Space Vocabulary Flashcards
ORBIT
The curved paths of a celestial object
SOLAR SYSTEM
The collection of the eight planets and their moons
Galaxy
A system of millions of stars
UNIVERSE
Space and all the matter and energy in it
IMPACT CRATER
a crater on a planet or moon caused by the impact of a meteorite or other object, typically circular with a raised rim
ROTATION
the action of rotating around an axis or center.
REVOLUTION
the action of rotating around an axis or center.
SEASON
each of the four divisions of the year (spring, summer, autumn, and winter) marked by particular weather patterns and daylight hours, resulting from the earth’s changing position with regard to the sun.
EQUINOX
the time or date (twice each year) at which the sun crosses the celestial equator, when day and night are of equal length (about September 22 and March 20).
another term for equinoctial point.
SOLSTICE
either of the two times in the year, the summer solstice and the winter solstice, when the sun reaches its highest or lowest point in the sky at noon, marked by the longest and shortest days.
MARE
the female of a horse or other equine animal.
ECLIPSE
an obscuring of the light from one celestial body by the passage of another between it and the observer or between it and its source of illumination.
“an eclipse of the sun”
UMBRA
the fully shaded inner region of a shadow cast by an opaque object, especially the area on the earth or moon experiencing the total phase of an eclipse.
PENUMBRA
the shadow cast by the earth or moon over an area experiencing a partial eclipse.
ASTRONOMY
the less dark outer part of a sunspot, surrounding the dark core.
ASTRONOMICAL UNIT
a unit of measurement equal to 149.6 million kilometers, the mean distance from the center of the earth to the center of the sun.
ELLIPSE
a unit of measurement equal to 149.6 million kilometers, the mean distance from the center of the earth to the center of the sun.
TERRESTRIAL
of a planet) similar in size or composition to the earth, especially being one of the four inner planets of our solar system.
PLANET
a celestial body distinguished from the fixed stars by having an apparent motion of its own (including the moon and sun), especially with reference to its supposed influence on people and events.
GAS GIANT
a large planet of relatively low density consisting predominantly of hydrogen and helium, such as Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, or Neptune.
ASTEROID
a small rocky body orbiting the sun. Large numbers of these, ranging in size from nearly 600 miles (1,000 km) across (Ceres) to dust particles, are found (as the asteroid belt ) especially between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter, though some have more eccentric orbits, and a few pass close to the earth or enter the atmosphere as meteors.
COMET
a celestial object consisting of a nucleus of ice and dust and, when near the sun, a “tail” of gas and dust particles pointing away from the sun.
METEOR
a small body of matter from outer space that enters the earth’s atmosphere, becoming incandescent as a result of friction and appearing as a streak of light.
synonyms: falling star, shooting star, fireball, meteorite, bolide, meteoroid, comet
Meteorite
A small ob
GEOCENTRIC
measured from or considered in relation to the center of the earth.
