Space Vocabulary

Question 1

Orbit

Answer 1

the circular or elliptical path of an object as it revolves around another object

Question 2

Solar System

Answer 2

a system of objects that revolve around a star

Question 3

Galaxy

Answer 3

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

Question 4

Universe

Answer 4

everything that exists in, on and around the Earth

Question 5

Satellite

Answer 5

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

Question 6

Impact Crater

Answer 6

approximately circular depression in the surface of a planet, moon, or other solid body in the Solar System or elsewhere, formed by the hypervelocity impact of a smaller body.

Question 7

Rotation

Answer 7

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

Question 8

Revolution

Answer 8

the orbiting of an object around another object

Question 9

Season

Answer 9

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

Question 10

Equinox

Answer 10

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

Question 11

Solstice

Answer 11

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

Question 12

Mare

Answer 12

a large, level basalt plain on the surface of the moon, appearing dark by contrast with highland areas.

Question 13

Eclipse

Answer 13

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

Question 14

Umbra

Answer 14

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 15

Penumbra

Answer 15

the shadow cast by the earth or moon over an area experiencing a partial eclipse

Question 16

Astronomical Unit( AU)

Answer 16

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

Question 17

Ellipse

Answer 17

a regular oval shape, traced by a point moving in a plane so that the sum of its distances from two other points (the foci) is constant, or resulting when a cone is cut by an oblique plane which does not intersect the base.

Question 18

Terrestrial

Answer 18

an inhabitant of the earth.

Question 19

Planet

Answer 19

a large circular mass that revolves around a star

Question 20

Gas Giant

Answer 20

a large planet of relatively low density consisting predominantly of hydrogen and helium, such as Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, or Neptune.

Question 21

Asteroid

Answer 21

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

Question 22

Comet

Answer 22

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

Question 23

Meteor

Answer 23

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)

Question 24

Meteorite

Answer 24

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

Question 25

Geocentric

Answer 25

having the Earth as the center

Question 26

Heliocentric

Answer 26

having the sun as the center

Question 27

Gravity

Answer 27

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

Question 28

Tide

Answer 28

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

Question 29

Waxing

Answer 29

The waxing crescent phase is the moon’s first step toward fullness. And it’s a very visible shift — the moon is completely invisible (while it’s new) until a tiny sliver is illuminated. The moon is considered a crescent only when less than one half of it is visible.

Question 30

Wannig

Answer 30

During the Waning Crescent Moon phase, the illuminated part of the Moon decreases from the lit up semicircle at Third Quarter until it disappears from view entirely at New Moon

Question 31

Gibbous Moon

Answer 31

The definition of gibbous refers to a moon in between a half-moon but less than a full moon, or something that protrudes or creates an obvious bulge. When the moon is more than half full, this is an example of a gibbous moon. When you have a humpback, this is an example of a gibbous back.

Question 32

Crescent Moon

Answer 32

crescent. 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 33

Full Moon

Answer 33

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

Question 34

New moon

Answer 34

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 35

Quarter moon

Answer 35

A quarter moon occurs when we see the Moon half illuminated by the Sun, and half enshrouded in darkness. Since the illuminated side points towards the Sun, it tells astronomers that the Moon and the Sun are separated by 90-degrees from our perspective here on Earth

Question 36

Perihelion

Answer 36

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

Question 37

Aphelion

Answer 37

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