Outer Space Vocab Flashcards
orbit
the path of an object as it revolves around another object in space
gravity
a force that moves rocks and other materials downhill; the force that pulls objects towards each other
eclipse
the partial or total blocking of one object in space by another
maria
dark, flat areas on the moons surface formed from huge ancient lava flows
meteoroids
a chunk of rock or dust in space
corona
the outer layer of the suns atmosphere
solar wind
a stream of electrically charged particles that emanates from the suns corona
dwarf planet
a planet that orbits the sun, but has not cleared out the neighborhood around its orbit
comet
a loose collection of ice, dust, and small rocky particles, typically with a long, narrow orbit of the sun
oort cloud
a spherical region of comets that surrounds the solar system
astroid
rocky objects revolving around the sun that are too small and numerous to be considered planets
nebula
a large cloud of gas and dust in space, that is a nursery for stars
protostar
a contracting cloud of gas and dust with enough mass to form a star
supernova
the brilliant explosion of a dying super-giant star
quasar
an enormously bright, distant galaxy with a giant black hole at its center
