click below
click below
Normal Size Small Size show me how
astronomy8
Question | Answer |
---|---|
what is Astronomy? | A belief that links the positions of the stars and planets to human destinies. It has no scientific background. |
what is axis? | An imaginary straight line on which an object rotates. |
what is rotation | When an object spins it is said to be rotating. |
what is revolution | When something is moving in a circle around another object such as the way the Moon Circles the Earth it is said to revolve around that object. |
what is orbit | The path one object takes around another. |
what is solstice | 22 June, and 22 December. Time of the year when the day is either shortest, or longest depending on where you are. |
what is equinox | March 21st, and September 22nd. Twice a year, when the day and night are the same amount of time all around the world. |
what is phase | The apparent change in the shape of the Moon, Mercury, and Venus due to how much of the sunlit side is facing the Earth. |
what is eclipse | When our view of one object in the sky is blocked by either another object, or the Earths shadow. |
what is gravity | The attractive force between two objects; it magnitude depends on their mass and the distence between them |
what is tide | The rise and fall of the level of water in the ocean |
what is satellite | A small object orbiting a larger one. There are many electronic objects that orbit the Earth. |
what is telescope | A device built to study distant objercts by making them appear closer. |
what is geocentric | Simply means the Earth in the Center. People used to believe the Universe was geocentric, or that the Earth was in the center of the Universe. |
what is heliocentric | A discription of tyhe solar system in which al of the planets revolve around the sun. |
what is inner planet | First four planets Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars |
what is outer planet | The Outer Planets are Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. |
what is comet | A small, frozen mass of dust and gas revolving around the sun. |
what is asteroid | A rock, or Minor Planet orbiting the Sun. |
what is meteroid | A shooting star, observed when a particle of dust enters into the Earth's atmosphere. |
what is constellation | A grouping of stars which have been given names by ancient astronomers because of the way they look. |
what is galaxy | A giant structure that contians hundreds of billions of stars. |
what is universe | All of space and every thing in it. |
what is Milky Way | Our Galaxy. (the word "Galaxy" actually means milky way in Greek). |