Earth Science Final Stars and Galaxies Flashcards
Auroras
A colorful light shows in the sky caused by the Sun.
Particles from the Sun interact with gases in our atmosphere, causing beautiful displays of light in the sky.
Often seen in areas near the North Pole or South Pole.
Aurora Borealis
Auroras (colorful light show) are called this in the North.
Otherwise known as the Northern Lights
Big Bang Theory
Black Hole
A region in space where gravitational pull is so strong that nothing, not even light, can escape it.
Black Dwarf
The end point of a white dwarf star that has cooled down and no longer emits a lot of heat or light.
Chromosphere
The second layer in the sun’s atmosphere.
Located above the photosphere and beneath the solar corona.
Corona
The outer most layer of the sun’s atmosphere.
Only visible during a total solar eclipse.
Cosmic Background Radiation
The leftover or residual glow of the Big Bang Theory.
Doppler Effect
The change in frequency or wavelength of a wave in relation to an observer who is moving relative to the wave source.
Galaxy
A massive gravitational bound system
Consists of stars, stellar remnants, interstellar gas, dust, and dark matter.
Galaxy Cluster
An area that has hundreds to thousands of galaxies bound by gravity.
Granules
The cellular structures that cover the Sun’s photosphere and are caused by convection currents of plasma.
Hubble’s Law
The observation that galaxies are moving away from the Earth at speeds proportional to their distance.
Light-year
A unit of distance in astronomy.
Is the distance light travels in 1 year
(Approximately 9,461 trillion kilometers)
Nebula
A giant cloud of gas and dust in space
Neutron Star
The collapsed core of a massive star after a supernova explosion.
Made up of almost entirely of neutrons.
Photosphere
The visible surface of a star, which includes the sun and emits the light that we see.
Prominences
Large, bright and gaseous features that extend outward from the sun.
Often in a loop shape.
Protostar
A young star that is still in the process of forming.
Not yet hot enough to engage nuclear fusion.
Pulsar
A highly magnetized rotating neutron star
Emits beams of electromagnetic radiation out of its magnetic poles.
Star
A massive, luminous sphere of plasma held together by gravity,
Produces energy and light through nuclear fusion.
