Space Definitions

Question 1

Orbit

Answer 1

The Curved path of a planet it around the sun.

Question 2

Solar system

Answer 2

The circular pattern of all of the planets in a solar system

Question 3

Galaxy

Answer 3

a system of millions or billions of stars, together with gas and dust, held together by gravitational attraction.

Question 4

Universe

Answer 4

all existing matter and space considered as a whole; the cosmos. The universe is believed to be at least 10 billion light years in diameter and contains a vast number of galaxies; it has been expanding since its creation in the Big Bang about 13 billion years ago.

Question 5

Satellite

Answer 5

an artificial body placed in orbit around the earth or moon or another planet in order to collect information or for communication.

Question 6

Impact crater

Answer 6

a crater on a planet or moon caused by the impact of a meteorite or other object, typically circular with a raised rim.

Question 7

Rotation

Answer 7

the action of rotating around an axis or center.

Question 8

Revolution

Answer 8

an instance of revolving.

Question 9

Season

Answer 9

each of the four divisions of the year (spring, summer, autumn, and winter) marked by particular weather patterns and daylight hours, resulting from the earth’s changing position with regard to the sun.

Question 10

Equinox

Answer 10

the time or date (twice each year) at which the sun crosses the celestial equator, when day and night are of equal length

Question 11

Solstice

Answer 11

either of the two times in the year, the summer solstice and the winter solstice, when the sun reaches its highest or lowest point in the sky at noon, marked by the longest and shortest days.

Question 12

Mare

Answer 12

the female of a horse or other equine animal.

Question 13

Eclipse

Answer 13

an obscuring of the light from one celestial body by the passage of another between it and the observer or between it and its source of illumination.

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 partially shaded outer region of the shadow cast by an opaque object.

Question 16

Astronomical unit (AU)

Answer 16

a unit of measurement equal to 149.6 million kilometers, the mean distance from the center of the earth to the center of the sun.

Question 17

Ellipse

Answer 17

a regular oval shape, traced by a point moving in a plane so that the sum of its distances from two other points (the foci) is constant, or resulting when a cone is cut by an oblique plane which does not intersect the base.

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

a large planet of relatively low density consisting predominantly of hydrogen and helium, such as Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, or Neptune.

Question 20

Asteroid

Answer 20

a small rocky body orbiting the sun. Large numbers of these, ranging in size from nearly 600 miles (1,000 km) across (Ceres) to dust particles, are found (as the asteroid belt ) especially between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter, though some have more eccentric orbits, and a few pass close to the earth or enter the atmosphere as meteors.

Question 21

Comet

Answer 21

a celestial object consisting of a nucleus of ice and dust and, when near the sun, a “tail” of gas and dust particles pointing away from the sun.

Question 22

Meteor

Answer 22

a small body of matter from outer space that enters the earth’s atmosphere, becoming incandescent as a result of friction and appearing as a streak of light.

Question 23

Meteorite

Answer 23

a meteor that survives its passage through the earth’s atmosphere such that part of it strikes the ground. More than 90 percent of meteorites are of rock, while the remainder consist wholly or partly of iron and nickel.

Question 24

Geocentric

Answer 24

having or representing the earth as the center, as in former astronomical systems.

Question 25

Heliocentric

Answer 25

having or representing the sun as the center, as in the accepted astronomical model of the solar system.

Question 26

Gravity

Answer 26

the force of attraction by which terrestrial bodies tend to fall toward the center of the earth.

Question 27

Tide

Answer 27

the periodic rise and fall of the waters of the ocean and its inlets, produced by the attraction of the moon and sun, and occurring about every 12 hours.

Question 28

Waxing

Answer 28

the manufacturing of a phonograph record.

Question 29

Wannig

Answer 29

of an unnatural or sickly pallor; pallid; lacking color

Question 30

Gibbous moon

Answer 30

Waxing means that it is getting bigger. Gibbous refers to the shape, which is less than the full circle of a Full Moon, but larger than the semicircle shape of the Moon at Third Quarter. With some exceptions, the Waxing Gibbous Moon rises during the day, after noon.

Question 31

Crescent moon

Answer 31

A waning crescent moon is up in the east before sunrise. It’s waning toward new moon, when the moon will be between the Earth and sun.

Question 32

Full moon

Answer 32

A moon position that is showing the whole side of the moon

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

Third Quarter. The moon is one-half illuminated by the sun. Occurs when the moon’s illumination is decreasing, Waning Crescent. The moon is less than one-half illuminated by the sun but less than one quarter illuminated.

Question 35

Perahelion

Answer 35

the point in the orbit of a planet, asteroid, or comet at which it is closest to the sun.

Question 36

Aphelion

Answer 36

the point in the orbit of a planet, asteroid, or comet at which it is furthest from the sun.