The Solar System
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Complete list of Terms and Definitions for The Solar System

Terms Definitions
T:do not contain rings
J: outer __ planets 4
Galileo Italian astronomer and mathematician who was the first to use a telescope to study the stars
June Northern Hemisphere is tilted towards the sun,more daylight than darkness and rays more direct = summer
T:mercury and venus do not have moons
Winter Triangle 3 Constellations Canis Major - Sirius Canis Minor - Procyon Orion - Betelgeuse
Scientific name for big dipper Ursa Major
Pluto a dwarf planet that sometimes crosses the path of Neptune- has 3 moons: Charon, Nix, and Hydra
Lunar Eclipse Earth blocks sunlight from reaching the moon - the moon is in Earth's shadow (full oon phase)
oort cloud spherical halo of material surrounding the solar system out to a distance of 50,000AU, where most long-period comets reside
Latitude Degrees North or South of the Equator Night - Altitude of Polaris is Equal to observer's Latitude Day - Altitude of Celestial Equator is Complimentary (=90°) to the latitude. Must use altitude of the sun at noon.
What type of planet is Pluto Dwarf Planet
asteroid Rocky objects revolving around the sun that are too small and numerous to be considered planets
T:___ ___ ___ with solid surface small, dense, rocky
North point Direction on the horizon below the north star.
core The central region of the sun, where nuclear fuision takes place
mars the planet fourth in order from the sun, having a diameter of 4222 miles (6794 km), a mean distance from the sun of 141.6 million miles (227.9 million km), a period of revolution of 686.95 days, and two moons.
heliocentric a model of the solar system in which Earth and the other planets revolve around the sun
Solstice 9 hours day, 15 hours night = Winter (12/22) 15 hours day, 9 hours night = Summer (6/22)
What characteristics enable us to tell if a star will become a giant or supergiant star Mass and Luminosity
sunspot A dark area of gas on the sun's surface that is cooler than surrounding gases
Milky Way Galaxy the name of our galaxy, a spiral galaxy that contains about 400 billion stars
ursa major it is the scientific word for the big dipper
Superior Conjunction When a planet is in line with the Sun and Earth, on the opposite side of the Sun than Earth. The Sun is between the planet and the Earth. 0° Elongation in back of the Sun (Inferior Planets)
because its axis is tilted as it revolves around the sun. Why does the Earth have seasons?
main most important
Mercury: Minimum Surface Temperature (-173C)
Patera shallow crater; scalloped, complex edge
Meteors "shooting stars" or "falling stars".
Uranus rocky core the size of earth,atsmospere mainly carbon dioxide, blanket of clouds trap heat,creatind a surface temp hot enough to melt lead
lunar regolith covers all terrains, gray unconsolidated debris composed of igneous, brecca, glass beads, lunar dust
ellipse elongated, closed curve that describes Earth's yearlong orbit around the Sun
_________________________________________ the pull that keeps us on Earth
asteroids rocky solar system objects or widely varying size usually found between the orbits of mars and Jupiter in an area called the asteroid belt
Tyco Brahe The Danish astronomer who made accurate astronomical observations. His measurements formed the basis for Kepler's laws of planetary motion.
parts of a comet Coma, Nucleus, and tail
Retrograde Motion Apparent backwarsd motion of the planets in Earht's sky
astronomy the study of , planets, andother objects in space.
Neutron star star of extremely high density composed entirely of neutrons.
Rotation A spinning motion of a planet about its axis.
mercury closest planet to the sun; has a larger than expected iron core.
Apoapsis The point in orbit farthest from the planet. The opposite of periapsis.
moon's characteristic gravity is 1/6 of earth, no atmosphere, not active tectonics, smooth landscape
Penumbra The part of a shadow surrounding the darkest part.
Properties of Earth Diameter (pole to pole): 12,714 km Diameter (equator): 12,756 km Circumference (poles) 40,008 km Circumference (equator) 40,075 km Mass 5.98 X 10 kg Average density 5.52 g/cm Average distance to sun 149,600,00km Period of rotation: 23 h, 56 m (1 day) Period of revolution: 365 days, 6 h 9m (1 year)
Astronomical Unit The average distance between the Earth and the Sun.
Gravity The force that pulls all objects in the universe toward one another
temperatures measure of how hot or cold things are
nebula a large cloud of gas and dust spread out in an immense volume
Year Time it takes for a planet to complete one revolution around the Sun. (Different planets have different lengths of years because of the size of their orbit)
Galilean moons The largest of Jupiters moons They are IO, EUROPA, Ganymede, and Callisto
Planets listed in order: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune
star a huge ball of burning gas in space which produces it's own energy and gives off both heat and light.
Solar System a star and all the objects that travel around it; made up of planets, moons, asteroids, meteoroids, comoets, sun; also know as the sun system
Comets Balls of rock and ice that have a tail made of gases
White dwarf star that has exhausted most or all of its nuclear fuel and has collapsed to a very small
Our solar system is made up of: 8 planets and 3 dwarf planets
vernal spring
umbra darker shadom
Sun A dwarf star
Ultraviolet Electromagnetic radiation at wavelengths shorter than the violet end of visible light. The atmosphere of the Earth effectively blocks the transmission of most ultraviolet light, which can be deadly to many forms of life.
fusion smashing together of particles
Aurora an atmospheric phenomenon consisting of bands of light caused by charged solar particles following the earth's magnetic lines of force
inner planets Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars
Saturn 6th planet -largest most visible rings -largest moon, Titan
Inner (Terrestrial) Planets Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars
Pluto, Eris, and Ceres are dwarf planets.
satellite 1. Man-made equipment that orbits around the earth or the moon. 2. Any celestial body orbiting around a planet or star.
Earth planet third closest to the sun
earth's communication systems solar flares interfere with
Angular momentum Angular momentum depends on object's mass, rotation rate (revolutions per second), and radius. Conserved - therefore, as a dust cloud collapses, its rate of rotation will increase
space station A long-term orbiting platform from which other vehicles can be launched or scientific research can be carried out
meteoroid a reletive small rocky body that travels through space
supernova a star that explodes and becomes extremely luminous in the process
axis An imaginary line around which a planet rotates, or spins.
Revolution Movement of the Earth around the sun.
Waxing crescent moon A crescent-shaped moon growing bigger
greenhouse effect trapping of heat by the atmosphere
primary eclipse when the planet blocks the star
Neptune 1 -twins with Uranus -blue-green cuz of methane -Great Dark Spot -belts and zones -clouds -highest wind speeds 2200 km/h -much energy on inside
meteorite a meteoroid that has struck the surface of the earth
Zodiac An imaginary belt across the sky in which the Sun, moon, and all of the planets can always be found.
Valles Marinaris Mariner Valley; large rift valley on Mars
Asteroids and Comets Asteroids-rocky objects too small and numerous to be considered planets comets-loose collections of ice,dust,and rock particles
Moon formed when rocky mass size of Mars hit earth material blasted into space and aggregated by gravity into the moon meteor bombardment created craters
prominence a huge, reddish loop of gas that protrudes from the sun's surface, linking parts of sunspot regions
Ceres The smallest dwarf planet in the solar system and the only one inside the asteroid belt. It was considered the eighth planet for half a century.
Moon Phases The changing appearances of the Moon as seen from Earth
Comet Dust, frozen water, and gas with a tail.
Meteor A streak of lightning of hot gases produced by a burnig meteorid in the earths atmosphere
Black Holes Dense Objects with Gravity so strong that not even light can escape their surface
The planet that is "just right" for life to exist Earth
law of universal gravitation Nexton's______showed how to calculate the gravitational force between any two objects.
Chunks of ice and rock that travel around the sun in a variety of orbits Comets
Big Bang Theory the theory that states the universe began with a tremendous explosion 13.7 billion years ago
geocentric a model of the universe in which earth is at the center of the revolving planets and stars
Venus and Earth What are the two neighboring planets that are closest together?
Space probe A vehicle sent into space to explore places too dangerous for people.
solar eclipse A blocking of the Sun's light that happens when Earth passes throught the Moon's shadow. At the time the Moon is between Earth and the Sun.
Gas Giants The name given to the four outer planets: Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune
name three features of sun's surface sunspots, prominences, solar flares
change in the apparent frequency of a wave as observer and source move toward or away from each other doppler effect
Retrograde Rotation The spining motion of a planet from east to west, opposite to the direction of most other planets and moons. Means "moving backwards".
planet A large body of rock or gases that revolves around the sun
Albedo Feature A dark or light marking on the surface of an object that may or may not be a geological or topographical feature.
how much bigger is the sun than the moon 400 times
Wasp 12b Takes this planet 1.1 earth days to go around its star 1 time. Surface temperature is estimated to be 1,500 C. Wasp 12b is slowly being eaten by its star.
what is at the center of the milky way? a black hole
keplers laws of planetary motion all plants revolve around sun in elliptical, not circular orbits, sun is not exact center of earch orbit
irregular galaxies are often close to... spiral galaxies that may distort their shape
Crater density is only about 15% of that found on lunar maria Venus' lowland plains are believed to be relatively young (500-600 million years old). Evidence for this is
This planet would float in a swimming pool if there were one big enough to hold it. It spin very fast, making one day on this planet ten and one-half hours long.
impact basin crater
rotate to spin around
sphere a round 3D object
rille Valleylike structure that meanders across some regions of the Moon's maria.
pluto is now considered a planetismal
Zone High, cool, light-collored cloud that rises and flows rapidly through the Jovian atmosphere.
Copernicus Polish astronomer who produced a workable model of the solar system with the sun in the center., earth orbits the sun and rotates on its axis,, Heliocentric theory
Where do sunspots occur? On the Photosphere
Jupiter fifth, largest planet, atmosphere is hydrogen and helium, rocky core, great red spot, 61 moons, Io, Europa, Ganymede is largest, Castillio
Orbit The path an object follows around another object
2 bare minimums for life 1) water 2) disequilibrium
surface gravity of mars 38 % of earths
prominences reddish loops of gas that link different parts of sunspot regions
corona the outer layer of the sun's atmosphere
name layers of sun's atmosphere photosphere, chromosphere, corona
prograde motion counterclockwise rotation of planet as seen from above north pole, rotation in same direction as suns
focus one of two center points of an ellipse
Highlands (on moon) Bright, densely cratered regions; make up most of the moon; make up all of the "back" side of the moon; older than maria
stoney meteorite most common type of meteorite, similar in composition to rocks found on the surface of the Earth
venus second planet from the sun similar to earth in mass and size has a thick atmosphere and a surface with craters fault like cracks and volcanoes
the flash of light produced when a meteoroid passes through Earth's atmosphere meteor
Irregular galaxy a small galaxy that has no identifiable shape and that contains a great amount of dust and gas
nuclear fission The splitting of an atom's nucleus into two smaller nuclei. (p.307)
light from the sun takes ___ minutes to reach earth 8.3
No Are the phases of the moon dependent on the speed of the Earth's rotation?
Local Group A small group of about two dozen galaxies of which our own Milky Way galaxy is a member.
The Asteroid Belt divides the inner and the outer planets
Heliocentric system In system, Earth and the other planets revolve around the sun.
gibbous When a moon seems to bulge at one side.
Law of Inertia Newtons law that states that an objects motion will not change unless that object is acted on by an outside force
Galaxy a large group of stars thats held by gravity
Neptune a giant planet with a ring of ice particles
dwarf planet small round bodies that orbit the sun- basically under-sized planets.
Orbit The path of an object as it revolves around another object in space
the sun This is located at the center of our solar system.
Meteoroids small bits of rock and metal not in an orbit around sun
Why is radiation so dangerous for astronauts? little or no atmosphere
period of revolution time it takes an object to revolve around another object once
How long does it take for earth to complete an orbit? 365 1/4 days
100% - they are the same The moon's rotational rate is what percentage of its orbital rate around the Earth?
(1) solid core (2) liquid core (3) lower mantle (4) asthesnosphere (5) lithosphere Place the layers in order, from the Earth's center (1) to the Surface (5)
Large in size, almost entirely gas How are the gas giants the SAME as each other?