Astrology Flashcards
A brightness scale used to measure of how bright a star would be if it were seen from a standard distance
Absolute Magnitude
the brightness of a star as seen from Earth
apparent magnitude
A large collection of stars, dust, and gas bound together by gravity
Galaxy
The spin of a body on its axis
Rotation
The motion of a body that travels around another body in space; one trip along an orbit
Revolution
The collection of large and small bodies that orbit our central star, the sun
Solar System
A large celestial body that is composed of gas and that emits light; the sun is a typical star
Star
The distance between two adjacent troughs or crests of a wave
Wavelength
A gigantic explosion in which a massive star throws its outer layers into space, but its core remains
Supernova
Space and all the matter and energy in it
Universe
A highly magnetized, rotating neutron star that emits a beam of electromagnetic radiation
Pulsar
A relatively large spherical body that orbits a star
Planet
The core of a supernova that has collapsed under gravity to the point that the electrons and protons have smashed together to for neutrons
Neutron star
A large cloud of dust and gas in interstellar space; a region in space where stars are born
Nebula
The region on the H-R diagram where stars spend most of their lives; it has a diagonal pattern
Main sequence
The actual brightness of an object such as a star
Luminosity
Hertzsprung-Russell diagram, a graph that shows the relationship between a star’s surface temperature and absolute magnitude
H-R Diagram
The distance that light travels throughout space in one year; about 9.46 trillion kilometers
Light-year
The hot, dense, dim core of matter that remains from the collapse of a low mass star
White Dwarf
A galaxy shaped like a pinwheel, with a bulge in the center and spiral arms extending outward
Spiral galaxy
A spherical or elongated galaxy with a bright center and very little dust and gas
Elliptical galaxy
A galaxy with an irregular shape that does not fit into any other category
Irregular galaxy
