Science Earth and Space Chapter 11

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