Help
Options
Didn't know it?
click below
click below
Knew it?
click below
click below
Don't Know
Remaining cards (0)
Know
retry
shuffle
restart
0:00
Embed Code - If you would like this activity on your web page, copy the script below and paste it into your web page.
Normal Size Small Size show me how
Normal Size Small Size show me how
Chapter 3
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Solar System | The system consisting of the sun and the planets and other objects that revolve around it. |
| Astronomical unit | A unit of distance equal to the average distance between Earth and the sun, about 150 million kilometers. |
| Planet | An object that orbits a star, is large enough to be rounded by its own gravity, and has cleared the area of its orbit. |
| Planetesimal | One of the small asteroid like bodies that formed the building blocks of the planets. |
| Dwarf planet | An object that orbits the sun and is spherical, but has not cleared the area of this orbit. |
| Core | The central region of the sun, where nuclear fusion takes place. |
| nuclear fusion | The process in which two atomic nuclei combine to form a larger nucleus, forming a heavier element and releasing huge amounts of energy; the process by which energy is produced in stars. |
| radiation zone | A region of very tightly packed gas in the sun's interior where energy is transferred mainly in the form of electromagnetic radiation. |
| convection zone | The outermost later of the sun's interior. |
| photosphere | The inner layer of the sun's atmosphere that gives off its visible light; the sun's surface. |
| chromosphere | The middle layer of the sun's atmosphere. |
| corona | The outer layer of the sun's atmosphere. |
| solar wind | A stream of electrically charged particles that emanate from the sun's corona. |
| sunspot | A dark area of gas on the sun's surface that is cooler than surrounding gases. |
| prominence | A huge, reddish loop of gas that protrudes from the sun's surface, linking parts of sunspot regions. |
| solar flare | An eruption of gas from the sun's surface that occurs when the loops in sunspot regions suddenly connect. |
| terrestrial planet | The name often given to the four inner planets: Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars. |
| greenhouse effect | The trapping of heat near a planet's surface by certain gases in the planet's atmosphere. |
| gas giant | The name often given to the outer planets: Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. |
| ring | A think disk of small ice and rock particles surrounding a planet. |
| asteroid belt | The region of the solar system between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter, where many asteroids are found. |
| kuiper belt | A region where many small objects orbit the sun and that stretches from beyond the orbit of Neptune to about 100 times Earth's distance from the sun. |
| Oort cloud | A spherical region of comets that surrounds the solar system. |
| comet | A loose collection of ice and dust that orbits the sun, typically in a long, narrow orbit. |
| coma | The fuzzy outer layer of a comet. |
| nucleus | The solid inner core of a comet. |
| asteroid | One of the rocky objects revolving around the sun that are too small and numerous to be considered planets. |
| meteoroid | A chunk of rock or dust in space, generally smaller than an asteroid. |
| meteor | A streak of light in the sky produced by the burning of a meteoroid in Earth's atmosphere. |
| meteorite | A meteoroid that passes through the atmosphere and hits Earth;'s surface. |
Created by:
user-1975215