Space Vocabulary Flashcards
The path of an object in space as it moves around object due to gravity
Orbit
The sun and it’s family of orbiting planets and moons and other objects
Solar system
Millions and billions of stars held together in a group by their own gravity
Galaxy
Space and all the matter and energy in it
Universe
An object that orbits a more massive object
Satellite
A round pit left behind on the surface of a planet after a smaller object strikes the surface
Impact crater
An imaginary line about which a turning body such as the earth rotates
Axis
The motion of one body around another, such as the earth in it’s orbit around the sun
Revolution
One of a pattern of temperature changes and other weather tends over a course of year
Season
An orbit, a position and time in which sun shines equally on both hemispheres
Equinox
In an orbit, a position and time during which one hemisphere receives the maximum sunlight
Solstice
A large dark plain of solidified lava on the moon
Mare
An event during which one object in space casts a shadow onto another
Eclipse
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 a dark central region
Umbra
Average distance from the sun which is 93,000,000 miles
Penumbra
A large planet that consists mostly of gases in a dense from
Gas giant
The rise and fall of the oceans caused by the gravitational pull of the moon and sun
Tide
The gradual increase of the illuminated surface of the moon
Waxing
The gradual decrease in the illuminated surface of the moon
Waning
More than half but less than fully illuminated
Gibbous moon
The illuminated surface is less than a quarter illuminated
Crescent moon
The entire surface of the moon is illuminated
Full moon
The entire surface of the moon is not illuminated
New moon
