Astronomy Ch 3 The Solar System
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Created by:
jvaught on January 31, 2012
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25 terms
Terms | Definitions |
|---|---|
 heliocentric | earth and the planets revolve around the SUN |
| geocentric | earth is the center of the revolving planets and stars |
| ellipse | an oval shape , which may be elongated or nearly circular |
| core | central region of the SUN |
| nuclear fusion | hydrogen atoms join to form helium |
| radiation zone | a region of very tightly packed gas where energy is transferred mainly in the form of electronic radiation |
| convection zone | the outer most layer of the SUNs interior |
| photosphere | inner layer of the SUNs atmosphere |
| chromosphere | middle layer of the SUNs atmosphere |
| corona | the outer layer of the SUN |
| solar wind | streams of electrically charged particles |
| sunspot | areas of gas on the suns surface that are coller then the gases around them |
| prominence | A loop of gas that protrudes from the sun's surface, linking parts of sunspot regions |
| solar flare | gas eruptions into space |
| terrestrial planets | the four inner planets |
| greenhouse effect | The process by which certain gases (principally water vapor, carbon dioxide, and methane) trap heat that would otherwise escape the earth and radiate into space |
| gas giant | 4 outer planets |
| ring | thin disc or small particles of ice and rock |
| comet | loose collections of ice , dust, and small rocky particles whose orbits are usually very long, narrow ellipses |
| asteroid | too small rocky objects too small and too numerous to be considered full fledged planets |
| meteoroid | a chunk of rock or dust in space |
| meteor | (astronomy) any of the small solid extraterrestrial bodies that hits the earth's atmosphere |
| meteorite | a meteoroid that strikes the surface of a moon or planet |
| extraterrestrial life | life other than that on Earth. |
| Kuiper belt | a doughnut - shaped region that extend beyond NEPTUNES orbit about 100 times Earth's distance from the SUN |
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