Chapter 7: Wonders of the Sky
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45 terms
Terms | Definitions |
|---|---|
 93,000,000 | is the # of miles earth is from the sun. |
| photosynthesis | the process where green plants make their own food |
| core | the center of the sun |
| photosphere | the surface layer of the sun; this is what we see |
| sunspots | dark spots in the photosphere caused by the sun's magnetic field |
| chromosphere | is the atmosphere of the sun which surrounds the photosphere |
| corona | is a vapor blanket that surrounds the chromosphere of the sun; only seen during a total eclipse |
| constellations | groups of stars |
| Big Dipper | starting point for location constellations |
| sunlight | reflecting on the moon makes it appear to "light up" |
| Sea of Tranquility | the large plain on the moon where US astronauts first set foot in 1969 |
| solar eclipse | occurs when the moon is on the same level as the sun |
| lunar eclipse | occurs when the moon travels through the earth's shadow |
| waxes | moon grows bigger |
| wanes | moon gets smaller |
| gibbous | moons are bulging (like an egg shape) |
| Mercury | closest planet to the sun |
| Venus | brightest planet in the sky; Earth's twin in size |
| Earth | only life-bearing planet |
| Mars | the red planet |
| Jupiter | largest planet in our solar system; has the "Great Red Spot" storm visible on one side |
| Saturn | 2nd largest planet; surrounded by seven bands of rings |
| Uranus | discovered by Sir Wm Herschel; actually rotates on its side |
| Neptune | appears blue; strongest measured winds in our solar system; Triton is its largest moon |
| Pluto | the smallest planet |
| Air | is made of 78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen, and other gases |
| Warm air molecules | expand |
| Cold air molecules | contract |
| air pressure | is the total weight of air on a particular place on earth |
| 15 lbs. | is the approximate weight of air pressure per square inch at sea level |
| troposphere | atmospheric layer closest to earth's surface; all weather occurs here; |
| stratosphere | the layer above the troposphere; almost no water vapor here; ozone layer is found here |
| ozone layer | found in the stratosphere; helps protect earth from ultraviolet rays |
| mesophere | layer above the stratosphere; protects the earth from being hit by objects, such as meteoroids, that are falling through space |
| meteors | also known as "shooting stars" |
| thermosphere | layer above the mesosphere |
| exosphere | the topmost upper layer of our atmosphere |
| rarefied air | describes the air found in the thermosphere and exosphere because it has very few air molecules |
| airglow | a phenomenon that occurs in the thermosphere causing a strange light on the horizon to appear on a moonless night |
| magnetic field | surrounds the earth and protects it from harmful space particles |
| aurora | a light display seen near the poles occurring when solar wind particles collide with air molecule particles |
| aurora borealis | an aurora seen in the northern hemisphere |
| aurora australis | an aurora seen in the souther hemisphere |
| ozone | form of oxygen with three atoms of oxygen in its molecule |
| Why is air important, besides for breathing? | It allows us to hear, gives us fresh water, warms the earth, and protects the earth |
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