Solar System Flashcards
(24 cards)
Nebula
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.
Solar Nebula
made from a collection of dust and gas. It is believed that the sun, planets, moons, and asteroids were formed around the same time around 4.5 billion years ago from a
Nuclear Fusion
a nuclear reaction in which atomic nuclei of low atomic number fuse to form a heavier nucleus with the release of energy.
Sunspot
a spot or patch appearing from time to time on the sun’s surface, appearing dark by contrast with its surroundings.
Satellite
a natural or artificial body that revolves around a planet
New Moon
the phase of the moon when it is in conjunction with the sun and invisible from earth, or shortly thereafter when it appears as a slender crescent.
Waxing Crescent
The moon is less than one-half illuminated by the sun but less than one quarter illuminated.
Gas Giant
a planet that has a deep, massive atmosphere, such as Jupiter, Saturn, or Neptune
Waxing Gibbous
Any moon that appears more than half lighted but less than full
Full Moon
the phase of the moon in which its whole disk is illuminated.
Waning Gibbous
means that the moon is getting smaller
Last Quarter Moon
is less than one-half illuminated by the sun but less than one quarter illuminated.
Waning Crescent
The moon is one-half illuminated by the sun. Occurs when the moon’s illumination is decreasing,
Solar Eclipse
an eclipse in which the sun is obscured by the moon.
Lunar Eclipse
an eclipse in which the moon appears darkened as it passes into the earth’s shadow.
Comet
a small body of ice, rock, and cosmic dust that follows an elliptical orbit around the sun and that gives off gas and dust in the form of a tail as it passes close to the sun
Asteroid
a small rocky body orbiting the sun.
Asteroid Belt
circumstellar disc in the Solar System located roughly between the orbits of the planets Mars and Jupiter.
Meteorite
meteor that survives its passage through the earth’s atmosphere such that part of it strikes the ground.
Asteroid
a small, rocky object that orbits the sun, usually in a band between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter
Asteroid Belt
the region of the solar system between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter and which most asteroids orbit
Meteoroid
a relatively small, rocky body that travels through space
Meteorite
a meteoroid that reaches the earths surface without burning up completely
Meteor
a bright streak of light that results when a meteoroid burns up in the earths atmosphere
