Absolute Magnitude

1. Absolute Magnitude • The actual brightness of a star.

2. Apparent Magnitude • How bright a star appears to be in the night sky.

3. Asteroid • A large space rock that orbits the sun.

4. Axis • The imaginary line that passes through the center of the North and South poles. • The Earth rotates on its axis.

5. Black Hole • An object in space with gravity so strong that it pulls everything into it, even light.

6. Comet • A mountain-size chunk of ice and dust that orbits the sun

7. Constellation • A group of stars that ancient people thought formed a picture in the sky

8. Corona • The Sun’s atmosphere.

9. Earth • The only planet in our Solar System with the right environment to exist. • ¾ of the planet is covered in water. • The only planet with liquid water.

10. Eclipse • The passing of one object between the Sun, causing a shadow. • Examples: solar and lunar.

11. Elliptical • Having the shape of an oval. (egg)

12. Equinox • Day of equal hours of day and night • March 21(first day of spring) • September 21(first day of fall)

13. Galaxy • A group of stars, gas, and dust.

14. Geographic Pole • An imaginary point through which the Earth’s axis of rotation passes.

15. Heliocentric Model • The model that the Sun is the center of the Solar System.

16. Light Year • The distance light travels in one Earth year. • 9.5 trillion km.

17. Lunar Eclipse • The Earth blocks the Sun’s light and casts a shadow on the moon.

18. Magnetic Pole • An imaginary point through which the Earth’s magnetic axis passes.

19. Magnitude • Brightness of stars. • Absolute and Apparent.

20. Moon Phases • New moon, waxing crescent, first quarter, waxing gibbous, full moon, waning gibbous, third quarter, waning crescent, new moon. • Lunar Cycle- 27.3 days.

21. Orbit • The path of an object in space as it travels around another object.

22. Order of the Planets My - Mercury Very - Venus Eager - Earth Mother - Mars Just - Jupiter Sent - Saturn Us - Uranus Nine - Neptune Pizzas - Pluto

23. Photosphere • The visible surface of the Sun.

24. Revolve, Revolution • The movement of an object around another object. • orbit • It takes the Earth one year to make one revolution around the Sun.

25. Rotate, Rotation • The spin of something on its axis. • It takes the Earth one day to make one rotation. (23 hours, 56 minutes)

26. Satellite • A natural body, like the moon, or an artificial object that orbits another object.

27. Seasons • The year long cycle of temperature changes caused by the Earth’s tilt as it revolves around the Sun.

28. Solar Eclipse • Moon blocks the Sun’s light and casts a shadow on the Earth

29. Solar Flare • A brief burst of energy from the Sun’s photosphere.

30. Solar System • A set of planets, moons, asteroids, and comets that are held together by the gravity of a star.

31. Solar Wind • A fast moving stream of particles thrown into space by solar flares.

32. Solstice • Longest and Shortest Day • Dec 21 (first day of winter) least amount of daylight • June 21 (first day of summer) most amount of daylight

33. Star • A large, gaseous, self-luminous body held together by gravity.

34. Sun • The huge, fiery-hot star at the center of our Solar System. • The sun gives off light and heat energy. • Without the Sun, life on Earth could not exist. • Causes weather

35. Sunspot • A dark spot on the photosphere of the Sun, cooler than the area around it.

36. Telescope • An instrument that magnifies distant objects, making them appear larger. • Uses a refracted convex lens.

37. Universe • Everything that exists – planets, stars, dust, gases, and energy.