Space Vocabulary

Question 1

ORBIT

Answer 1

The curved paths of a celestial object

Question 2

SOLAR SYSTEM

Answer 2

The collection of the eight planets and their moons

Question 3

Galaxy

Answer 3

A system of millions of stars

Question 4

UNIVERSE

Answer 4

Space and all the matter and energy in it

Question 5

IMPACT CRATER

Answer 5

a crater on a planet or moon caused by the impact of a meteorite or other object, typically circular with a raised rim

Question 6

ROTATION

Answer 6

the action of rotating around an axis or center.

Question 7

REVOLUTION

Answer 7

the action of rotating around an axis or center.

Question 8

SEASON

Answer 8

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.

Question 9

EQUINOX

Answer 9

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.

Question 10

SOLSTICE

Answer 10

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.

Question 11

MARE

Answer 11

the female of a horse or other equine animal.

Question 12

ECLIPSE

Answer 12

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”

Question 13

UMBRA

Answer 13

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.

Question 14

PENUMBRA

Answer 14

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.

Question 15

ASTRONOMICAL UNIT

Answer 15

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.

Question 16

ELLIPSE

Answer 16

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.

Question 17

TERRESTRIAL

Answer 17

of a planet) similar in size or composition to the earth, especially being one of the four inner planets of our solar system.

Question 18

PLANET

Answer 18

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.

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 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.

Question 21

COMET

Answer 21

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.

Question 22

METEOR

Answer 22

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

Question 23

Meteorite

Answer 23

A small ob

Question 24

GEOCENTRIC

Answer 24

measured from or considered in relation to the center of the earth.

Question 25

Heliocentric

Answer 25

measured from or considered in relation to the center of the sun.
“heliocentric distance”

Question 26

GRAVITY

Answer 26

the force that attracts a body toward the center of the earth, or toward any other physical body having mass.

Question 27

ASTROID

Answer 27

a hypocycloid with four cusps (like a square with concave sides

Question 28

COMET

Answer 28

Cupid

Question 29

TIDE

Answer 29

L

Question 30

WAXING

Answer 30

L

Question 31

WANNING

Answer 31

L

Question 32

GIBBOUS MOON

Answer 32

L

Question 33

CRESCENT MOON

Answer 33

L

Question 34

FULL MOON

Answer 34

L

Question 35

NEW MOON

Answer 35

L

Question 36

QUARTER MOON

Answer 36

L

Question 37

PERIHELION

Answer 37

L

Question 38

APHELION

Answer 38

L