| Term | Definition |
|---|
| geocentric | a model of the universe in which eArth is at the center of the revolving planets and stars |
| heliocentric | a model of the solar system in which Earth and the other planets revolve around the sun |
| ellipse | an oval shape,which may be elongated or nearly circular |
| core | the central region of the sun,where nuclear fusion takes place |
| nuclear fusion | the combining of two atomic nuclei to produce a singel larger nucleus and much energy |
| radiation zone | a region of very tightly packed gas in the sun's interior where energy is transferred mainly in the form of light. |
| convection zone | the outer most layer of the sun's interior |
| photosphere | the inner layer of the sun's atmosphere that gives off its visible light; the suns surface |
| chromosphere | the middle layer of the sun's atmosphere |
| corona | the outer layer of the sun's atmosphere |
| solar wind | a stream of electrically charged particles that emanate from the sun's ocrona |
| sunspot | a dark area of gas on the sun's surface that is cooler than surrounding gases |
| prominence | a huge, reddish loop of gas that protrudes from the sun's surface, limking parts of sunspot regions |
| solar flare | an eruption of gas from the sun's surface that occurs when the loops in sunspot regions suddenly connect |
| terrestrial planets | the name often given tothe four inner planets: mercury, venus, earth, and Mars |
| greenhouse effect | the trapping of heat near Earth's surface by certain gases in the atmosphere |
| gas giant | the name often given tot he first four outer planets: Jupiter,Saturn, Uranus; and Neptune |
| ring | a thin disk of small ice and rock particles surrounding a planet |
| comet | a loose collection of ice, dust and small rocky particles, typically with a long, nrrow orbit |
| coma | the fuzzy outer layer of a comet |
| nucleus | the solid inner core of a comet |
| kuiper belt | a doughnut shaped region that stretches from around Pluto;s orbit to about 100 times earth's distance form the sun |
| Oort cloud | a spherical region of comets that surrounds the solar system |
| asteroid | Rocky objects revolving around the sun that are too small and numerous to be considered planets |
| asteroid belt | the region of the solar system between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter, where many asteroids are found |
| meteroroid | a chunck of rock or dust in space |
| meteor | a streak of light in the sky produced by the burning of a meteoriod in Earth's atmosphere |
| meteorite | a meteoroid that passes through the atmosphere an dhits Earth's surface |
| extraterrestrial life | Life that exists other than that on Earth |
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