Space exploration

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celestial body

• outside of earth

• naturally occurring

Geocentric

The belief that the earth is in the center of the universe

Heliocentric

The belief that the sun is the center of the universe 

Ellipses 

the planet to Sun distance is constantly changing as the planet goes around its orbit 

Astronomical unit 

Unit that measures the distance of celestial objects 

Light Year 

the distance light travels in one Earth year 

Constellation 

stars forming a recognizable pattern that is traditionally named after its apparent form or identified with a mythological figure 

Stars

source of light visible in the night sky

Terrestrial  

• related to Earth

• Smaller 

• Made of rock 

• Closer to the sun 

• Has hardened from the sun to become solid 

• four of them

Gas giants (jovian)

• Bigger 

• Made of gas 

• Further from sun 

• Has not hardened because too far from the sun 

• four of them

Moons 

A celestial object that orbits a planet 

Asteroids

• large rocks in space

• made of valuable metals 

• The belt is found between mars and Jupiter 

Star Clusters 

Groups of stars pulled together by gravity  

Blackholes 

• Made by giant stars exploding 

• Cannot escape them because they are like vacuums  

Galaxies 

• Made of stars, planets, moons, and other celestial objects

• Many within a universe

Altitude 

the height of an object or point in relation to sea level or ground level 

Azimuth 

• the horizontal measurement of a object or point 

• north – 0 degrees 

• east – 90 degrees 

• south – 180 degrees 

• west – 270 degrees 

Astrolabe 

a device that is used to measure the altitude

Compass 

device that is used to measure the azimuth/direction 

Zenith 

a point right above the observer 

Rover 

has wheels and collects data usually on planets or other celestial objects  

Probe 

floats throughout space and collects data

Geostationary / Geosynchronous orbit\ 

a celestial object that is in a fixed position that can orbit with the Earth 

Asynchronous orbit

a celestial object that does not orbit with the earth

Spectroscopy

• when a light is absorbed or emitted in a celestial object to find the composition 

• scales used to indicate elements in celestial objects 

 
Electromagnetic Radiation 

• a scale that shows the different wavelengths by light 

• it determines how close are far from a celestial object is 

Refracting Telescopes

uses a lens as its objective to form an image

Reflecting Telescopes

uses a mirror to reflect light to form an image  

Interferometry

using multiple telescopes to improve resolution

Triangulation 

using the measure of two distances that create a 90-degree angle to find the length from one celestial object to another 

GPS 

• Global Positioning System  

• Provides users with positioning, navigation, and timing

Parallax 

the effect when the position or direction of an object appears to differ when viewed from different positions 

Doppler Effect 

• change in wavelength or frequency of the radiation from a source due to its relative motion away from or toward the observer 

• e.g. the big bang, where echoes can still be heard 

Red shift

• it is moving further away 

• it has a lower energy 

• it has bigger wavelengths 

• lower frequency 

blue shift 

• it is moving closer 

• it has higher energy 

• it has smaller wavelengths 

• higher frequency

Radio Telescopes 

telescopes that collect radio waves from celestial sources 

Bio monitors  

things placed inside a space suit to track the health of astronauts

emission spectrum

element absorbs energy and produces light

absorption spectrum

• elements absorb light

• determine composition of stars

Nebula 

•  cloud of gas and dust in outer space, visible in the night sky 

• not in solar system

• interstellar (between stars)

Comets 

Celestial object where the nucleus is made from dust and ice

Meteoroids 

space rocks that range in size from dust grains to small asteroids