The Solar System Flashcards
The scientific study of the universe which is the totality of all matter, energy, space, and time
Astronomy
A complex system of moving masses held together by gravitational forces, consisting of the sun, eight major planets and their satellites, dwarf planets, the asteroids, comets, meteoroids, and interplanetary dust
Solar System
The old false theory of the solar system, which placed the earth at its center
Geocentric Model
The model of the solar system that places the sun at its center
Heliocentric Model
All planets move in elliptical orbits around the sun with the sun at one focus of the ellipse
Law of Elliptical Orbits
The average distance between the earth and the sun which is 1.5x10^8 km
Astronomical Unit
An imaginary line joining a planet to the sun sweeps out equal areas in equal periods of time during the orbit
Law of Equal Areas
The square of the sidereal period of a planet is proportional to the cube of its semimajor axis
Harmonic Law
The four inner planets in our solar system
Terrestrial Planets
The four outer planets in our solar system
Jovian Planets
Orbital or rotational motion in the primary direction. In the solar system this is west to east or counterclockwise as viewed from above the north pole
Prograde Motion
Orbital or rotational motion opposite the primary direction. In the solar system, this is east to west or clockwise as viewed from the north pole
Retrograde rotation
The time it takes a planet to make one full orbit around the sun relative to a fixed star
Sidereal Period
When two planets are lined up with respect to the sun
Conjunction
The time at which one of the superior planets is on the opposite side of the earth from the sun in the sky
Opposition
The fraction of incident sunlight reflected by a celestial object
Albedo
The spinning of an object about an internal axis
Rotation
The movement of one object around another
Revolution
A pendulum that is used to demonstrate the rotation of the earth
Foucault Pendulum
The apparent motion that occurs between two fixed objects when the observer changes positions
Parallax
The apparent displacement in the direction of light coming from a star because of the orbital motion of the earth
Aberration of Starlight
A new class of planets including Pluto, Ceres, Eris, Haumea, and Makemake
Dwarf Planets
A large spherical cloud of cold gases and dust that contracted under the influence of its own gravity began rotating and then flattened into a swirling disk of gas and dust
Solar Nebula
A process of solar system formation in which interstellar dust grains act as condensation nuclei to facilitate the growth of protoplanets
Condensation Theory
