Space Vocab Flashcards
METEORITE
A small object from outer space that passes through earths atmosphere and reaches the surface
UNIVERSE
Space and all the matter and energy in it
QUARTER MOON
half of the moon is illuminated
NEW MOON
The entire surface of the moon is NOT Illuminated
ASTRONOMICAL UNITS
Average distance from the sun which is 93 million miles
REVOLUTION
The motion of one body around another, such as the Earth in its orbit around the sun
CRESCENT MOON
Illuminated surface is less than a quarter illuminated
PENUMBRA
A region of lighter shadow that may surround a Dark central region
MARE
A large dark plain of solidified lava in the moon
GALAXY
Millions of billions of stars held together in a group by their own gravity
UMBRA
The Dark central region of a shadow such as the cone of complete shadow cast by an object
COMET
A body that produces a coma of gas and dust, a small icy body that orbits the sun
ECLIPSE
An event during which one object in space casts a shadow onto another
GIBBOUS MOON
More than half but less than fully illuminated
ORBIT
The path of an object in space as it moves around another object in space due to gravity
A sun centered theory of the universe
HELIOCENTRIC
TIDES
The rise and fall of the ocean caused by the gravitational pull of the moon and sun
WANING
The gradual decrease in the illuminated surface of the moon
GEOCENTRIC THEORY
Earth centered theory of the solar system
ELLIPSE
An oval or flattened circle
SEASON
One of a pattern of temperature changes and other weather trends over the coarse of the year
GRAVITY
The force that objects exert on one another because of their mass
IMPACT CRATER
A round pit left behind a surface of a planet after a smaller object strikes the surface
SOLAR SYSTEM
The sun and its family of orbiting planets and moons and other objects
