Space Vocabulary

Question 1

the curved path, usually elliptical, described by a planet, satellite, spaceship, etc., around a celestial body, as the sun

Answer 1

Orbit

Question 2

The sun together with all the planets and other bodies that revolve around it

Answer 2

Solar system

Question 3

The large system of stars held together by mutual gravitation and isolated from similar systems by vast regions of space
Ex. The Milky Way

Answer 3

Galaxy

Question 4

The totality of known or supposed objects and phenomena throughout space; the cosmos; macrocosm

Answer 4

Universe

Question 5

Satellite

Answer 5

a device designed to be launched into orbit around the earth, another planet, the sun, etc

Question 6

Impact crater

Answer 6

Circular depression on a planet formed by a hypervelocity impact of a smaller body

Question 7

Axis of rotation

Answer 7

a rotation is a circular movement of an object around a center (or point) of rotation . A three-dimensional object always rotates around an imaginary line called a rotation axis. If the axis passes through the body’s center of mass, the body is said to rotate upon itself, or spin

Question 8

Revolution

Answer 8

a radical and pervasive change in society and the social structure, especially one made suddenly and often accompanied by violence.

Question 9

Season

Answer 9

one of the four periods of the year (spring, summer, autumn, and winter), beginning astronomically at an equinox or solstice, but geographically at different dates in different climates

Question 10

Equinox

Answer 10

the time when the sun crosses the plane of the earth’s equator, making night and day of approximately equal length all over the earth and occurring about March 21 (vernal equinox or spring equinox) and September 22 (autumnal equinox)

Question 11

Solstice

Answer 11

either of the two times a year when the sun is at its greatest distance from the celestial equator: about June 21, when the sun reaches its northernmost point on the celestial sphere, or about December 22, when it reaches its southernmost point

Question 12

Mare

Answer 12

any of the several large, dark plains on the moon and Mars: Galileo believed that the lunar features were seas when he first saw them through a telescope

Question 13

Eclipse

Answer 13

the obscuration of the light of the moon by the intervention of the earth between it and the sun (lunar eclipse) or the obscuration of the light of the sun by the intervention of the moon between it and a point on the earth (solar eclipse)

Question 14

Umbra

Answer 14

the complete or perfect shadow of an opaque body, as a planet, where the direct light from the source of illumination is completely cut off

Question 15

Penumbra

Answer 15

the partial or imperfect shadow outside the complete shadow of an opaque body, as a planet, where the light from the source of illumination is only partly cut off

Question 16

Astronomical Unit

Answer 16

a unit of length, equal to the mean distance of the earth from the sun: approximately 93 million miles (150 million km).
Abbreviation: AU

Question 17

Ellipse

Answer 17

a closed, symmetric curve shaped like an oval, which can be formed by intersecting a cone with a plane that is not parallel or perpendicular to the cone’s base. The sum of the distances of any point on an ellipse from two fixed points (called the foci) remains constant no matter where the point is on the curve

Question 18

Terrestrial Planet

Answer 18

Inner planet

Question 19

Gas Giant

Answer 19

one of the four planets in our solar system that are composed chiefly of hydrogen and helium, namely Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune

Question 20

Asteroid

Answer 20

also called minor planet. Astronomy. any of the thousands of small bodies of from 480 miles (775 km) to less than one mile (1.6 km) in diameter that revolve about the sun in orbits lying mostly between those of Mars and Jupiter

Question 21

Comet

Answer 21

a celestial body moving about the sun, usually in a highly eccentric orbit, consisting of a central mass surrounded by an envelope of dust and gas that may form a tail that streams away from the sun

Question 22

Meteor

Answer 22

a transient fiery streak in the sky produced by a meteoroid passing through the earth’s atmosphere; a shooting star or bolide

Question 23

Meteorite

Answer 23

any of the small bodies, often remnants of comets, traveling through space: when such a body enters the earth’s atmosphere it is heated to luminosity and becomes a meteor

Question 24

Geocentric

Answer 24

having or representing the earth as a center

Question 25

Heliocentric

Answer 25

measured or considered as being seen from the center of the sun

Question 26

Gravity

Answer 26

the force of attraction by which terrestrial bodies tend to fall toward the center of the earth

Question 27

Tide

Answer 27

the periodic rise and fall of the waters of the ocean and its inlets, produced by the attraction of the moon and sun, and occurring about every 12 hours

Question 28

Waxing

Answer 28

(of the moon) to increase in the extent of its illuminated portion before the full moon

Question 29

Waning

Answer 29

to decrease periodically in the extent of its illuminated portion after the full moon

Question 30

Gibbous Moon

Answer 30

any moon that appears more than half lighted but less than full is called a gibbous moon. The word gibbous comes from a root word that means hump-backed.

Question 31

Crescent moon

Answer 31

a crescent is a thin, curved shape that’s thicker in the middle and tapers to thin points at each end, like the little sliver of moon you might notice in the sky. Crescent was first used to describe the shape of the waxing, or growing moon, and if you listen closely you can hear its similarity to increase

Question 32

Full moon

Answer 32

the phase of the moon in which its whole disk is illuminated

Question 33

New Moon

Answer 33

the phase of the moon when it is in conjunction with the sun and invisible from earth, or shortly thereafter when it appears as a slender crescent

Question 34

Quarter moon

Answer 34

third Quarter. The moon is one-half illuminated by the sun. Occurs when the moon’s illumination is decreasing, Waning Crescent. The moon is less than one-half illuminated by the sun but less than one quarter illuminated