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Astronomy - Unit
Astronomy - Unit 1 - Gullett
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| autumnal equinox | the equinox in the fall from which time moving forward the amount of daylight begins to shorten, approximately September 22nd in the Northern Hemisphere and March 20 in Southern Hemisphere |
| celestial equator | the projection of the Earth's equator on the celestial sphere |
| celestial sphere | a sky map that is the apparent hollow sphere of the sky |
| constellation | an entire area of the celestial sphere and all the objects in it |
| declination | the equivalent to latitude on Earth on the celestial sphere and measured from 0 degrees to 90 degrees north or south of the celestial equator |
| equinox | either of two days a year when the sun's path crosses the celestial equator with exactly 12 hours of daylight and 12 hours of night everywhere on Earth |
| vernal equinox | the equinox in the spring from which time moving forward the amount of daylight begins to lengthen, approximately March 20th in the Northern Hemisphere and September 22 in Southern Hemisphere |
| lunar eclipse | an eclipse in which the moon appears darkened as it passes into the earth's shadow |
| lunar phases | any one of the different aspects or appearances of the moon as seen from Earth |
| partial eclipse | an eclipse of a celestial body in which only part of the luminary is obscured or darkened |
| precession | the small circular motion of the Earth's axis due to the combined forces of gravity from sun and rotation of the Earth |
| revolution | the motion of any astronomic object around another astronomical object; |
| solar eclipse | an eclipse in which the sun is obscured by the moon. |
| summer solstice | the day of the year in the northern hemisphere with the most daylight when the sun is at its highest point in the sky at noon |
| total eclipse | an eclipse in which the whole of the disk of the sun or moon is obscured. |
| winter solstice | the day of the year in the norther hemisphere with the least daylight when the sun is at its lowest point in the shy at noon. |
| asterism | a pattern of stars usually incorporating one or more bright stars that have names and are used for orientation |
| right ascension | the equivalent of longitude on Earth on the celestial sphere, measured from 0 hour to 24 hours around the celestial equator |
| solstice | either of two times a year when the sun reaches its highest or lowest point in the sky at noon, marked by the longest and shortest days of the year |
| umbra | the part of the shadow where all direct light is blocked and is the darkest part of the shadow |
| penumbra | the part of the shadow where only some of the light is blocked and is the lighter part of the shadow |
| scientific theory | an explanation of an aspect of the natural world that can be tested and verified and offers an explanation of "how" or "why" |
| scientific law | a statement that describe or predict a range of natural phenomena that can be tested and verified and describes "what" |
| geocentric view | the view that all heavenly bodies revolve around the Earth |
| heliocentric model | the model that describes the movement of the planets around the sun |
| retrograde motion | the apparent reverse movement of objects such as planets in the sky over time. |
| Copernicus | developed the first heliocentric model of the universe |
| Kepler | mathematically described the motion of the planets based on the heliocentric model of the universe |
| Galileo | know for the "law of falling bodies" he also made observations of the night sky using a telescope |
| Newton | known for the laws of motion and developed calculus to mathematically explain the motion of all heavenly bodies |
Created by:
lpgullett
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