Astronomy Flashcards
what is the astrononical unit?
Average distance between sun and earth.
what is light year?
distance light travels in one year.
what is parsec?
unit used to describe large distances.
what is nebula?
term used fir any “fuzzy” patch on the sky.
what is constellation?
grouping of stars in the night sky into a reconizable pattern.
what is planetesimal?
are moon sized embryos
what is protoplanetary?
small solid celestial bodies which may have existed during the making of the solar system.
what is nuclear fusion?
in which two nuclei combine to form a nucleus with the relesing of energy.
terrestrial planets are?
small planets that are gas giants made with mostly rock and metal.
gas giant planets are?
mostly made up of gases surrounding a rocky core.
comets are?
a celestial moving about the sun in highly eccentric orbit.
asteroids are?
small bodies that orbit around the sun.
cosmologist are?
philosophy that deals with the orgin and structure of the universe.
angular velocity are?
time and rate of a body rotating in angular position.
orbit is?
a curved path for anything in the universe.
what is period?
a round of time in which time is measured.
revolve is?
to orbit in a circular course.
rotation is?
the act of rotating
sidereal day is?
interval between two successful passages.
solar day is?
the 24 hour interval between midnight and midnight
a year is?
a time in which any planet completes a revolution around the sun.
what is accretion?
increase by natural growth
what is spring tide?
large rise and fall after a full moon
neap tide is?
one of the two tides that happen at the first or last quarter of the moon
