Solar System Flashcards
The path of an object in space as it moves around another object due to gravity
Orbit
The Sun and its family of orbiting planets and moons and other objects
Solar System
Millions and billions of stars held together in a group by their own gravity
Galaxy
Space and all the matter and energy in it
Universe
An object that orbits a more massive object
Satellite
A round pit left behind on the surface of a planet or other body in space after a smaller object strikes
Impact crater
An imaginary line about which a turning body such as the Earth rotates.
Axis of Rotation
The motion of one body around another, such as the Earth in its orbit around the sun
Revolution
One part of a pattern of temperature changes and other weather trends over the course of the year
Season
In an orbit, a position and time in which sunlight shines equally on the Northern and Southern Hemispheres, a time of the year when daylight and darkness are nearly equal for most parts of the Earth.
Equinox
In an orbit, a position and time during which one hemisphere receives its maximum area of sunlight while the other hemisphere receives the minimum amount. The time of year when the days are either longest or shortest.
Solstice
A large dark plain of a volcano on the moon
Mare
An event during which on object in space casts a shadow onto another
Eclipse
The dark central region of a shadow, such as the cone of complete shadow cast by an object
Umbra
A region of a lighter shadow that may surround a dark central region. The spreading cone of lighter shadow case by an object
Penumbra
Average distance from the sun which is approximately 93,000,000 miles or 150 million kilometers
Astronomical Unit (AU)
An oval or flattened circle.
Ellipse
A planet that has a rocky surface
Terrestrial Planet
A large plane that consists mostly of gasses in a dense form
Gas Giant
A small solid rocky body that orbits the sun
Asteroid
A body that produces a coma of gas and dust, a small icy body that orbits the sun
Comet
A brief streak of light produced by a particle entering Earth’s atmosphere at high speed.
Meteor
A small object from outer space that passes through Earths atmosphere and reaches the surface
Meteorite
Earth centered theory of the solar system
Geocentric
