Space Flashcards
space
the area beyond earth’s atmosphere
star
a huge glowing ball of gas, like the sun
space probe
an uncrewed vehicle that is used too collect information to send back to earth
satellite
an object that orbits another object in space
telescope
a tool that uses lenses and mirrors to collect and focus light so that objects in space can be seen better
astronomical unit
the average distance from the sun to earth. 1 AU is about 93 miles
inner planet
a small rocky planet, like earth
outer planet
large planets located outside the asteroid belt, mostly made of gases
asteroid belt
a band of asteroids
asteroid
very large chunks of rocks irregularly shaped rocks floating in space
dwarf planet
round bodies that orbit the sun. Dwarf planets share their orbits with other space objects
comet
small bodies made of lumps of rock, metal, and dust covered with ice
crater
saucer-shaped holes formed when asteroids or meteorites strike a planet’s or moon’s surface
constellation
groups of stars that form recognizable patterns
light year
the distance light travels in one earth year. A light year equals about 6 trillions miles
