| Term | Definition |
|---|
| Vernal Equinox | Is the same as Spring Equinox |
| The Earth's axis is tilted | 23.5 |
| corona | the outermost region of the sun's atmosphere |
| leap year | Used to account for 1/4 of a day each year. Every 4 years add 1 day (February 29). |
| Speed of light | 18600 miles/sec |
| milky way | the galaxy containing the solar system |
| Astronomy | The study of an objects in space, star, planets, comet, and their origin |
| rotation | a single complete turn (axial or orbital) |
| Jupiter | the largest planet and the 5th from the sun |
| Venus | goddess of love |
| Mercury | the smallest planet and the nearest to the sun |
| Mars | the 4th planet from the sun |
| Saturn | a giant planet which is surrounded by three planar concentric rings of ice particles |
| Uranus | Spins on a nearly horizontal axis (sideways) |
| Neptune | roman name for Poseidon |
| Once | Earth rotates around its axis __________each day |
| white dwarf | a very small dying star that gives off very little light |
| black hole | final stage in the evolution of a supernova, in which the core's mass collapses to a point that is has no volume and whose gravity is so strong that not even light can escape |
| Red Giant | When stars run out of hydrogen, they become a ______ or planetary nebula |
| light year | the distance light travels in one year |
| Proxima Centauri | the closest star to Earth besides our sun |
| Orion | known as a mighty hunter |
| Ursa Major | Great Bear |
| Ursa Minor | Little Bear |
| International Astronomical Union | IAU; It officialized the constellations |
| Pegasus | Winged Horse |
| dust and gas | Other than stars, what is the Milky Way made of? |
| counter clockwise | Which way is the Milky Way rotating? |
| Halo | What is the sphere surrounding the Milky Way called? |
| Over 100 billion stars | How many stars are in our galaxy? |
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