Chapter 10 pp. 302-322 Flashcards
Which includes the sun and all natural objects that orbit it
solar system
The study of God’s creation beyond our atmosphere
astronomy
Circle around due to gravity
orbit
Popularized the idea that the universe is geocentric
Aristotle
“earth-centered”
geocentric
Small circles
epicycles
Proposed a heliocentric system
Nicolaus Copernicus
“sun-centered”
heliocentric
One astronomer who agreed with Copernicus’s idea was _; built one of the first telescopes and used it in his astronomical investigation
Galileo Galilei
A godly Lutheran whose goal was to find the “mathematical harmonies in the mind of the Creator”
Johannes Kepler
Who was an excellent observer of the heavens and kept very accurate records of his observations; Kepler used his observations and accurate charts of the heavenly bodies to help prove Copernicus’s heliocentric ideas
Tycho Brahe
Symmetrical ovals
ellipses
Helped explain astronomers’ observations of the planets’ paths
Kepler’s laws of planetary motion
The amount of time a planet takes to complete its orbit
period
One of Newton’s greatest scientific achievements; the force of attraction that exists between any two objects
gravity
Which helped astronomers answer their questions about the solar systems, states that the strength of the gravitational force between two objects depends on their masses and the distance between them
Newton’s law of universal gravitation
The space between the planets
interplanetary space
A space that does not contain any matter
vacuum
“wanderers”
planets
The closest planet to the sun; speediest planet
Mercury
Often the brightest object in the night sky except for the moon; morning and evening star; the only planet that takes longer to rotate on its axis than it does to orbit the sun; Earth’s twin; hottest planet
Venus
Moving backward, from east to west
retrograde
An object that revolves around another object
satellite
Earth’s only natural satellite
moon
Latin for “seas”
maria
“land”
terrae
Many craters have light-colored streaks radiating up to thousands of miles away from the crater. These streaks, known as _, are made up of light-colored powder that was hurled away from the crater when the crater fromed
rays
When the sunlit side of the moon is turned away from the moon and is completely hidden from view
new moon
Gradually grows longer
waxes
As the moon orbits the earth, a silver of the moon’s sunlit side becomes visible from Earth and waxes
waxing crescent
When half the moon is visible, the waxing crescent phase ends
first-quarter moon
As the moon continues its orbit, its sunlit portion continues to wax: because the visible moon seems to bulge, this period is called the _
waxing gibbous
Occurs when the entire face of the moon is illuminated
full moon
Occur when the moon’s orbit is at just the right angle to travel across the sun’s pathways
solar eclipse
“red planet”
Mars
The largest known mountain in the solar system
Olympus Mons
Planets that are made primarily of gases and are much larger than Earth
gas giants
Largest planet in the solar system; has the fastest rotation of any planet
Jupiter
The biggest storm seen in Jupiter
Great Red Spot
Galilean satellites
Ganymede, Callisto, Io, and Europa
Largest moon in the solar system
Ganymede
The most volcanically active body in the solar system
Io
