Term | Definition |
astronomy | The study of the universe |
civilisation | A society in a particular time and place |
eclipse | When one object obstructs another from view |
equator | Point at 90 degrees from the axis |
hieroglyphics | Pictures and symbols to communicate |
codex (plural: codices) | Ancient books containing hieroglyphics |
comet | An asteroid with an intergalactical orbit |
satellite | When one object circles another |
planet | An object large enough to make itself round by its own gravity |
Solar System | The system of planets orbiting the Sun |
anticlockwise | In opposite motion to a clock’s hands |
revolution | To spin once on its axis |
axis | The imaginary line about which an object turns |
Poles | The upper and lower points on the surface where the axis is |
tilted | Not completely vertical |
altitude | The angle measured from the horizon |
clinometer | Instrument to measure the altitude of the Sun |
autumnal equinox | From summer into winter when the day and night are equal length |
sundial | Using the sun to tell the time of day |
Antarctica | Land mass at the South Pole |
Arctic Circle | Ice mass at the North Pole |
hemisphere | From the equator to the pole (Northern or Southern) |
seasonal | Of the seasons – Summer, Autumn, Winter, Spring |
atmosphere | Layer of air above the Earth’s surface |
phases | The different shapes of the moon |
waxes | Increasing in shape size |
wanes | Decreasing in shape size |
crescent | Shape that the moon takes |
solar | Belonging to the Sun |
annular | A partial eclipse |
elliptical | In an oval shaped orbit |
annulus | Area of sunlight showing around the moon in an eclispe |
lunar | Belonging to the moon |
scattered | Spread out |
orbit | The path of motion of one object around another |
asteroid | Large masses less than planets in space |
meteor | Space rocks that burn up in the atmosphere |
meteorite | Space rock |
constellation | Groupings of stars |
Milky Way | Our galaxy (containing the Solar system) |
galaxy | A collection of star systems |
Andromeda | The nearest galaxy to the Milky Way |