space glossary

planet, moon

celestial body moving in an elliptical orbit around a star

star

celestial body of gas that shines by radiation through fusion
different evolution path and colours

brightness depends on mass

galaxy, milky way

system of billions of stars, gas and dust held together by gravitational attraction

local group

group of galaxies

scientific notation

AU

mean distance from the core of the earth to the core of the sun

light year

distance that light travels in one year

dark matter

dark energy

baryonic matter

phases of Venus

scientific method

Occam’s Razor

ellipse

speed

velocity

acceleration

momentum

mass

weight

kinetic energy

thermal energy

radiative energy

gravitational potential energy

gravitational constant

escape velocities

tidal forces and tides

terrestrial planet

jovian planet

transit of a planet

nebular hypothesis

planetesimal

accretion

asteroids

comets

radioactive dating

p and s waves

tectonics

lunar maria

albedo

a planet’s reflectivity or the fraction of sunlight reflected by a planet

greenhouse effect

ozone layer

Keeling curve

meteorites

meteors

frost line

Great Red Spot

orbital resonances

plasma and dust tails

Oort Cloud

Kuiper Belt

black body spectra

redshift

telescope resolution

exposure time

speed of light

same for all observers

laws of physics

same for all observers

inertial frames of reference

time dilation

length contraction

mass increase

curved spacetime