Astronomy
Astronomy
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Astronomy
Astronomy terms meaning :
Glossary
Annual Motion – the Earth’s orbital motion around the sun every year
Asteroid Belt – the area between the inner and outer planets that is filled with asteroids
Asteroids – chunks of rock that vary in size from very large (1030km diameter) to very small. About 3000 asteroids have been discovered
Astronomical Unit – the distance from the Earth to the Sun (150 million km) used to measure distances within the solar system
Astronomy – the study of the universe and all of the bodies that appear in the skies
Atmosphere – a layer of air between the Earth and outer space
Axis – an imaginary straight line that an object or body rotates, or seems to rotate, around
Binary Stars – when two relatively close stars revolve around each other, often appearing as single stars because they are so far away from Earth
Black Hole – an intense gravitational field created when a star runs out of fuel and collapses. Nothing, not even light can escape its pull
Blue Moon – the second full moon in a month
Celestial Equator – an imaginary line in the sky directly above the Earth’s equator in the heavens surrounding the Earth
Comet – a large ball of ice, dust, rock and gas that orbits the Sun, circling the dark edges of the Solar system
Crater – a hole created on the surface of an object or body, made by falling meteorites or by erupting volcanoes
Emit – to send or to give out
Eclipse – Comes from the word meaning ‘hidden’. There are two types – solar and lunar. A solar eclipse is when the moon passes in front of the sun either partially or totally covering it. A lunar eclipse is when the Earth passes between the sun and moon, creating a shadow on the moon which makes it appear dark on Earth.
Ecliptic – the apparent annual path of the Sun, as seen from the Earth. It is called the ecliptic because eclipses only occur when the Moon is on or near this path.
Equator – an imaginary circle around the centre of the Earth, separating the northern hemisphere from the southern hemisphere
Equinox – the two days in which the day on earth is equally divided between 12hrs of sunlight and darkness, caused as the sun passes the celestial equator at one of two points – on or around the 21st of March and 23rd of September
Galaxy – a spiral island of stars in space – our galaxy is called the Milky Way
Gibbous – a phase of the Moon’s cycle when more than half the moon but not the entire face is illuminated
Hemispheres – either the north half or the south half of the Earth divided by the equator, or the east half or west half divided by the prime meridian
Inner Planets – the four hard rocky planets – Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars – closest to the Sun
Light Year – the distance light travels in a year, approximately 9.5 trillion km. Used to measure distances in space
Lunar Month – the time it takes the Moon to go around the Earth (27 1/3 days)
Magnitude – a six class scale used to measure the brightness of stars. The brightest are 1st magnitude, the faintest are 6th.
Meteor/Meteorite/Meteroid
Meteors are what enter Earth’s atmosphere and burn up – aka ‘shooting star’
Meteorites are larger meteors that make it to the surface
Meteroids are rocks which are in space as small as sand but smaller than asteroids and sometimes enter Earth’s atmosphere
Orbit – the path of a planet or other heavenly body as it revolves around another body in space
Outer planets – the four giant, gaseous planets – Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune – that orbit the Sun
Planets – large bodies that can only be seen by reflected light as they revolve around the Sun. Comes from the Greek word meaning ‘wanderer’
Pole Star – a bright star, also known as Polaris, useful as a benchmark as it always stays in the same position in the northern sky
Revolution – the motion of a planet as it orbits around the Sun
Rotation – the motion of a planet satellite, or the Sun, as it turns on its axis. For example, the Earth’s rotation takes 24 hours (23 hrs 56 mins)
Satellite – a man-made or heavenly body (moon, etc) that orbits around a larger object
Solar Noon – the time of the day when the Sun casts its shortest shadow and shadows face true north
Solstices – the two days in which the Sun reaches its highest and lowest points in the sky at noon, occurring at or about June 21st and December 21st
Star – a gaseous body that produces its own energy, releasing it as light and heat
Sublimate – turn directly from a solid to a gas
Sun – the closest star to Earth, measuring more than a million kilometers across
Sundial – a device that uses shadow to tell time
Universe – everything that exists: the Earth, Sun, Moon, satellites, stars, asteroids, all the galaxies and space in between
Waning Moon – when the Moon grows gradually less illuminated when passing from Full Moon to New Moon
Waxing Moon – when the Moon grows gradually more illuminated when passing from New Moon to Full Moon
Year – the time it takes for a planet to go all the way around the Sun ie. Earth is 365 days, Uranus is 84 earth years
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Astronomy
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