Solar System Flashcards
(18 cards)
a cloud of gas and dust in outer space, visible in the night sky either as an indistinct bright patch or as a dark silhouette against other luminous matter.
Nebula
concentration of interstellar dust and hydrogen gas called a molecular cloud. The cloud contracted under its own gravity and our proto-Sun formed in the hot dense center. The remainder of the cloud formed a swirling disk called of the solar nebula.
Solar Nebula
a nuclear reaction in which a heavy nucleus splits spontaneously or on impact with another particle, with the release of energy
Nuclear fission
a spot or patch appearing from time to time on the sun’s surface, appearing dark by contrast with its surroundings.
sunspot
a unit of measurement equal to 149.6 million kilometers, the mean distance from the center of the earth to the center of the sun.
Astronomical unit
a planet that is composed primarily of silicate rocks or metals
Terrestrial Planets
a rotational or orbital movement that is the same as most bodies within a celestial system
Prograde Rotation
spin opposite way
Retrograde Rotation
a large planet of relatively low density consisting predominantly of hydrogen and helium, such as Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, or Neptune.
Gas Giant
satellite is an artificial object which has been intentionally placed into orbit
satelite
a distinct period or stage in a process of change or forming part of something’s development.
phase
moon covers sun
eclipse
a celestial object consisting of a nucleus of ice and dust and, when near the sun, a “tail” of gas and dust particles pointing away from the sun.
comet
a small rocky body orbiting the sun. Large numbers of these, ranging in size from nearly 600 miles (1,000 km) across (Ceres) to dust particles, are found (as the asteroid belt ) especially between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter, though some have more eccentric orbits, and a few pass close to the earth or enter the atmosphere as meteors.
asteroid
A region of the solar system between the orbits of the planets Mars and Jupiter. Most asteroids are found in the asteroid belt.
asteroid belt
a small body moving in the solar system that would become a meteor if it entered the earth’s atmosphere.
Meteoroid
a meteor that survives its passage through the earth’s atmosphere such that part of it strikes the ground. More than 90 percent of meteorites are of rock, while the remainder consist wholly or partly of iron and nickel
meteorite
a small body of matter from outer space that enters the earth’s atmosphere, becoming incandescent as a result of friction and appearing as a streak of light.
meteor
