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(UNIT 1) Tools of the Trade and A Sense of Scale

Terms in this set (21)

disc
planets orbit the sun in a -
Proxima centauri
the nearest star to the sun
omega centauri
largest globular star cluster
milky way
our galaxy (vast collection of stars), different in visible and infrared light
large Magellanic cloud
orbits the Milky Way/ largest satellite galaxy
coma cluster
most important galaxy cluster
Andromeda
(m31) nearest giant galaxy, spiral (Milky Way twin)
astronomical unit
radius of perfectly circular orbit an orbiting body would follow if it revolved about the sun in 365.25 days (slightly less than the average distance between Earth and Sun)
100
planetary part of the solar system is - AU across
light year
the distance light travels in one year, light travels at constant speed (speed of light)
parsec
distance related to parallax, unit
km
units to use with sizes of stars and planets
AU
units to use with distances within solar system
pc
units to use with distance between stars
kpc
units to use with sizes of galaxies
Mpc
units to use with distances between galaxies
Gpc
units to use with distance in whole universe
mercury, venus, earth, mars
4 rocky planets, terrestrial planets (similar in size, mass, composition)
jupiter, saturn, uranus, neptune
4 giant planets, 2 gas, 2 ice
kuiper belt
a region of the solar system beyond the orbit of Neptune, believed to contain many comets, asteroids, and other small bodies made largely of ice.

(contains tens of thousands of small, icy objects)
sedna
furthest object whose orbit is well known (76-975 AU)
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