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Lexi Rote
ESPS terms for finals -- 1st Semester
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Astronomy | The science that deals with the material universe beyond the earth's atmosphere. |
| Big Bang Theory | A theory that deduces a cataclysmic birth of the universe (big bang) from the observed expansion of the universe, cosmic background radiation, abundance of the elements, and the laws of physics. |
| Doppler Shift | T he shift in frequency (Doppler shift) of acoustic or electromagnetic radiation emitted by a source moving relative to an observer as perceived by the observer. |
| Red Shift | A shift toward longer wavelengths of the spectral lines emitted by a celestial object that is caused by the object moving away from the earth. |
| Blue Shift | A shift toward shorter wavelengths of the spectral lines of a celestial object, caused by the motion of the object toward the observer. |
| Frequency | The number of crests of a wave that move past a given point in a given unit of time. |
| Wavelength | The distance, measured in the direction of propagation of a wave, between two successive points in the wave that are characterized by the same phase of oscillation. |
| Absolute Brightness (magnitude) | how bright the star appears at a standard distance of 32.6 light-years, |
| Cosmic Microwave Background | Electromagnetic radiation coming from every direction in the universe. |
| Universe | The whole world; throughout space. |
| Galaxy | Stars together held by gravitation in space. |
| Solar System | Sun, Planets, and the other objects the revolve around it. |
| Star | A luminous object . |
| Planet | Objects revolving around the sun; Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto. |
| Electromagnetic Spectrum | The range of wavelengths or frequencies over which electromagnetic radiation extends. |
| AU - Astronomical Unit | a unit of measurement equal to 149.6 million kilometers, the mean distance from the center of the earth to the center of the sun. |
| Solar Nebula | The cloud contracted under its own gravity and our proto-Sun formed in the hot dense center. The remainder of the cloud formed a swirling disk called of the solar nebula. |
| Gas Giant | a large planet of relatively low density consisting predominantly of hydrogen and helium, such as Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, or Neptune. |
| Nuclear Fusion | a nuclear reaction in which atomic nuclei of low atomic number fuse to form a heavier nucleus with the release of energy. |
| Convective Zone | A region of turbulent plasma between a star's core and its visible photosphere at the surface, through which energy is transferred by convection. |
| Photosphere | Surface layer of the sun. |
| Chromosphere | a reddish gaseous layer immediately above the photosphere of the sun or another star. Together with the corona, it constitutes the star's outer atmosphere. |
| Corona | the rarefied gaseous envelope of the sun and other stars. The sun's corona is normally visible only during a total solar eclipse when it is seen as an irregularly shaped pearly glow surrounding the darkened disk of the moon. |
| Sunspot | a spot or patch appearing from time to time on the sun's surface, appearing dark by contrast with its surroundings. |
| Prominence | the fact or 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, associated with sunspots and causing electromagnetic disturbances on the earth, as with radio frequency communications and power line transmissions. |
| Coronal Mass Ejection | A coronal mass ejection (CME) is a significant release of plasma and accompanying magnetic field from the solar corona. |
| Light Year | a unit of astronomical distance equivalent to the distance that light travels in one year |
| Parallax | the effect whereby the position or direction of an object appears to differ when viewed from different positions, e.g., through the viewfinder and the lens of a camera. |
| Main Sequence | a series of star types to which most stars belong, represented on a Hertzsprung–Russell diagram as a continuous band extending from the upper left (hot, bright stars) to the lower right (cool, dim stars). |
| HR Diagram | a scatter plot of stars showing the relationship between the stars' absolute magnitudes or luminosities versus their stellar classifications or effective temperatures. |
| Nebular | A nebula is an interstellar cloud of dust, hydrogen, helium and other ionized gases. |
| Red Giant | a very large star of high luminosity and low surface temperature. Red giants are thought to be in a late stage of evolution when no hydrogen remains in the core to fuel nuclear fusion. |
| White Dwarf | a small very dense star that is typically the size of a planet. A white dwarf is formed when a low-mass star has exhausted all its central nuclear fuel and lost its outer layers as a planetary nebula. |
| Nova | a star showing a sudden large increase in brightness and then slowly returning to its original state over a few months. |
| Neutron Star | a celestial object of very small radius (typically 18 miles/30 km) and very high density. |
| Pulsar | a celestial object, thought to be a rapidly rotating neutron star, that emits regular pulses of radio waves and other electromagnetic radiation at rates of up to one thousand pulses per second. |
| Blackhole | a region of space having a gravitational field so intense that no matter or radiation can escape. |
| Constellations | a group of stars forming a recognizable pattern that is traditionally named after its apparent form or identified with a mythological figure. Modern astronomers divide the sky into eighty-eight constellations with defined boundaries. |
| Cosmology | the science of the origin and development of the universe. Modern astronomy is dominated by the Big Bang theory, which brings together observational astronomy and particle physics. |
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Lexi Rote
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