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Space and Our Planet

TermDefinition
Galaxy A huge collection of stars, gas, and dust held together by gravity. Galaxies can be spiral, elliptical, or irregular in shape.
Moon Phases The changing shapes of the Moon that we see from Earth, caused by the Moon’s revolution around Earth and the way sunlight hits it.
Sun The star at the center of our Solar System. It provides energy that makes life possible on Earth and controls the orbits of all Solar System objects.
Axis An imaginary line that an object rotates around. Earth’s axis is tilted about 23.5°, which causes the seasons.
Seasons The different times of year (spring, summer, fall, winter) caused by Earth’s tilt on its axis as it revolves around the Sun.
Constellation A pattern of stars in the night sky that people have named, often after animals, objects, or mythological figures.
Hemisphere Half of a planet. Earth has a Northern Hemisphere and a Southern Hemisphere. The tilt of Earth causes the hemispheres to experience opposite seasons.
Milky Way The galaxy we live in. It is a spiral galaxy that contains billions of stars, including our Sun, and our Solar System is located on one of its spiral arms.
Solar System The Sun and everything that orbits around it, including planets, moons, asteroids, comets, and dwarf planets, all held together by the Sun’s gravity.
Planet A large, round object in space that orbits a star (like the Sun), has enough gravity to make itself spherical, and has cleared its orbit of other objects.
Moon A natural satellite that orbits a planet. Moons can vary in size and shape; Earth’s Moon is the 5th largest in our Solar System.
Asteroid A small, rocky object that orbits the Sun, usually found in the Asteroid Belt between Mars and Jupiter.
Comet A small, icy object that orbits the Sun. When it gets close to the Sun, the ice and dust heat up, creating a glowing tail that always points away from the Sun.
Inner Planets The four rocky planets closest to the Sun: Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars. They are smaller and made mostly of solid rock and metal.
Outer Planets The four gas and ice giants farther from the Sun: Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. They are much larger and made mostly of gases.
Asteroid Belt A region between Mars and Jupiter where most asteroids orbit the Sun.
Orbit The path an object takes as it moves around another object in space, usually shaped like an oval (ellipse).
Revolution When one object travels all the way around another object. Example: Earth takes 365 days to revolve around the Sun.
Rotation The spinning of an object on its axis. Example: Earth rotates once every 24 hours, causing day and night.
Apparent Brightness How bright a star looks from Earth. This depends on both its actual energy (luminosity) and its distance from us.
Terrestrial A word meaning “Earth-like”; used to describe the inner, rocky planets (Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars).
Gaseous Made mostly of gas instead of solid rock. This describes the outer planets (Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune), which are gas or ice giants.
Star A huge ball of hot, glowing gas (mostly hydrogen and helium) that produces light and heat through nuclear fusion.
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