7.1 Flashcards
Celestial objects
Objects that we can see in the sky Examples Galaxies Stars Planets Asteroids Comets The moon
Astronomy
The scientific study of of celestial objects and phenomena that originates outside of the earths atmosphere.It is concerned with evolution ,physics,chemistry metrology and the motion of celestial objects as well as the formation and debelopement of the universe
Astronomer
A scientist that studies astronomy
Milky Way
A barred spiral galaxy that is 100 00 lay in diameter and 2000 my thrice at its widest point. It is the galaxy that our solar system is located in.
Sun
The largest star in our universe of which the earth orbits around
Solar system
The sun and all he planets and other celestial objects that are held together by the suns gravitaional attraction and orbit around it.
Moon
A natural satellite that orbits around earth
No atmosphere
Little to no water
Orbits at same speed same side always faces earth.
Star
A hot ball of plasma that shines due to the nuclear fission taking place at its core.
Nuclear fusion
A process where a huge amount of energy is released through the combination of the nuclei of two or more atoms.
Astronomical unit
A unit that was created by astronomers to measure distances that are too big to be measured by kilometres. One astronomical unit is equal to the average distance between the sun and the earth, which is about 150 million kilometres.
AU
Light year
A unit of measure that was created by astronomers to measure distances that are so great that astronomical units can not be used. One light year represents the distance that a beam of light travels through space in one year
Asteroid belt
A region of rocky debris that forms a ring all the way around the sun at a distance of 3 Au.
Separates rocky planets from gas giants
Contains billions of pieces of rock of all sizes.
Centauri system
A group of three stars in space. One of which is the second closest star to earth, with the first being the sun.
Binary system
A system that is made up of two stars that orbit around each other in space.
Ex albireo
Supernova
A supernova is an explosion of a star.
It happens when the gradual build up of heavy matter in the stars centet causes its core to collapse
