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Universe/Solar Sys
Integrated Science
Term | Definition |
---|---|
Astronomy | scientific study of the universe |
Galaxy | a collection of stars, dust, and gas bound together by gravity |
Astronomical Unit | the average distance between Earth and the sun; approximately 150 million kilometers |
Electromagnetic Spectrum | all of the frequencies or wavelengths of electromagnetic spectrum |
Cosmic Background Radiation | a radiation uniformly detected from every direction in space; considered a remnant of the big bang |
Solar System | the sun and all of the planets and other bodies that travel around it |
Solar Nebula | a rotating cloud of gas and dust from which the sun and planets formed; also any nebula from which stars and exoplanets may form |
Orbital Period | the time required for a body to complete a single orbit |
Eccentricity | the degree of elongation of an elliptical orbit |
Inertia | the tendency of an object to resist a change in motion an outside force acts on the object |
Planetesimal | a small body from which a planet originated in the early stages of development of the solar system |
Planet | a celestial body that orbits the sun, is round because of its own gravity, and has cleared the neighborhood around its orbital path |
Asteroid | a small, rocky object that orbits the sun; most asteroids are located in a band between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter |
Comet | a small body of ice, rock, and cosmic dust that follows an elliptical orbit around the sun and that gives off gas and dust in the form of a tail as it passes close to the sun |
meteoroid | a relatively small, rocky body that travels through space |
Meteor | a bright streak of light that results when a meteoroid burns up in Earth's atmosphere |