SAGE 8AB - Astronomy II
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Created by:
donfitz927 on April 12, 2010
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45 terms
Terms | Definitions |
|---|---|
 axis of rotation | an imaginary line about which a turning body such as the earth rotates |
| revolution | the motion of one body around another, such as the earth around its sun |
| satellite | an object that orbits a more massive object |
| equinox | in an orbit, a position and time in which sunlight shines equally on the northern hemisphere and the southern hemisphere |
| solstice | in an orbit, a position and time during which one hemisphere gets its maximum amount of sunlight (and longest days) while the other hemisphere gets its minimum |
| lunar eclipse | earth casts shadow on moon |
| solar eclipse | moon casts shadow on earth |
| tides | relative position of water changes due to lunary gravity - two high points each day |
| new moon | no light shines on moon |
| waxing | light on moon increasing |
| first-quarter moon | half of moon is lit (the RIGHT half) |
| waning | light on moon decreasing |
| full moon | entire moon lit |
| crescent | thin sliver of light on moon |
| third-quarter moon | half of moon is lit (the LEFT half) |
| gibbous | most but not all of moon is lit |
| dark side | area of the moon never seen from earth because the moon is locked "in-phase" with our rotation |
| latitude | distance on the earth's surface measured north or south from the equator used to determine location |
| longitude | distance on the earth's surface measured east or west of the prime meridian used to determine location |
| impact crater | rond pit left behind on the surface of a body in outer space after a smaller object strikes the surface - many found on moon due to no atmosphere, no erosion |
| polaris | the north star - useful tool for navigators as it is directly above north pole in space and thus always indicates northerly direction |
| astrolabe | an instrument used to determine the angle at which an object can be found on the horizon |
| celestial navigation | determining your position by the stars |
| meridian | a great circle on the surface of the earth passing through both poles (used to determine longitude) |
| tropic of cancer | imaginary line 23 degrees north of the equator where the sun can still shine directly overhead |
| tropic of capricorn | imaginary line 23 degrees south of the equator where the sun can still shine directly overhead |
| NASA | National Aeronautics & Space Administration |
| Newton's First Law | inertia - objects in motion stay in motion / at rest, stay at rest |
| Newton's Second Law | F=MA - force equals mass times acceleration |
| Newton's Third Law | for every actions there is an equal and opposite reaction |
| GPS | Global Positioning System - requires 4 satellites to determine location through the intersection of measured distances |
| Yuri Gagarin | first man to orbit earth |
| Alan Shepard | first American in space |
| John Glenn | first American to orbit earth |
| Valentina Tereshkova | first woman in space |
| Neil Armstrong | first man on moon |
| Buzz Aldrin | second man on moon - bad dancer |
| Michael Collins | the third astronaut on Apollo 11 (boo hoo!) |
| Project Mercury | missions to figure out manned space travel |
| Project Gemini | missions to test out techniques needed for lunar mission |
| Apollo | mission to the moon |
| Constellation | new moon mission - cancelled by NASA earlier in 2010 |
| Challenger | first space shuttle disaster - exploded during lift-off |
| Columbia | second space shuttle disaster - broke apart during reentry |
| Saturn V | the moon rocket - three times the size of others |
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