | orbits and rotates at the same speed. SAME side of the moon always faces Earth. |
| Sun, Earth and Moon | moon reflects the light of the sun, does NOT make its own light. takes 29.5 days to go through a full phase cycle. |
| solar eclipse | The Sun is blocked. Occurs when the Moon passes directly between Earth and the Sun, casting a shadow on Earth and blocking our view of the Sun. |
| lunar eclipse | The Moon is blocked. Occurs when the Moon moves through the shadow of Earth during a full moon. |
| phases of the moon | new moon, new crescent, first quarter, new gibbous, full moon, old gibbous, last quarter, old crescent |
| asteroids | metallic, rocky bodies without atmospheres that orbit the Sun. mostly found between Mars and Jupiter, and after Neptune. |
| comets | orbit the sun in highly elliptical paths-can take up to two million years to complete one orbit. composed of a coma (icy core) and a tail (gas molecule) |
| meteoroid | chunks of matter in space whose orbits cross the orbits of the planets |
| meteor | a meteoroid that enters the Earth's atmosphere, vaporizes, and gives off streaks of light (shooting star) |
| meteorite | any meteoroid matter that survives the atmosphere and strikes the ground |
Created by:
osterman
Popular Science sets