Earth Moon Science

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andromeda galaxy

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a spiral galaxy approximately 2.5 million light-years away[4] in the constellation Andromeda. It is the nearest spiral galaxy to our own, the Milky Way

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anthracite

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a hard, compact variety of mineral coal that has a high lustre

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apogee

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orbit around the earth

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apollo 11

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The Apollo 11 mission was the first manned mission to land on the Moon.

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apollo 13

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Two days after the launch, third manned-the Apollo spacecraft was crippled by an explosion, caused by an electrical fault in an oxygen tank.

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apollo 14

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Apollo 14 was the eighth manned mission in the Apollo program and the third mission to land on the Moon,

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apollo 15

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the ninth manned mission in the Apollo program and the fourth mission to land on the Moon. It was the first of what were termed "J missions", long duration stays on the Moon with a greater focus on science than had been possible on previous missions

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apollo 16

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Apollo 16 was the tenth manned mission in the Apollo program and the fifth mission to land on the Moon, the first to land in the highlands area.

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apollo 17

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It was the first night launch of a U.S. human spaceflight and the sixth and final lunar landing mission of the Apollo program.

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aqueducts

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An aqueduct is a water supply or navigable channel (conduit) that is constructed to convey water from one location to another.

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asteroid

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are smaller than planets but larger than meteoroids, but exclude comets-sometimes called minor planets

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asteroid belt

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The asteroid belt is the region of the Solar System located roughly between the orbits of the planets Mars and Jupiter.

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aurora australis

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natural light displays in the sky--southern polar lights

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aurora borealis

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natural light displays in the sky--northern polar lights

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autumnal equinox

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An equinox happens each year at two specific moments in time (not a whole day) when the centre of the Sun can be observed to be vertically above the Earth's equator, occurring around March 20 or 21 and September 22 or 23 each year.

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barred spiral galaxy

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a spiral galaxy with a central bar-shaped structure composed of stars

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Big Bang

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refers to the idea that the universe has expanded from a primordial hot and dense initial condition at some finite time in the past, and continues to expand to this day.

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biodiversity

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the variation of life forms within a given ecosystem, biome, or for the entire Earth

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biodegradable

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the process by which organic substances are broken down by the enzymes produced by living organisms

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bioremediation

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any process that uses microorganisms, fungi, green plants or their enzymes to return the natural environment altered by contaminants to its original condition.

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bituminous coal

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Bituminous coal is a relatively soft coal containing a tarlike substance called bitumen. It is of higher quality than lignite coal but poorer quality than anthracite coal.

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black dwarf

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A black dwarf is a hypothetical star, created when a white dwarf becomes sufficiently cool to no longer emit significant heat or light.

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black hole

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A black hole is a region of space in which the gravitational field is so powerful that nothing, including electromagnetic radiation (e.g. visible light), can escape its pull after having fallen past its event horizon

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blue

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is a colour, the perception of which is evoked by light having a spectrum dominated by energy with a wavelength of roughly 440–490 nm.

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carrying capacity

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Carrying capacity is thus the number of individuals an environment can support without significant negative impacts to the given organism and its environment.

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chromosphere

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a thin layer of the Sun's atmosphere just above the photosphere, roughly 2,000 kilometres deep

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comet

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A comet is a small Solar System body that orbits the Sun and, when close enough to the Sun, exhibits a visible coma (atmosphere) or a tail — both primarily from the effects of solar radiation upon the comet's nucleus

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conservation

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a movement seeking to protect plants, animals and their habitats

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constellation

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A constellation is a group of stars that appear to have a physical proximity in the sky

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convection zone

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The convection zone of a star is the range of radii in which energy is transported primarily by convection

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core

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the region of the Sun where nuclear fusion takes place

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corona

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A corona is a type of plasma "atmosphere" of the Sun or other celestial body, extending millions of kilometres into space, most easily seen during a total solar eclipse, but also observable in a coronagraph. The

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cosmic rays

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energetic particles originating from space that impinge on Earth's atmosphere. Almost 90% of all the incoming cosmic ray particles are protons, about 9% are helium nuclei (alpha particles) and about 1% are electrons

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crater

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caused by two celestial bodies impacting each other, such as a meteorite hitting a planet
Volcanic crater or caldera, formed by volcanic activity

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decomposing

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Decomposition (or spoilage) refers to the process by which tissues of dead organisms break down into simpler forms of matter

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desertification

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Desertification is the degradation of land in arid and dry sub-humid areas, resulting primarily from human activities and influenced by climatic variations. It's also a failure of the ecological succession process

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deforestation

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Deforestation is the conversion of (forest)ed areas to non-forested land, for uses such as: pasture, urban use, logging purposes, and can result in arid land and wastelands.

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desalination

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any of several processes that remove excess salt and other minerals from water. More generally, desalination may also refer to the removal of salts and minerals

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distilling

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Distillation is a method of separating mixtures based on differences in their volatilities in a boiling liquid mixture

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dormant

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Dormant volcano, a volcano that is inactive but may become active in the future

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doppler effect

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the change in frequency and wavelength of a wave for an observer moving relative to the source of the waves. It is commonly heard when a vehicle sounding a siren approaches, passes and recedes from an observer.

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electromagnetic wave

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look in book

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equilibrium

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equal

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equinox

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Equinoxes occur twice a year, when the tilt of the Earth's axis is oriented neither from nor to the Sun, causing the Sun to be located vertically above a point on the equator

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full moon

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Full moon is a lunar phase that occurs when the Moon is on the opposite side of the Earth from the Sun

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galaxy

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A galaxy is a massive, gravitationally bound system consisting of stars, an interstellar medium of gas and dust, and dark matter.[

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Galileo

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His achievements include improvements to the telescope and consequent astronomical observations, and support for Copernicanism. Galileo has been called the "father of modern observational astronomy

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geothermal

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heat that comes from within the Earth

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geographic north poles

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the point in the northern hemisphere where the Earth's axis of rotation meets the Earth's surface. It should not be confused with the North Magnetic Pole.

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geographic south pole

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It is the southernmost point on the surface of the Earth and lies on the opposite side of the Earth from the North Pole. Situated on the continent of Antarctica,

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geology

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the science and study of the solid and liquid matter that constitute the Earth.

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global warming

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the increase in the average temperature of the Earth's near-surface air and oceans since the mid-20th century and its projected continuation.

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gravitational force

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Newton's law of universal gravitation is an empirical physical law describing the gravitational attraction between bodies with mass. It

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gravity

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Gravitation is a natural phenomenon by which objects with mass attract one another.[1] In everyday life, gravitation is most commonly thought of as the agency which lends weight to objects with mass

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inertia

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Inertia is the resistance of an object to a change in its state of motion

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Last Quarter

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Last Quarter Moon Left 50% visible Right 50% visible

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First Quarter

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First Quarter moon Right 50% visible Left 50% visible

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light ray

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a ray is an idealized narrow beam of light

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light year

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the distance light travels in a year, about 9.5 trillion kilometers

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lignite

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Lignite, often referred to as brown coal, or Rosebud coal by Northern Pacific Railroad, is a soft brown fuel with characteristics that put it somewhere between coal and peat

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Local Group

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The Local Group is the group of galaxies that includes our galaxy, the Milky Way. The group comprises over 35 galaxies, with its gravitational center located somewhere between the Milky Way and the Andromeda Galaxy.

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lunar eclipse

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a lunar eclipse occcurs when the moon passes through earth's shadow

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lunar module

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The Apollo Lunar Module was the lander portion of the Apollo spacecraft built for the US Apollo program by Grumman to achieve the transit from cislunar orbit to the surface and back.

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meteor

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The visible path of a meteoroid that enters Earth's (or another body's) atmosphere is called a meteor, or commonly a "shooting star" or "falling star".

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meteoroid

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A meteoroid is a small sand- to boulder-sized particle of debris in the Solar System

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meteorite

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If a meteoroid reaches the ground, it is then called a meteorite. Many meteors are part of a meteor shower.

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meteor shower

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celestial events in which a number of meteors are observed to radiate from one point in the sky. These meteors are small fragments of cosmic debris entering Earth's atmosphere at extremely high speed

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nebula

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an interstellar cloud of dust, hydrogen gas and plasma.

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neutron star

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Such stars are composed almost entirely of neutrons, which are subatomic particles with zero electrical charge and roughly the same mass as protons. Neutron stars are very hot and are supported against further collapse because of the Pauli exclusion principle. This principle requires that no two neutrons can occupy the same quantum state simultaneously

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New Moon

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the new moon is the lunar phase that occurs when the Moon, in its monthly orbital motion around Earth, lies between Earth and the Sun, and is therefore in conjunction with the Sun as seen from Earth

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nuclear fission

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nuclear fission is a nuclear reaction in which the nucleus of an atom splits into smaller parts, often producing free neutrons and lighter nuclei, which may eventually produce photons (in the form of gamma rays). Fission of heavy elements is an exothermic reaction which can release large amounts of energy both as electromagnetic radiation and as kinetic energy of the fragments (heating the bulk material where fission takes place). Fission is a form of nuclear transmutation because the resulting fragments are not the same element as the original atom.

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nuclear fusion

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nuclear fusion is the process by which multiple like-charged atomic nuclei join together to form a heavier nucleus. It is accompanied by the release or absorption of energy. Iron and nickel nuclei have the largest binding energies per nucleon of all nuclei. The fusion of two nuclei with lower mass than iron generally releases energy while the fusion of nuclei heavier than iron absorbs energy; vice-versa for the reverse process, nuclear fission.

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penumbra

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the region in which only a portion of the occulting body is obscuring the light source. An observer in the penumbra experiences a partial eclipse.

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petrochemicals

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Petrochemicals are chemical products made from raw materials of petroleum or other hydrocarbon origin. Although some of the chemical compounds that originate from petroleum may also be derived from coal and natural gas, petroleum is the major source

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pleiades

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an open cluster in the constellation of Taurus. It is among the nearest star clusters, and is probably the best known, and is certainly the most obvious to the naked eye.

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protostar

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A protostar is a large object that forms by contraction out of the gas of a giant molecular cloud in the interstellar medium. The protostellar phase is an early stage in the process of star formation.

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quarrying

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a type of open-pit mine from which rock or minerals are extracted

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radiation zone

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The radiation zone is the middle zone in the Sun's interior. Energy travels out of the core into the radiation zone

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reclamation

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Reclamation is the process of reclaiming something from loss or from a less useful condition. It is generally used of water reclamation, which, a century ago meant damming streams (thus the US Bureau of Reclamation owning dams), and now has come to be used to describe wastewater reclamation.

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refining

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Refining (also called affining) is the process of purification of a substance. The term is usually used of a natural resource that is almost in a usable form, but which is more useful in its pure form. For instance, most types of natural petroleum will burn straight from the ground, but it will burn poorly and quickly clog an engine with residues and by products

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solstice

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A solstice is an astronomical event that occurs twice a year, when the tilt of the Earth's axis is most oriented toward or away from the Sun, causing the Sun to reach its northernmost or southernmost extreme

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solar flare

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A solar flare is a violent explosion in a star's (like the Sun's) atmosphere releasing as much energy as 6 × 1025 Joules.[1] Solar flares affect all layers of the solar atmosphere (photosphere, corona, and chromosphere), heating plasma to tens of million degrees Kelvin and accelerating electrons, protons and heavier ions to near the speed of light

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solar prominences

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A prominence is a large bright feature extending outward from the Sun's surface, often in a loop configuration. Prominences are anchored to the Sun's surface in the photosphere, and extend outwards into the Sun's corona

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solar wind

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The solar wind is a stream of charged particles —a plasma—ejected from the upper atmosphere of the sun

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soviet spacecraft Luna 3

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the third spacecraft sent successfully to the Moon, and it was an early feat in the human exploration of outer space. Though it returned several rather poor pictures by later standards, the historic, never-before-seen views of the Moon's far side caused excitement and interest when they were published around the world

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spectrogram
spectrograph

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A spectrogram is an image that shows how the spectral density of a signal varies with time. Also known as spectral waterfalls, sonograms, voiceprints, or voicegrams, spectrograms are used to identify phonetic sounds, to analyse the cries of animals, and in the fields of music, sonar/radar, speech processing, seismology, etc. The instrument that generates a spectrogram is called a spectrograph or sonograph.

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spectroscope

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Spectroscopes are often used in astronomy and some branches of chemistry. Early spectroscopes were simply prisms with graduations marking wavelengths of light.

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strip mining

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Strip mining" is the practice of mining a seam of mineral by first removing a long strip of overlying soil and rock (the overburden). It is most commonly used to mine coal or tar sand. Strip mining is only practical when the ore body to be excavated is relatively near the surface

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summer solstice

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The name is derived from the Latin sol (sun) and sistere (to stand still), because at the solstices, the Sun stands still in declination; that is, its apparent movement north or south comes to a standstill. Summer Solstice falls between June 20 and 23 of every year and has different significance for various religions

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trickle irrigation

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an irrigation method which minimizes the use of water and fertilizer by allowing water to drip slowly to the roots of plants, either onto the soil surface or directly onto the root zone, through a network of valves, pipes, tubing, and emitters.

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trojan asteroids

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In astronomy, the adjective 'trojan' refers to a minor planet or natural satellite (moon) that shares an orbit with a larger planet or moon, but does not collide with it because it orbits around one of the two Lagrangian points of stability, L4 and L5, which lie 60° ahead of and behind the larger body.

The term originally referred to the Trojan asteroids orbiting around Jupiter's

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umbra

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The umbra (Latin: shadow) is the darkest part of a shadow. From within the umbra, the source of light is completely concealed by the occulting body. In astronomy, an observer in the umbra is said to be in the shadows experiencing total eclipse.

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vernal equinox

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Equinoxes occur twice a year, when the tilt of the Earth's axis is oriented neither from nor to the Sun, causing the Sun to be located vertically above a point on the equator. occurring around March 20 or 21

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waning crescent
waning gibbous

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Waning Crescent Moon Left 1-49% visible Right 1-49% visible
Waning gibbous Moon Left 51-99% visible Right 51-99% visible

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waxing crescent
waxing moon

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Waxing Crescent moon . Right 1-49% visible Left 1-49% visiblWaxing gibbous moon Right 51-99% visible Left 51-99% visible e

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zenith

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the zenith at a given point is the local vertical direction pointing away from direction of the force of gravity at that location.