Use LEFT and RIGHT arrow keys to navigate between flashcards;
Use UP and DOWN arrow keys to flip the card;
H to show hint;
A reads text to speech;
41 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
|
Geostationary Orbit |
Orbit of satellite matches rotation of Earth. Stays in the same position relative to the Earth |
|
|
Astronomical unit |
Approximately 150 million kilometers; the averagee distance from the Earth to the Sun |
|
|
Sun spots |
Dark spots appearing on the suns surface that are cooler |
|
|
Astronomy |
The scientific study of what exists beyond earth |
|
|
Celestial object |
Any object that exists in space |
|
|
Universe |
Everything that exists, including all energy, matter and space |
|
|
Star |
A massive collection of gases, held together by its own gravity and emitting huge amounts of energy |
|
|
Luminous |
Producing and giving off light, shining |
|
|
Planet |
A large, round celestial object that travels around a star |
|
|
Solar system |
The sun and all the objects that travel around it |
|
|
Satellite |
A celestial object that travels around a planet or dwarf planet |
|
|
Orbit |
The closed path of a celestial object or satellite as it travels around another celestial object |
|
|
Galaxy |
A huge, rotating collection of gas and dust, and billions of stars, planets and other celestial objects |
|
|
Electromagnetic radiation |
Energy consisting of electromagnetic waves that travel the speed of light |
|
|
Electromagnetic spectrum |
A range of wavelengths of electromagnetic radiation |
|
|
Solar flare |
Gases and charged particles expelled above an active sunspot |
|
|
Solar prominence |
Low energy gas eruptions from the suns surface that extend thousands of kilometers into space |
|
|
Aurora borealis |
A display of shifting colours in the northern sky caused by solar particles colliding with matter in earths upper atmosphere |
|
|
Dwarf planet |
A celestial object that orbits the sun and has spherical shape but does not dominate it's orbit |
|
|
Comet |
A chunk of ice and dust that travels in a very long orbit around the sun |
|
|
Orbital radius |
The average distance between an object in the solar system and the sun |
|
|
Gravitational force |
The force of attraction between allasses in the universe |
|
|
Equinox |
The time of year when the hours of daylight EQUAL to the hours of darkness |
|
|
Solstice |
The astronomical event that occurs two times a year, when the tilt of the earths axis is most inclined toward or away from the sun |
|
|
Precession |
A changing direction of earth's axis |
|
|
Tide |
The alternate rising and falling of the surface of large bodies of water; caused by the gravitational pull of the moon |
|
|
Constellation |
A grouping of stars, as observed from earth |
|
|
Celestial sphere |
The imaginary sphere that rotates around earth, onto which all celestial objects are projected |
|
|
Celestial navigation |
Using the stars to determine location and direction on earth |
|
|
GPS |
A group of satellites that work to determine the given positions on earth |
|
|
Parallax |
The apparent change in position of an object as viewed from two different locations |
|
|
Nebula |
A massive cloud of interstellar gas and dust; the beggining of a star |
|
|
Red supergiant |
A star near the end of its life cycle with a mass that is 10 times (or more) larger than that of the sun; becomes larger and redder as it runs out of hydrogen fuel |
|
|
White dwarf |
A small, hot, dim star created by the remaining material that is left when a red giant dies |
|
|
Supernova |
A stellar explosion that occurs at the end of a massive stars life |
|
|
Neutron star |
An extremely dense star made up of tightly packed neutrons; results when a star over 10 solar masses collapses |
|
|
Black hole |
An extremely dense quantity of matte in space from which no light or matter can escape |
|
|
Star cluster |
A group of stars held together by gravity |
|
|
Red shift |
The phenomenon of light from galaxies shifting towards the red end of the visible spectrum, indicating that the galaxies are moving away from earth |
|
|
Big Bang Theory |
The theory that the universe began in an incredibly hot, dense expansion approximately 13.7 billion years ago |
|
|
Spacecraft |
A human-occupied or robotic vehicle used to explore space or celestial objects |
