Earth Science Chapter 3 Stars, Galaxies and the Universe
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peanutbutter5 on November 13, 2011
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44 terms
Terms | Definitions |
|---|---|
 Parallex | the apparent shift in an objects position when viewed from two locations |
| Universe | all of space and everything in it |
| Light-year | The distance that light travels in one year |
| Scientific Notation | Uses powers of 10 to write very large numbers or very small numbers in a shorter form. |
| Star | A giant ball of gas primarily hydrogen and helium |
| Planet | An object that orbits a star, is large enough to have become rounded by its own gravity and has cleared the area of its orbit. |
| Solar System | the system composed of the sun (a star) and the planets and other bodies that travel around the sun |
| Binary Star | a star system with two stars |
| Galaxy | large group of stars, dust, and gas held together by gravity; can be elliptical, spiral, or irregular |
| Spiral Galaxy | A galaxy with a bulge in the middle and arms that spiral outward in a pinwheel pattern. |
| Elliptical Galaxy | a galaxy shaped like a round or flattened ball, generally containing only old stars |
| Irregular Galaxy | a galaxy that does not have a regular shape |
| Quasars | an enormously bright, distant galaxy with a giant black hole at its center |
| Orbit | the path of an object as it revolves around another object in space |
| Force | a push or pull exerted on an object |
| Law of Universal Gravitation | the scientific law that states that every object in the universe attracts every other object |
| Mass | a measure of the amount of matter in an object |
| Weight | The measure of the force of gravity on an object. |
| Inertia | the tendency of an object to resist a change in motion. |
| Newtons first law of motion | an object in motion will remain in motion unless acted upon by another force |
| accretion | The process of building something up gradually by the gathering together of smaller pieces. |
| Spectrograph | an instrument that separates light into colors and makes an image of the resulting spectrum. |
| Apparent Brightness | the brightness of a star as seen from earth |
| Absolute Brightness | the brightness a star would have if it were at a standard distance from earth |
| Hertzsprung-russell diagram | a graph relating the surface temperatures and absolute brightness of stars |
| Main Sequence | a diagonal area on an H-R diagram that includes more than 90 percent of all stars |
| Nebula | a large cloud of gas and dust in space, spread out in an immense volume. |
| Proto star | A contracting cloud of gas and dust with enough mass to form a star. |
| White Dwarf | the blue-white hot core of a star that is left behind after its outer layers have expanded and drifted out into space. |
| Super Nova | The brilliant explosion of a dying supergiant star. |
| Neutron Star | the small, dense remains of a high-mass star after a supernova. |
| Pulsar | a rapidly spinning neutron star that produces radio waves |
| Black hole | an object whose gravity is so strong that nothing, not even light, can escape. |
| Core | The central region of the sun, where nuclear fusion takes place. |
| Nuclear Fusion | the process in which two atomic nuclei combine to form a larger nucleus, forming a heavier element and releasing huge amounts of energy. |
| Radiation Zone | a region of very tightly packed gas where energy is transferred mainly in the form of electromagnetic radiation. |
| Convection Zone | the outermost layer of the sun's interior. |
| Photosphere | The inner layer of the sun's atmosphere that gives off its visible light. |
| Chromosphere | the middle layer of the sun's atmosphere. |
| Corona | Outer layer of the sun's atmosphere. |
| Solar Wind | A stream of electrically charged particles produced by the sun's corona. |
| 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. |
| Fun | violent and excited activity. |
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