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Mr. Vaughan Unit 10
Unit 10 Solar System
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| solar system | the sun and all the bodies that orbit the sun. |
| heliocentric | a model in which the earth and the other planets orbit the sun. |
| geocentric | a model in which the earth is at the center of the solar system, with the sun, moon, and other planets circling it. |
| parallax | an apparent shift in the position of an object when viewed from different locations. |
| gravity | the force of attraction between objects due to their masses. |
| orbit | the path that a body follows as it travels around another body in space. |
| aphelion | the object is farthest from the sun when orbiting the sun. |
| perihelion | the object is closet to the sun when orbiting the sun. |
| centripetal force | the inward force that causes an object to move in a circular path. |
| solar nebula | a collapsed cloud of dust and gas which formed the solar system. |
| planetesimals | a small body from which a planet originated in the early stages of development of the solar system. |
| nuclear fusion | the process by which two or more low-mass atomic nuclei fuse to form another, heavier nucleus. |
| sunspot | dark areas that form on the surface of the sun. Hot, convecting gases are prevented from reaching the sun's surface. 1500 degrees cooler. |
| solar flare | an explosive release of energy that can extend outward as far as the sun's outer atmosphere. |
| prominence | huge loops of relatively cool gas that extend outward thousands of kilometers from the sun. |
| terrestrial planet | the four small, dense, rocky planets that orbit closest to the sun. |
| astronomical unit | the average distance between the sun and earth, or approximately 150 million kilometers. |
| gas giant | have deep, massive gas atmospheres made up mostly of hydrogen and helium. Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune are the gas giants and orbit farthest from the sun. |
| planetary ring | a disk of material that circles a planet and consists of orbiting particles. |
| dwarf planet | a celestial body that orbits the sun and is round because of its own gravity but does not have the mass to clear other bodies out of its orbital path. |
| kuiper belt | region of the solar system that begins just beyond the orbit of Neptune and contains small bodies made of mostly ice. |
| kuiper belt object | any of the minor bodies in the kuiper belt. |
| comet | a small body of ice, rock, and dust that follows a highly elliptical orbit around the sun. |
| oort cloud | a spherical region that surround the solar system and extends almost halfway to the nearest star. |
| asteroid | a small, irregularly shaped, rocky object that orbits the sun. |
| meteoroid | a sand grain to boulder-sized, rocky body that travels through space. |
| meteor | a bright streak of light that results when a meteor burns up in Earth's atmosphere. |
| meteorite | a meteoroid that reaches Earth's surface without burning up. |
Created by:
dougteach65
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