Space Vocab. Flashcards
Solar System
The sun and its family of orbiting planets, moons, and other objects
Galaxy
Millions or billions of stars held together in a group by their own gravity
Universe
Space and all the matter and energy in it
Satellite
An object that orbits a more massive object
Impact Crator
A round pit left behind on the surface of a planet or other body in space after a smaller object strikes the surface
Axis of Rotation
An imaginary line about which a turning body, such as Earth rotates
Revolution
The motion of one body around another, such as Earth in its orbit around the Sun; the time it takes an object to go around once
Season
One part of a pattern of temperature changes and other weather trends over the course of a year.
Equinox
In an orbit, a position and time in which sunlight shines equally on the Northern Hemisphere and the Southern Hemisphere; a time of year when daylight and darkness are nearly equal for most of Earth
Solstice
In an orbit, a position and time during which one hemisphere gets maximum area of sunlight, while the other hemisphere gets its minimum amount; the time of year when days are either longest or shortest, and the angle of sunlight reaches its maximum or minimum
Mare
A large, dark plain of solidified lava on the Moon. The poor all form of mare is maría
Eclipse
An event during which one object in space casts a shadow onto another. On Earth, a lunar eclipse occurs when the Moon moves through Earth’s shadow, and a solar eclipse occurs when the Moon’s shadow crosses Earth
Umbra
The dark, central region of a shadow, such as the cone of complete shadow cast by an object
Penumbra
A region of lighter shadow that may surround an umbra; for example, the spreading cone of lighter shadow cast by a space object
Astronomical Unit
Earth’s average distance from the Sun, which is approximately 150 million kilometers (93 million mi)
