Mrs. Nunn: Earth's Motion and Seasons
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31 terms
Terms | Definitions |
|---|---|
 astronomy | the study of celestial bodies |
| rotation | spinning of an object around its axis or center |
| period of rotation | time required for one full rotation; Earth's is 24 hours |
| axis | imaginary line running through the center of an object; Earth's runs between the North and South Poles |
| circle of illumination | the edge dividing daylight and darkness |
| revolution | the movement of one object around another |
| period of revolution | time required for one full revolution; Earth's is 365.25 days |
| orbit | the movement or path of one celestial body around another |
| ellipse | elongated circle; shape of planetary orbits around our sun |
| satellite | an object in orbit; can be natural or man-made |
| momentum | quantity that indicates how hard it would be to stop a moving object |
| lines of latitude | horizontal lines running east and west; all are parallel to the equator |
| lines of longitude | vertical lines running north and south; divide the globe into "orange-like" sections |
| equator | line of latitude at 0 degrees; divides the Earth into northern and southern hemispheres |
| hemisphere | half of a sphere |
| prime meridian | line of longitude at 0 degrees; divides the Earth into eastern and western hemispheres |
| meridians | lines of longitude |
| tropic of cancer | line of latitude at 23.5 degrees north |
| tropic of capricorn | line of latitude at 23.5 degrees south |
| the tropics | area of the Earth between the tropic of cancer and the tropic of capricorn |
| direct sunlight | light that comes in at a 90 degree angle so it is most concentrated; the most intense light; produces the greatest warming effect |
| indirect sunlight | light that is spread out; much less intense than direct light; produces a much smaller warming effect |
| solar radiation | energy emitted from the sun (in the form of electromagnetic radiation) |
| winter solstice | 1st day of winter and shortest day of the year; occurs on 12/21 or 12/22 in the northern hemisphere |
| summer solstice | 1st day of summer and longest day of the year; occurs on 6/21 or 6/22 in the northern hemisphere |
| vernal equinox | 1st day of spring; day and night each 12 hours; occurs on 3/20 or 3/21 in the northern hemisphere; AKA spring equinox |
| autumnal equinox | 1st day of fall; day and night each 12 hours; occurs on 9/22 or 9/23 in the northern hemisphere; AKA fall equinox |
| December solstice | same as winter solstice (NH); summer solstice (SH) |
| June solstice | same as summer solstice (NH); winter solstice (SH) |
| March equinox | same as spring or vernal equinox (NH); fall or autumnal equinox (SH) |
| September equinox | same as fall or autumnal equinox (NH); spring or vernal equinox (SH) |
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