Solar System Flashcards
(18 cards)
Nebula
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.
Solar Nebula
describes the formation of our solar system from a nebula cloud made from a collection of dust and gas.
Nuclear Fusion
a nuclear reaction in which atomic nuclei of low atomic number fuse to form a heavier nucleus with the release of energy.
Sunspot
a spot or patch appearing from time to time on the sun’s surface, appearing dark by contrast with its surroundings.
Astronomical Unit
The mean distance between the Earth and the sun, about 98 million miles or 150 million kilometers
Terrestrial Planets
a planet that is composed primarily of silicate rocks or metals
Prograde Rotation
for both rotating and orbiting bodies is in a counterclockwise direction when viewed from a vantage point above the Earth’s north pole.
Retrograde Rotation
All eight planets in the Solar System orbit the Sun in the direction that the Sun is rotating
Gas Giant
a large planet of relatively low density consisting predominantly of hydrogen and helium, such as Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, or Neptune.
Satellite
an artificial body placed in orbit around the earth or moon or another planet in order to collect information or for communication.
Phase
a physically distinctive form of matter, such as a solid, liquid, gas or plasma
Eclipse
an obscuring of the light from one celestial body by the passage of another between it and the observer or between it and its source of illumination.a
Comet
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.a
Asteroid
a large, irregularly shaped object in space that orbits our Sun
Asteroid Belt
the circumstellar disc in the Solar System located roughly between the orbits of the planets Mars and Jupiter
Meteoroid
a small body moving in the solar system that would become a meteor if it entered the earth’s atmosphere.
Meteorite
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.
Meteor
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.
