Space Vocab

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

a large, circular pit in the surface of a planet or other body in space usually formed when two bodies in space collide

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 another 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’s axis is perpendicular (at a 90 angle) to a line joining the Sun and Earth’s 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 from the North or South pole

Question 12

Mare

Answer 12

are large, dark, basaltic plains on Earth’s Moon, formed by ancient volcanic eruptions.

Question 13

Eclipse

Answer 13

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

Question 14

Umbra

Answer 14

is the innermost and darkest part of a shadow, where the light source is completely blocked by the occluding body.

Question 15

Penumbra

Answer 15

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.

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

is a closed-plane curve that results from the intersection of a plane cutting through a cone.

Question 18

Terrestrial Planet

Answer 18

is a planet that is composed primarily of silicate rocks or metals.

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 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 sound recording

Question 29

Wannig

Answer 29

is any phase of the moon during the lunar cycle between the full moon and the new moon. … When the waning moon is between the full moon and the third quarter, it is called waning gibbous, where gibbous is when the shape of the moon is between a full and half circle.

Question 30

Gibbous moon

Answer 30

The definition of gibbous refers to a moon in between a half-moon but less than a full moon, or something that protrudes or creates an obvious bulge.