Astronomy Vocabulary Answers – Flashcards
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astronomy
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the study of the moon, stars, and other objects in space
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rotation
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the spinning motion of a planet on its axis
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orbit
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the path of an object as it revolves around another object in space
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axis
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an imaginary line that passes through Earth's center and its North and South Poles
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revolution
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the movement of an object around another object
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gravity
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the force of attraction between all masses in the universe
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mass
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the amount of matter in an object
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weight
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the force of gravity on an object
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eclipse
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the partial or total blocking of one object in space by another
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tide
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the periodic rise and fall of the sea level under the gravitational pull of the moon
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solar eclipse
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when the moon passes between the sun and the earth
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lunar eclipse
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when the earth passes between the sun and the moon and casts a shadow on the moon
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ellipse
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an elongated circle, or oval shape, the shape of the planets orbit.
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terrestrial planets
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the four planets that have rocky surfaces
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gas giants
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planets made up mostly of substances that would be gases on Earth - Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune
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solar wind
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a stream of electrically charged particles given off from the sun
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asteroid
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rocky objects revolving around the sun that are too small and numerous to be considered planets
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comet
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a ball of dust and ice that orbits the sun
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meteor
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a bright streak of light that results when a meteoroid burns up in the Earth's atmosphere
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constellation
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an imaginary pattern of stars in the sky
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light year
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the distance that light travels in one year; about 9.46 trillion kilometers
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nebula
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a huge cloud of dust and gas in space
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black hole
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an object so massive and dense that even light cannot escape its gravity
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galaxy
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a collection of stars, star systems, dust, and gas bound together by gravity
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universe
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all of space and everything in it
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big bang
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theory that an explosion created the universe many billions of years ago
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dark matter
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matter that does not give off electromagnetic radiation but is quite abundant in the universe
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solstice
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the time that Earth's poles point at their greatest angle toward or away from the sun.
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equinox
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the first day of spring or fall when the sun is directly over the equator.
