Astronomy Flashcards
Astronomy vocabulary (29 cards)
What is the distance between the earth and sun called?
Astronomical Unit.
What is the distance that light can travel in a year called?
Light Year.
3.262 light years are equal to what?
One Parsec.
What is an interstellar cloud of dust and other ionized gases called?
Nebula.
What is the definition of a constellation?
A constellation is a group of stars that form a picture.
What is the definition of a planetesimal?
One of the small, solid celestial bodies that asisted in the development of the solar system
What is the definition of a protoplanetary?
a boarder line between asteroids and planetoids. It is bigger than a planetesimal.
What process describes two nuclei joing together to create one large nucleus?
Nuclear fusion.
What is it called when a planet is composed of mainly silicate (silicone and oxygen) rocks?
Terrestrial planet.
What is it called when a planet is made up of a rocky core surrounded with gas?
Gas Giant Planet.
What is similar to an asteroid, but is made of a lot of ice?
Comet.
What is the definition of an asteroid?
Any of many bodies composed of rocks and metal, that move around the sun.
An astronomer who studies the space-time relation of the universe is called?
Cosmologist.
What is the definition of angular velocity?
The rate of change of angular displacement(the amount of rotation of a point in a specific direction) with time.
An area in which something has control is called?
The Orbit.
What is another word for an amount of time?
Period.
What is it called when something turns around a center?
Revolve
A complete circulation around an object is called?
Rotation
What is the definition of sidereal day?
a rotation with respect to the stars
What is the definition of a solar day?
Time for the earth to complete its rotation. ( A full Earth day.)
What is the 365 days that the Earth takes to orbit the sun called?
A Year
What kind of tide happens when the sun and moon are at a right angle?
Neap Tide
What type of tide occurs about twice a day?
Spring Tide
What is accretion?
An increase in mass of an object by the collection of gases and objects by gravity
