Space

Question 1

Orbit

Answer 1

The circular or elliptical path of an object as it revolves around another object

Question 2

Solar system

Answer 2

A system of objects that revolve around a star

Question 3

Galaxy

Answer 3

A group of solar systems,dust, and gas held together by gravity; our solar system is part of the Milky Way galaxy

Question 4

Universe

Answer 4

Everything that exists in, on and around the earth

Question 5

Satellite

Answer 5

A natural or artificial object that revolves around another object in space

Question 6

Impact crater

Answer 6

Approximately circular depression in the surface of a planet,moon, or other solid body in the solar system or elsewhere, formed by the hyper velocity impact of a smaller body

Question 7

Rotation

Answer 7

The spinning of a celestial body, such as a planet, around an axis

Question 8

Revolution

Answer 8

The orbiting of an object around a object

Question 9

Season

Answer 9

A period of the year determined by the position of earth as it revolves around the sun

Question 10

Equinox

Answer 10

The twice a year occurrence during which earth axis perpendicular (at a 90 angle) to a line joining the sun and earths center

Question 11

Solstice

Answer 11

The twice a year occurrence during which the sun appears at the highest point in the sky as seen in north or South Pole

Question 12

Mare

Answer 12

The lunar maria /ˈmɑːriə/ (singular: mare /ˈmɑːreɪ/) are large, dark, basaltic plains on Earth’s Moon, formed by ancient volcanic eruptions. They were dubbed maria, Latin for “seas”, by early astronomers who mistook them for actual seas.

Question 13

Eclipse

Answer 13

an event whereby one astronomical body passes between two other astronomical bodies

Question 14

Umbra

Answer 14

the fully shaded inner region of a shadow cast by an opaque object, especially the area on the earth or moon experiencing the total phase of an eclipse.

Question 15

Penumbra

Answer 15

The penumbra is the lighter outer part of a shadow. The Moon’s penumbra causes partial solar eclipses, and the Earth’s penumbra is involved in penumbral lunar eclipses. The penumbra is a lighter type of shadow. … Each shadow has 3 different areas: the umbra, the penumbra, and the antumbra.

Question 16

Astronomical unit (AU)

Answer 16

the mean distance from the center of the Earth to the center of the sun (about 149.6 million kilometers); used to measure distances in the solar system

Question 17

Ellipse

Answer 17

ellipse. An ellipse is a closed-plane curve that results from the intersection of a plane cutting through a cone. In other words, it’s an oval. … If one thing travels around another in the shape of an ellipse — like the earth around the sun — it has an elliptical orbit.

Question 18

Terrestrial planet

Answer 18

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 are the inner planets closest to the Sun, i.e. Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars.

Question 19

Gas giant

Answer 19

gas giant. A large, massive, low-density planet composed primarily of hydrogen, helium, methane, and ammonia in either gaseous or liquid state. Gas giants have swirling atmospheres primarily of hydrogen and helium, with no well-defined planetary surface; they are assumed to have rocky cores.

Question 20

Asteroid

Answer 20

a small object made of rock or metal that orbits the sun

Question 21

Comet

Answer 21

a body of ice and dust that travels in a long, narrow orbit around the Sun

Question 22

Meteor

Answer 22

a streak of light in the sky that forms when a piece of rock from space burns up in Earth’s atmosphere (related term: shooting star)

Question 23

Meteorite

Answer 23

a piece of rock or metal from space that strikes Earth’s surface

Question 24

Geocentric

Answer 24

having the Earth as the center

Question 25

Heliocentric

Answer 25

having the sun as the center

Question 26

Gravity

Answer 26

a force that exists between any two objects that have mass (related word: gravitational)

Question 27

Tide

Answer 27

the regular fluctuation of sea water driven by the gravitational pull of the Moon and Sun on Earth’s oceans and other large bodies of water

Question 28

Waxing

Answer 28

A waxing moon is any phase of the moon during the lunar cycle between the new moon and the full moon. A moon that is waxing is one that is getting larger each night. The lunar cycle is a period of about 29 days as the moon’s shape seems to change from our vantage point on Earth.

Question 29

Wanning

Answer 29

A waning moon is any phase of the moon during the lunar cycle between the full moon and the new moon. It is a moon that is getting smaller every night. … When it is between the third quarter and the new moon, it is called waning crescent, where crescent is between a half moon and a new moon, like a sliver.

Question 30

Gibbous

Answer 30

(of the moon) having the observable illuminated part greater than a semicircle and less than a circle.

Question 31

Crescent moon

Answer 31

A crescent is a thin, curved shape that’s thicker in the middle and tapers to thin points at each end, like the little sliver of moon you might notice in the sky. Crescent was first used to describe the shape of the waxing, or growing moon, and if you listen closely you can hear its similarity to increase.

Question 32

Full moon

Answer 32

the phase of the moon in which its whole disk is illuminated.

Question 33

New moon

Answer 33

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.

Question 34

Quarter moon

Answer 34

A quarter moon occurs when we see the Moon half illuminated by the Sun, and half enshrouded in darkness. … You can also get a last quarter moon, when the Moon is half illuminated, but the opposite side is illuminated. This is the halfway point between a full moon and a new moon.

Question 35

Perihelion

Answer 35

the point in the orbit of a solar system body when it is closest to the Sun

Question 36

Aphelion

Answer 36

the point in the orbit of a planet or other orbiting body where it is farthest from the Sun or the body around which it revolves