solar system vocab Flashcards
nebula
A nebula is a distinct body of interstellar clouds. Originally, the term was used to describe any diffused astronomical object, including galaxies beyond the Milky Way.
solar nebula
Solar nebula, gaseous cloud from which, in the so-called nebular hypothesis of the origin of the solar system, the Sun and planets formed by condensation. Swedish philosopher Emanuel Swedenborg in 1734 proposed that the planets formed out of a nebular crust that had surrounded the Sun and then broken apart.
nuclear fusion
Nuclear fusion is a reaction in which two or more atomic nuclei are combined to form one or more different atomic nuclei and subatomic particles. The difference in mass between the reactants and products is manifested as either the release or the absorption of energy.
sun spot
The National Solar Observatory is a United States public research institute to advance the knowledge of the physics of the Sun. NSO studies the Sun both as an astronomical object and as the dominant external influence on Earth.
terrestrial planets
A terrestrial planet, Telluric planet, or rocky planet is a planet that is composed primarily of silicate rocks or metals. Within the Solar System, the terrestrial planets accepted by the IAU are the inner planets closest to the Sun, i.e. Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars.
Prograde Rotation
Retrograde motion in astronomy is, in general, orbital or rotational motion of an object in the direction opposite the rotation of its primary, that is, the central object. It may also describe other motions such as precession or nutation of an object’s rotational axis.
gas giant
A gas giant is a giant planet composed mainly of hydrogen and helium. Gas giants are also called failed stars because they contain the same basic elements as a star. Jupiter and Saturn are the gas giants of the Solar System.
satellite
In the context of spaceflight, a satellite is an object that has been intentionally placed into orbit. These objects are called artificial satellites to distinguish them from natural satellites such as Earth’s Moon. On 4 October 1957, the Soviet Union launched the world’s first artificial satellite, Sputnik 1.
new moon
In astronomy, the new moon is the first lunar phase, when the Moon and Sun have the same ecliptic longitude. At this phase, the lunar disk is not visible to the unaided eye, but its presence may be detected because it occults stars behind it.
waxing crescent
The Waxing Crescent is an intermediate phase of the Moon, which starts after the New Moon and lasts until the First Quarter. In this phase, the Moon’s light begins to increase from 0.1% to 49.9%. Even though it is not a major phase, it lasts longer, about 21.6% of the lunar month.
1st quarter moon
First quarter: The moon is 90 degrees away from the sun in the sky and is half-illuminated from our point of view. We call it “first quarter” because the moon has traveled about a quarter of the way around Earth since the new moon. Waxing gibbous: The area of illumination continues to increase.
waxing gibbous
The Waxing Gibbous is an intermediate phase of the Moon that starts right after the First Quarter when the illumination is 50%. The name Gibbous comes from the Moon’s shape, which is less than a Full Moon but more extensive than the Third Quarter’s semicircle shape. Waxing means that the Moon is getting bigger.
Full moon
the phase of the moon in which its whole disk is illuminated.
“the sky was clear and a full moon shone”
waning gibbous
The Waning Gibbous is an intermediary Moon phase. It starts right after the Full Moon, and it lasts until the Third Quarter. When the Moon is in the Waning Gibbous phase, the sunlit part of the Moon is decreasing from 99.9% to 50.1%.
last quarter moon
A last quarter moon appears half-lit by sunshine and half-immersed in its own shadow. It rises in the middle of the night, appears at its highest in the sky around dawn, and sets around midday. A last quarter moon provides a great opportunity to think of yourself on a three-dimensional world in space.
