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Telescope
The most important instrument used by astronomers
Refracting telescope
The telescope that uses a lens for the objective
Reflecting telescope
The telescope that uses a large, curved primary mirror
Adaptive Optics
The technique in which computer-controlled mirrors constantly flex and bend to correct for atmospheric distortion
Hubble Space Telescope
The reflecting telescope that was put into orbit by NASA in 1990
Visible Spectrum
Color sequence formed when white light is shine through a prism
Absorption lines
Narrow, dark lines that are shone through a broad spectrum of color
Spectroscope
A device that splits light into a spectrum for analysis
Radio telescope
Detects radio waves from space
Interferometry
The technique that increases the resolution of radio telescope images
Zenith
The point on the celestial sphere directly above an observer
Meridian
The full circle on the celestial sphere that connects both celestial pole and the horizon makes this
Lower transit
A circumpolar star that crosses the meridian between the visible celestial pole and the horizon
Day
General term for the most basic unit of time
Sidereal day
The amount of time it takes the earth to spin 360 degrees
Sidereal time
The type of time based on the stars
Apparent solar day
The amount of time between two upper transits of the sun
Standard solar time
A method of measuring time using time zones
UTC
The mean solar time at Earth's prime median is called this
Gregorian calendar
The calendar now used in most Western nations
Ecliptic
The path the sun follows in a year
Equinoxes
The two points at which the path of the sun crosses the celestial equator
Precession of the equinoxes
The term that refers to the earth's slow "wobble" on its axis that causes the pole star to change
Solstices
Points on the sun's path midway between the two equinoxes
December solstice
The astronomical event that marks the beginning of the winter in the Northern Hemisphere
Tropics
The climate zones where every location has at least one day a year when the sun is directly overhead
Solid fuel rockets
The type of rockets that have been used for years to launch fireworks and small military rockets
Robert Goddard
The Father of Modern Rocketry
Wernher Von Braun
German researcher who became the United States' top rocket designer
Sputnik I
The first artificial object to orbit the earth
Explorer I
The United States' first satellite
Yuri Gagarin
The first person to travel in space
Alan Shepard
The first American in space
John Glenn
The first American to orbit the earth
Valentina Tereshkova
The first woman in space
Apollo
The United States' space program that landed a man on the moon
Saturn V
The rocket design that the United States used to launch manned moon missions
Neil Armstrong
The first human being to set foot on another world (the moon)
Skylab
The United states' first space station
Mir
The first space station designed so that it could be expanded
Space Shuttle
The first spacecraft to be reused
Apogee
The term that refers to the highest point of the orbit of an earth-orbiting satellite
Geostationary Orbit
The type of orbit when a satellites stays above the same point on the Earth's surface
Sun-synchronous orbit
The type of orbit when the satellite crosses the equator at the same local mean solar time on every orbit
Hohmann transfer orbit
The type of orbit that a spacecraft uses to increase its altitude
Astronomical satellites
Used to study the heavens
Communication satellites
Relay telephone conversations and radio and television broadcasts
Navigational satellites
Includes the satellites of the Global Positioning System
Earth Observation Satellites
Performs a variety of functions such as making maps, forecasting crop production, spotting forest fires, and survey cities
Space Probe
An unmanned spacecraft launched specifically to explore the unknown
Escape velocity
The term that refers to the speed a spacecraft must be traveling at to leave Earth's gravity without using its rockets anymore
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