The Beginning Flashcards
It includes all of space, and all
the matter and energy that space contains.
Universe
the
leading explanation about how the
universe began
Big Bang Theory
The universe began about
13.8 billion years ago
a large group of stars, gas, and
dust bound together by gravity
Galaxy
the galaxy in
which Earth resides.
Milky Way
our Milky
Way’s closest neighbor
The Andromeda Galaxy
is the distance light travels in
one Earth year
light year
As the mass of this protostar increases,
its
internal pressure and temperature rise through gravitational
compression
is a giant cloud of dust
and gas in space
Nebula
the second stage of a
newborn star in a nebula
Protostar
made up of the sun and everything that orbits around it,
including planets, moons, asteroids, comets and meteoroids
Solar System
the star around which
Earth and the other
components of the solar system
revolve
Sun
the third planet from the Sun, and the only place we know of so far that’s
inhabited by living things
Earth
closer
approximation of the Earth ’s
true shape
geoid
The intersection of the axis of rotation
with the Earth ’s surface marks the
North and South Poles
The direction of rotation of the Earth
counter clockwise