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The Solar System
unit 3
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| solar system | the sun and all of the bodies that orbit the sun |
| heliocentric | model earth and the other planets orbit the sun |
| geocentric | describes something that uses earth as the reference point |
| parallax | an apparent shift in the position of an object when viewed from different locations |
| gravity | a collection of stars, dust and gas bound together |
| orbit | the path that a body follows as it travels around another body in space |
| aphelion | In the orbit of a planet or other body in the Solar system the point that is farthest from the sun |
| perihelion | the specific point in an astronomical body’s elliptical orbit (such as a planet, comet, or satellite) where it is closest to the Sun |
| centripetal force | the inward force required to keep a particle or an object moving in a circular path |
| solar nebula | a rotating cloud of gas and dust from which the sun and planets formed |
| planetesimal | a small body from which a planet originated in the early stages of development of the solar system |
| nuclear fusion | the process by which nuclei of small atoms combine to form a new more massive nucleus the process releases energy |
| sunspot | a dark area of the photosphere of the sun that is cooler than the surrounding areas and that has a strong magnetic field |
| solar flare | a sudden, intense explosion of energy and radiation from the Sun's surface, caused by the release of magnetic energy near sunspots |
| prominence | the state of being easily seen, well-known, important, or physically jutting out |
| terrestrial planet | rocky, Earth-like planets composed primarily of silicate rocks or metals, possessing a solid surface, a molten heavy-metal core, and few or no moons |
| astronomical unit | a unit of length used for measuring distances within our solar system |
| gas giant | a large planet composed primarily of hydrogen and helium, featuring thick atmospheres, no defined solid surface, and a small rocky or metallic core |
| planetary ring | a disk-like or torus-shaped aggregation of countless small particles—ranging from dust and ice to boulder-sized chunks—that orbits a planet's equator |
| dwarf planet | a celestial body orbiting the Sun that is massive enough to be rounded by its own gravity, but has not cleared its orbital neighborhood of other debris |
| Kuiper Belt | a vast, doughnut-shaped region of icy bodies, remnants from the solar system's formation, located in the outer solar system beyond Neptune's orbit |
| Kuiper Belt object | a small, icy solar system body that orbits the Sun in the region beyond Neptune, roughly 30 to 50 astronomical units (AU) from the Sun |
| comet | a small, icy celestial body that orbits the Sun, often traveling from the outer solar system |
| Oort cloud | a theoretical, vast spherical shell surrounding the Solar System, composed of billions of icy planetesimals (comets, water, methane, and ammonia |
| asteroid | small, rocky, airless, and irregularly shaped celestial bodies that orbit the Sun |
| meteoroid | a small, rocky or metallic body traveling through outer space. |
| meteor | the streak of light—commonly called a "shooting star"—produced when a small piece of space debris (a meteoroid) enters Earth's atmosphere at high speed and burns up due to friction. |
| meteorite | a solid piece of debris from an object, such as a comet, asteroid, or meteoroid, originating in outer space that survives its passage through Earth's atmosphere to land on the surface |
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