Astronomy Regents Vocab

Question 1

Meteor

Answer 1

path of light from a meteroid burning as it passes through the earth’s atmosphere

Question 2

Milky Way Galaxy

Answer 2

The spiral shaped galaxy that earth and our solar system are a part of

Question 3

Moon

Answer 3

The one natural satellite of the Earth

Question 4

Nuclear Fusion

Answer 4

The combining of the nuclei of smaller elements to form the nuclei of large elements with some mass being converted into energy

Question 5

red shift

Answer 5

the type of Doppler effect used by an increase in distance between the observer and the sources of the electromagnetic radiation

Question 6

revolution

Answer 6

a planet’s movement around the sun in a path called an orbit

Question 7

solar system

Answer 7

the sun and all objects that orbit the sun under its gravitational influence

Question 8

star

Answer 8

usually a large ball of gas held together by gravity that produces tremendous amounts of energy and shines

Question 9

terrestriral

Answer 9

planets that are earth like being relatively close to the sun

Question 10

universe

Answer 10

the totality of all things that exist and matter, time, energy, and space

Question 11

asteroid

Answer 11

a solid rocky and/or metallic body that independently orbits the sun

Question 12

big bang theory

Answer 12

states that the present universe started as a big explosion 10 to 17 billion years ago

Question 13

celestial object

Answer 13

any object in the universe outside of earth’s atmosphere

Question 14

comet

Answer 14

a low density object composed of materials that easily vaporize and some other solids

Question 15

doppler effect

Answer 15

the apparent wavelength shifting of electromagnetic energy

Question 16

eccentricity

Answer 16

the degree of ovalness of an eclipse

Question 17

ellipse

Answer 17

a closed curve around two fixed points called foci

Question 18

focus

Answer 18

either of two fixed points located so that the sum of their distances to any point on the ellipse is constant

Question 19

galaxy

Answer 19

the large groupings of millions or billions of stars and other forms of mass held together by gravity

Question 20

impact crater

Answer 20

an oval-shaped depression with a raised rim formed by a meteorite

Question 21

impact event

Answer 21

the colliding of comets

Question 22

inertia

Answer 22

the concept that an object at rest will tend to remain at rest and that an object in motion will maintain the direction and speed of that unless an opposing force affects it

Question 23

jovian planet

Answer 23

planets that are far away from the sun

Question 24

luminosity

Answer 24

measures how bright a star would be in relation to the sun if all stars were the same distances from the observer