Solar system Flashcards
a cloud of gas and dust in outer space, visible in the night sky either as an indistinct bright patch or as a dark silhouette against other luminous matter.
Nebula
The solar nebula was the rotating, flattened disk of gas and dust from which the solar system originated
Solar Nebula
a nuclear reaction in which atomic nuclei of low atomic number fuse to form a heavier nucleus with the release of energy.
Nuclear Fusion
Sunspots are dark, planet-sized regions that appear on the “surface” of the Sun.
Sunspot
The Terrestrial Planets. From top: Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars.
Terrestrial Planets
Prograde refers to an object that spins in the same direction as its orbit.
Prograde Rotation
Apparent retrograde motion is the apparent motion of a planet in a direction opposite to that of other bodies within its system, as observed from a particular vantage point.
Retrograde Rotation
a large planet of relatively low density consisting predominantly of hydrogen and helium, such as Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, or Neptune.
Gas Giant
an artificial body placed in orbit around the earth or moon or another planet in order to collect information or for communication.
Satellite
In astronomy, the new moon is the first lunar phase, when the Moon and Sun have the same ecliptic longitude.
New Moon
The Waxing Crescent is an intermediate phase of the Moon, which starts after the New Moon and lasts until the First Quarter.
Waxing Crescent
It’s the moon phase halfway between new moon and full moon.
1st Quarter Moon
Waxing gibbous means it’s getting visually wider and wider from day to day, culminating in a full moon.
Waxing gibbous
When the moon is fully shown.
Full Moon
The Waning Gibbous is an intermediary Moon phase.
Waning Gibbous
A last quarter moon appears half-lit by sunshine and half-immersed in its own shadow.
Last Quarter Moon
The Waning Crescent phase occurs when the illumination of the Moon decreases from 49.9% to 0.1%.
Waning Crescent
A solar eclipse occurs when a portion of the Earth is engulfed in a shadow cast by the Moon which fully or partially blocks sunlight.
Solar Eclipse
an eclipse in which the moon appears darkened as it passes into the earth’s shadow.
Lunar Eclipse
a celestial object consisting of a nucleus of ice and dust and, when near the sun, a “tail” of gas and dust particles pointing away from the sun.
comet
A rock in space.
Asteroid
The asteroid belt is a torus-shaped region in the Solar System, located roughly between the orbits of the planets Jupiter and Mars.
Asteroid Belt
a small body moving in the solar system that would become a meteor if it entered the earth’s atmosphere.
meteoroid
A meteorite is a solid piece of debris from an object, such as a comet, asteroid, or meteoroid, that originates in outer space and survives its passage through the atmosphere to reach the surface of a planet or moon. … Once it settles on the larger body’s surface, the meteor becomes a meteorite.
Meteorite
