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Space
7.9AB Supporting Life Inside & Outside Earth's Atmosphere
Term | Definition |
---|---|
Astronaut | A person trained to be part of a spacecraft crew. |
Space Walk | An activity in which an astronaut moves around and does work outside a spacecraft while in space. |
Space Suit | A complex system of garments that allow astronauts to work safely outside their spacecraft. |
Micrometeoroids | Tiny meteoroids traveling fast enough to damage spacecraft. |
Microgravity | The condition in which people or objects appear to be weightless. |
Vacuum | A volume of space mostly empty of matter, such as oxygen to breathe. |
Atmosphere | The entire mass of air that surrounds Earth, made up of 78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen, and trace amounts of other gases. |
Ozone Layer | Gas in Earth’s atmosphere that absorbs most of the damaging high-energy ultraviolet radiation from the Sun. |
Ultraviolet Radiation | A portion of the electromagnetic spectrum emitted by the Sun; can cause tanning, sun burning, and skin cancers. |
Solar Winds | A continuous stream of charged particles from the Sun, with variations in the stream causing beautiful aurora displays (northern lights), as well as geomagnetic storms that knock out power grids on Earth. |
Earth's Magnetic Field | Magnetic lines of force from Earth’s polar north and south, acting like a giant magnet. |
Magnetosphere | An area that deflects and traps harmful particles; resulting from an interaction of Earth’s magnetic field with solar “wind” (charged plasma) streaming from the Sun. |
Solar System | The collection of planets and their moons in orbit around a sun, together with smaller bodies in the form of asteroids, meteoroids, and comets. |
Composition | The combination of parts or elements that make up something; e.g., Earth's atmosphere is composed mostly of nitrogen (78%), oxygen (21%), and trace amounts of argon, carbon dioxide, ozone, water vapor, and other gases. |
Proximity | Nearness in space, time, or relationship; e.g., Earth's proximity to the sun allows it to maintain proper temperatures to sustain life. |