Ch 4 - Vocabulary Flashcards
What do we call the study of the stars, planets, and all other heavenly bodies?
Astronomy
What do we call scientists who study outer space?
astronomers
What do we call an area containing no air or any other matter?
a vacuum
What do we call the force that resists motion?
friction
What do we call a star system containing from millions to billions of stars?
a galaxy
What do we call the cluster of about 40 galaxies that the Milky Way belongs to?
the Local Group
What do we call a spiral galaxy in which the spiral arms are attached to a straight “bar” that runs though the centre of the galaxy?
a barred spiral
What do we call large clouds of gas and space dust?
nebulae
What do we call a group of stars which seems to outline the shape of a person, an animal, or something else?
a constellation
What do we call the imaginary line around which the earth rotates that stretches from pole to pole through the interior of the earth?
the axis of rotation
What do we call the central, hotest region of the sun?
the core
What do we call the sun’s visible surface (the sphere of light)?
the photosphere
What do we call the darker spots or blotches on the sun’s surface that slowly move across the surface as the sun rotates?
sunspots
What do we call the event that occurs when the earth’s moon passes between the sun and the earth, temporarily blocking the sun’s rays?
a solar eclipse
What do we call the part of the sun’s atmosphere closest to the sun’s surface?
the sphere of colour that is delicate pink or orange
the chromosphere
