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Astronomy Vocabulary
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Rotation | Earth rotates on its axis, causing day and night |
| Revolution | Earth revolves around the Sun, causing seasons. The moon revolves around the Earth. |
| Orbit | The path of a celestial body around a star or planet. Typically elliptical. |
| Equator | The imaginary line that divides the Earth into the northern and southern hemispheres |
| Hemisphere | Half of a sphere, Earth is divided into the north and south hemispheres |
| Umbra | The darkest part of the shadow during an eclipse |
| Penumbra | The partial part of a shadow during an eclipse |
| Lunar eclipse | When the Earth moves between the Sun and Moon and casts a shadow on the Moon |
| Solar eclipse | When the Moon moves between the Sun and the Earth and casts a shadow on the Earth. |
| Spring Tides | Occur when the Sun, Earth, and Moon create a straight line. |
| Neap Tides | Occur when the Sun, Earth, and Moon create a right angle. |
| Axis | an invisible line around which an object rotates, or spins. |
| Latitude | the angle between the plane of the earth's equator and the direction of gravity at a given point on the earth's surface |
| Season | The natural rotation of Earth around the sun forms the basis for the astronomical calendar, in which we define seasons with two solstices and two equinoxes. |
| Equinox | the only time when both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres experience roughly equal amounts of daytime and nighttime. |
| Summer solstice | annual astronomical phenomenon that brings the longest day of the year and the first day of summer in the Northern Hemisphere (and the shortest night |
| Winter solstice | annual astronomical phenomenon that brings the shortest day of the year and the first day of winter in the Northern Hemisphere (and the longest night). |
| Crescent | 1⁄4 of the side of the Moon facing the Earth is lit up by the Sun |
| First quarter | 1⁄2 of the side of the Moon facing the Earth is lit up by the Sun |
| Full moon | The entire half of the Moon facing the Earth is lit up by the Sun |
| Gibbous | 3⁄4 of the side of the Moon facing the Earth is lit up by the Sun |
| Last quarter | 1⁄2 of the side of the Moon facing the Earth is lit up by the Sun |
| New moon | The entire half of the Moon facing the Earth is not lit up by the Sun |
| Waning | The lit up side of the moon facing the Earth slowly decreases |
| Waxing | The lit up side of the moon facing the Earth slowly increases |
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The Sconics YT
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