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;
15 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
|
Astronomical Unit |
A unit of measurement equal to Earth's average distance from the sun, about 150 million kilometers |
|
|
Nuclear fusion |
The process by which hydrogen atoms join together in the sun's core to form helium |
|
|
comet |
A loose collection of ice, dust and small rocky particles, typically a long, narrow orbit |
|
|
asteroid |
Rocky objects revolving around the sun that are too small and numerous to be considered planets |
|
|
meteor |
a streak of light in the sky produced by the burning of a meteroid in Earth's atmosphere |
|
|
spectograph |
an instrument that separates lights into colors and makes an image of the resulting spectrum |
|
|
light year |
the distance that light travels in one year about 9.5 million kilometers |
|
|
nebula |
a large cloud of gas and dust in space, spread out in an immense volume |
|
|
supernova |
The brilliant explosion of a dying super giant star |
|
|
neutron star |
the small, dense remains of a high-mass star after a super nova |
|
|
black hole |
an object whose gravity is so strong that, nothing, not even light can escape |
|
|
spiral galaxy |
a galaxy with a bulge in the middle anf arms that spiral outward in a pinwheel pattern |
|
|
big bang |
the initial explosion that resulted in the formation and expansion of the universe |
|
|
dark energy |
a mysterious force that appears to be causing the expansion of the universe to accelerate |
|
|
dark matter |
matter that does not give off electromagnetic radiation but is quite abundant in the universe |
