Space Vocab Flashcards
Astronomical unit
Average distance from the sun witch is 93,000,000 miles
Axis of rotation
An imaginary line about witch a turning body such as earth rotates
Asteroid
A small solid rocky body that orbits the sun
Crescent moon
The illuminated surface is less then a quarter illuminated
Comet
A body that produces a coma of gas and dust, a small icy body that orbits the sun
Eclipse
An event during witch one object in space casts a shadow onto another
Ellipses
An oval or flattened circle
Equinox
In a orbit, a position and time in witch sun shines equally on both hemispheres
Full moon
The entire surface of the moon is illuminated
Galaxy
Millions and billions of stars held together in a group by their own gravity
Gibbous moon
More then half but less then fully illuminated
Gravity
The force that objects exert on another because of their mass
Gas giant
A large planet that consists mostly of gases that are in a dense area
Geocentric Theory
Earth centered theory of the solar system
Heliocentric theory
A sun centered theory of the universe
Impact crater
A round pit left behind on the surface of a planet after a smaller object strikes the surface
Meteorite
A small object from outer space that passes through Earth’s atmosphere and reaches the surface
Meteor
A brief streak of light produced by a particle entering Earths atmosphere at high speed
Mare
A large dark plain of solidified lava on the moon
New moon
The entire surface of the moon is not illuminated
Orbit
The path of an object in space as it moves around another object due to gravity
Penumbra
A region of lighter shadow that may surround a dark central region
Quarter moon
Half of the moon is is illuminated
Revolution
The motion of one body around another, such as the Earth in its orbit around the sun
