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Top 8: SS & Universe
Topic 8: Solar System & the Universe
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| solar system | the system consisting of the sun and the planets and other objects that revolve around it |
| astronomical unit | a unit of distance equal to the average distance between Earth and the sun, about 150 million kilometers |
| sun | a large, gaseous body at the center of the solar system |
| moon | a natural satellite that orbits a planet |
| asteroid | one of the rocky objects revolving around the sun that are too small and numerous to be considered a planet |
| meteoroid | a chunk of rock or dust in space, generally smaller that an asteroid |
| electromagnetic radiation | the energy transferred through space by electromagnetic waves |
| visible light | electromagnetic radiation that can be seen with the unaided eye |
| spectrum | the range of wavelengths of electromagnetic waves |
| wavelength | the distance between two corresponding parts of a wave, such as the distance between two crests |
| telescope | an optical instrument that forms enlarged images of distant objects |
| parallax | used to measure the distance to nearby stars |
| galaxy | a huge group of single stars, star systems, star clusters, dust, and gas bound together by gravity |
| spiral galaxy | galaxy with a bulge in the middle and arms that spiral outward like pinwheels; Milky Way |
| elliptical galaxy | galaxies that are rounded but may be elongated and slightly flattened |
| irregular galaxy | galaxy without a regular shape; small, contain young, bright star and a lot of gas and dust |
| quasars | active, young galaxies with black holes at their center |
| convection zone | the outermost layer of the sun's interior; hot plasma rises and cooler plasma sinks |
| radiative zone | second layer of the sun's interior; most heat flows through as forms of electromagnetic radiation |
| core | central region of the sun where nuclear fussion of hydrogen into helium occurs |
| photosphere | inner layer of the sun's atmosphere; most of sun's bright light is produced here |
| chromosphere | second layer of the sun's atmosphere; produces the sun's color |
| corona | outermost layer of the sun's atmosphere; looks like a white halo and can extend into space for millions of kilometers |
| sunspots | areas of plasma on the sun's surface that are cooler than the plasma around them; produce less heat therefore appear darker |
| prominences | huge loops of plasma that are polarized link different sunspot regions |
| solar flares | when loops in the sunspot regions connect and erupt into space; large ones can cause major damage to the magnetic field on Earth |
| dwarf planet | an object that orbits the sun and has enough gravity to be spherical, but its not cleared the area of its orbit |
| Kuiper belt | flat ring of icy small bodies that revolve around the Sun beyond the orbit of the planet Neptune; where most short-period comets around found and home to Pluto |
| Oort cloud | immense, roughly spherical cloud of icy small bodies that are inferred to revolve around the Sun at distances typically more than 1,000 times that of the orbit of Neptune and past Pluto; long-period comets come from |
| terrestrial planet | inner planets that are smaller and dense, and have a rocky surface |
| gas giant | outer planets that are larger and more massive than Earth, they do not have a solid surface |
| asteroid belt | The region between Mars and Jupiter that consists mostly of asteroids |
Created by:
muellershauna
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