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Sun-Earth-Moon
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Satellite | A body that orbits a planet |
| Star | A giant ball of superheated gas, or plasma |
| Meteor | Small piece of rock or ice |
| Comet | A cold mixture of dust and ice that develops long trail as it approaches the sun. |
| Constellation | A pattern or group of stars that help people imagine represents a figure, animal or object |
| Geocentric | Earth-centered model |
| Heliocentric | Sun-centered model |
| Ellipse | An oval shape of planets’ orbits |
| Sun | Largest object in our solar system |
| Planet | Spherical, orbits the sun, with a larger mass than nearby objects |
| Axis | An imaginary line that passes from the North Pole through the earths center, to the South Pole |
| Revolution | Movement of one object around another. |
| Orbit | Earth’s path |
| Solstice | When the northern or southern hemisphere is at its strongest tilt towards the sun. |
| Equinox | When Night and day are both 12 hours long. |
| Gravity | Attracts all objects toward another. |
| Law of universal gravitation | The law that states every object in the universe attracts every other object. |
| Weight | Measure of the force of gravity on an object |
| Inertia | Tendency of an object to resist a change in motion |
| Newton’s first law of motion | An object will stay at rest and an object in motion will stay in motion with a constant speed and direction, unless acted on by a force |
| Phase | Different shape of the moon you see |
| Solar eclipse | When the moon passes directly between the sun and earth, only during a new moon |
| Lunar eclipse | Occurs during a full moon when earth I’d directly between the moon and sun |
| Umbra | Darkest part of a shadow where light is completely blocked |
| Penumbra | Area of a shadow where light is partially blocked |
| Tide | Daily rise and fall of ocean water |
| Spring tide | Higher high tides during new and full moons |
| Neap tide | Lower high tides during the first and third quarter moons |