Studied by 17 people
Epicycle/Retrograde Motion
Erratic paths seen for some planets due to errors in geocentric solar system model
Geocentric Model
The solar system model that has the earth at the center of the solar system
Heliocentric Model
The solar system model that has the sun at the center of the solar system
Inner Planets
Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars
Outer Planets
Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune
Volatiles
Materials that evaporate quickly at typical earth temperatures and pressures |
Spectroscopic Measurement
Measurement of wavelengths of light given off by an object |
Nebula
A cloud of dust, ice, and gas in space
Comet
An icy, small solar system body that warms and begins to release gas when it passes close to the sun. |
Revolve
To orbit around an object
Gravity
the natural attraction between physical bodies due to their masses. |
Protostellar Disk
The flattened cloud formed by a collapsing nebula
Fusion
Combining two or more nuclei to make a new atom
Matter
Any substance that has mass and takes up space
Solar Wind
A stream of charged particles streaming from the sun |
Terrestrial Planets
Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars
Impact Crater
Surface depression due to being hit
Meteorites
An object from space that hits the surface
Asteroid
A small orbiting object
Light Year
A distance measurement, constant anywhere in the universe |
Orbit
A closed looped path
Ellipse
An oval
Parallax
The apparent shift of an object with respect to the background
Transit
One planet passing in front of another
Spring Tides
Strong tides that occur when the sun and moon are in line |
Neap Tides
Weak tides that occur when the sun and moon are perpendicular |
Albedo
The fraction of radiation that is reflected
Greenhouse Gases
part of the atmosphere that absorb and give off infrared radiation |
Water Cycle
Water changing phases driven by energy from the sun |
Earth’s Tilt in Degrees
About 23 degrees off vertical
Solstice
When the sun is farthest north or south, the longest or shortest day of the year |
Equinox
When the sun is directly over the equator, commonly called equal length day and night |
Sunspots
Darker spots on the sun’s surface
Precession
A change in rotation
Glacier Erratic
Rocks from far away left out of place as ice sheets melted |
Insolation
Milankovitch’s increasing and decreasing amounts of solar radiation related to earth’s glacier cycle
