Astronomy Ch.3
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28 terms
Terms | Definitions |
|---|---|
 Geocentric | models of the universe based on the assumption that the sun, moon, and planets all orbit Earth |
| Heliocentric | A description of the solar system in which all of the planets revolve around the sun |
| Ellipse | elongated, closed curve that describes Earth's yearlong orbit around the Sun |
| Core | the central part of the sun, where nuclear fusion occurs |
| Nuclear fusion | a nuclear reaction in which nuclei combine to form more massive nuclei with the simultaneous release of 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-hot gases rise and eventually cool as they approach the top |
| Photosphere | lowest layer of the Sun's atmosphere and the layer that gives off light |
| Chromosphere | a gaseous layer of the sun's atmosphere (extending from the photosphere to the corona) that is visible during a total eclipse of the sun |
| Corona | the outermost region of the sun's atmosphere |
| Solar Wind | continuous stream of high-energy particles released into space in all direction from the sun's corona |
| Sunspot | a cooler darker spot appearing periodically on the sun's photosphere |
| Prominence | A loop of gas that protrudes from the sun's surface, linking 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 | Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars. They all have rocky crusts and dense mantles and cores. |
| Greenhouse Effect | the trapping of heat by the atmosphere (too much carbon dioxide) which will raise the temperature of the planet |
| Gas Giant | A large planet that consists mostly of gases in a dense form. The four large planets in the outer solar system- Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. |
| planetary Ring | dust and small particle of ice and or metal/rock that orbit the gas giants in a flat disc shaped area |
| Comet | space object made of dust and rock particles mixed with frozen water, methane, and ammonia that forms a bright coma as it approaches the Sun |
| Coma | the fuzzy outer layer of a comet |
| Comet Nucleus | The solid, rocky part of a comet. |
| Kuiper Belt | a doughnut-shaped region that extends from beyond neptune's orbit to about 100 times Earth's distance from the sun |
| Oort Cloud | (astronomy) a hypothetical huge collection of comets orbiting the sun far beyond the orbit of Pluto, A spherical region of comets that surrounds the solar system out to more than 1,000 times the distance from the sun |
| Asteroid | any of numerous small celestial bodies composed of rock and metal that move around the sun (mainly between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter) |
| Asteroid Belt | The region of the solar system between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter, where many asteroids are found. |
| Meteroid | small rocky body that travels through space |
| Meteor | (astronomy) any of the small solid extraterrestrial bodies that hits the earth's atmosphere |
| Meteorite | a meteoroid that does not completely burn up in the atmosphere and strikes the surface of a moon or planet |
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