Astronomy Chapter 1 "Earth, Moon, Sun" (Earth Science)
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21 terms
Terms | Definitions |
|---|---|
 rotation | the act of rotating as if on an axis |
| revolution | one complete orbit around the sun |
| axis | the center around which something rotates |
| solar eclipse | occurs when the Moon passes directly between the Sun and Earth and casts a shadow over part of Earth |
| lunar eclipse | the blocking of sunlight to the moon that occurs when Earth is directly between the sun and the moon |
| leap year | Used to account for 1/4 of a day each year. Every 4 years add 1 day (February 29). |
| neap tide | a tide with the least difference between high and low tide that occurs when the sun and moon pull at right angles to each other; occurs at the 1st and last quarter moon |
| spring tide | a tide with the greatest difference between low and high tides; full and new moon |
| tide | there are usually two high and two low tides each day; the periodic rise and fall of the sea level under the gravitational pull of the moon |
| eclipse | the partial or total blocking of one object in space by another |
| umbra | the darkest part of a shadow in an eclipse |
| penumbra | partial shadow |
| gravity | (physics) the force of attraction between all masses in the universe |
| inertia | the tendency of an object to resist any change in its motion |
| Newton's 1st law of motion | An object at rest/motion will remain at rest/motion until acted upon by an outside force |
| collision ring theory | moon formed in history when a planet sized object struck earth the debris revolved around earth forming the moon |
| highlands | mountains on the moon |
| maria | a dark region of considerable extent on the surface of the moon |
| craters | a large round pit caused by the impact of a meteoroid |
| phases of the moon | the progression of changes in the moon's appearance during the month; new, waxing crescent, first quarter, waxing gibbous, full, waning gibbous, third quarter, waning crescent; different parts of the lit portion of the moon can be seen from earth while it orbits |
| seasons | Earth has seasons because because its axis is tilted as it moves around the sun. |
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