Space Vocabulary Flashcards

1
Q

Orbit

A

The circular elliptical path of an object as it revolves around another object.

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2
Q

Solar system

A

A system of objects that revolve around a star.

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3
Q

Galaxy

A

a group of solar systems, dust, and gas held together by gravity; our solar system is part of the Milky Way galaxy

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4
Q

universe

A

everything that exists in, on and around the Earth

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5
Q

Satellite

A

a natural or artificial object that revolves around another object in space

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6
Q

Impact Crater

A

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

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7
Q

Rotation

A

the spinning of a celestial body, such as a planet, around an axis

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8
Q

Revolution

A

the orbiting of an object around another object

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9
Q

Season

A

a period of the year determined by the position of Earth as it revolves around the sun

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10
Q

Equinox

A

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

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11
Q

Solstice

A

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

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12
Q

Mare

A

are large, dark, basaltic plains on Earth’s Moon

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13
Q

Eclipse

A

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

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14
Q

Umbra

A

the fully shaded inner region of a shadow cast by an opaque object

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15
Q

Penumbra

A

the partially shaded outer region of the shadow cast by an opaque object.

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16
Q

Astronomical Unit

A

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

17
Q

Ellipse

A

a regular oval shape, traced by a point moving in a plane so that the sum of its distances from two other points

18
Q

Terrestrial Planet

A

telluric planet, or rocky planet is a planet that is composed primarily of silicate rocks or metals

19
Q

Gas Giant

A

a state of matter without any defined volume or shape (related word: gaseous)

20
Q

Asteroid

A

a small object made of rock or metal that orbits the sun

21
Q

Comet

A

a body of ice and dust that travels in a long narrow orbit around the sun

22
Q

Meteor

A

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)

23
Q

Meteorite

A

a piece of rock or metal from space that strikes Earth’s surface

24
Q

Geocentric

A

having the Earth as the center

25
Q

Heliocentric

A

having the sun as the center

26
Q

Gravity

A

a force that exists between any two objects that have mass (related word: gravitational)

27
Q

Tide

A

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

28
Q

Waxing

A

the moon at any time after new moon and before full moon

29
Q

Wannig

A

(of the moon) have a progressively smaller part of its visible surface illuminated

30
Q

Gibbous Moon

A

gibbous refers to a moon in between a half-moon but less than a full moon

31
Q

Crescent Moon

A

The Moon as it appears early in its first quarter or late in its last quarter

32
Q

Full Moon

A

the lunar phase when the Moon appears fully illuminated from Earth’s perspective

33
Q

New Moon

A

the phase of the moon when it is in conjunction with the sun and invisible from earth

34
Q

Quarter Moon

A

when we see the Moon half illuminated by the Sun

35
Q

Perihelion

A

the point in the orbit of a solar system body when it is closest to the Sun

36
Q

Aphelion

A

the point in the orbit of a planet or other orbiting body where it is farthest from the Sun or the body around which it revolves