| A | B |
|---|
| NEBULA | GIANT CLOUD OF GAS AND DUST, WHERE STARS ARE BORN AND DIE |
| SPEED OF LIGHT | The speed at which light travels=186,000 MILES/SEC. |
| LIGHT YEAR | DISTANCE LIGHT TRAVELS IN 1 YR. |
| SUPERNOVA | EXPLODING GIANT STAR |
| WHITE DWARF | COLLAPSED MEDIUM SIZE STAR |
| BLACK HOLE | GIANT STAR THAT HAS EXPLODED CREATES VOID OF MASSIVE GRAVITATIONAL STRENGTH-WHERE NOT EVEN LIGHT CAN ESCAPE |
| 5.88 TRILLION MILES/9.4 T Km | DIST. LIGHT TRAVELS IN 1 ONE YEAR |
| PROXIMA CENTAURI | NEAREST STAR (4.2 LY AWAY) |
| SIRIUS | BRIGHTEST STAR - LOCATED IN CANIS M. |
| NORTH STAR | STAR WHICH INDICATES NORTH. ALL STARS APPEAR TO REVOLVE AROUND THIS STAR. INDICATES NORTH. |
| REFRACTING TELESCOPE | USES CONVEX LENS TO MAKE IMAGE APPEAR LARGER AND CLOSER |
| REFLECTING TELESCOPE | USES MIRRORS TO MAKE IMAGE APPEAR LARGER AND CLOSER |
| RADIO TELESCOPE | CAPTURES RADIO WAVES AND TURNS THEM INTO PICTURES OF OBJECTS FROM SPACE |
| ELECTROMAGNETIC SPECTRUM | INCLUDES THE ENTIRE SPECTRUM OF RADIATION FROM STARS:INCLUDES VISIBLE AND INVISIBLE WAVES OF LIGHT |
| OPTICAL TELESCOPES | INSTRUMENT THAT USES LENSES OR MIRRORS TO MAKE DISTANT OBJECTS APPEAR LARGER AND BRIGHTER. |
| ARECIBO | WORLDS LARGEST RADIO TELESCOPE |
| VERY LARGE ARRAY | SET OF 27 RADIO TELESCOPES IN NEW MEXICO ACTING AS 1- 25 KM GIANT RADIO TELESCOPE. |
| HUBBLE TELESCOPE | BUS SIZE, 12 TON ORBITING MULTI PURPOSE TELESCOPE-NAMED AFTER THE ASTRONOMER EDWIN HUBBLE |
| EDWIN HUBBLE | ASTRONOMER THAT DISCOVERED THAT THE UNIVERSE IS EXPANDING AND THAT THE FURTHEST OBJECT APPEAR TO BE MOVING THE FASTEST-HIS LAW |
| DOPPLER EFFECT | THE APPARENT SHIFT IN WAVELENGTH OF LIGHT OR SOUND THAT OCCURS WHEN AN OBJECT IS MOVING TOWARDS OR AWAY FROM (YOU) EARTH. |
| AGE OF THE UNIVERSE | 13.7 TO 13.8 BILLION YEARS |
| AGE OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM | 5 BILLION YEARS |
| BIG BANG | THEORY THAT EXPLAINS THE ORIGIN OF THE UNIVERSE. IT STATES THAT WITH A GIANT EXPLOSION THE UNIVERSE BEGAN AND IT HAS BEEN EXPANDING EVER SINCE |
| NEUTRON STARS | SMALL DENSE REMAINS OF A HIGH MASS STAR AFTER A SUPERNOVA |
| NEBULAR THEORY | THEORY WHICH EXPLAINS HOW AND WHEN OUR SOLAR SYSTEM FORMED. PROPOSED BY IMMANUEL KANT IN 1755 |
| YERKES TELESCOPE | WORLS LARGEST REFRACTING TELESCOPE 40" |
| GALAXIES | 3 TYPES: SPIRAL, ELLIPTICAL AND IRREGULAR, MILKY WAY IS OUR GALAXY-ONE OF A BILLION OR SO IN OUR UNIVERSE |
| METEOROID | CHUNK OF IRON METAL & ROCK MATERIAL FLOATING AROUND EARTH'S OUTER ATMOSPHERE |
| METEOR | METEOROID OBJECT IN EARTH'S ATMOSPHERE/MESOSPHERE |
| METEORITE | METEOROID OBJECT THAT REACHES EARTH'S SURFACE |
| COMET | GIANT BALL OF GAS AND ICE IN SPACE. MOST FAMOUS IS HALEY'S COMET |
| WISE TELESCOPE | WIDE-FIELD INFRARED SURVEY EXPLORER TELESCOPE LAUNCHED DEC. 14, 2009 |
| MOON | SATELLITE OF EARTH, 1/4 ITS SIZE. 1/6 ITS GRAVITATIONAL PULL. 3,476 KM IN DIA., 384, 400 KM AWAY |
| HELIO-CENTRIC | SUN CENTERED SOLAR SYSTEM |
| GEO-CENTTRIC | EARTH CENTRED S.S. |
| COPERNICUS | BELIEVED IN A HELIO-CENTRIC SS |
| PTOLEMY | BELIEVED IN A GEO-CENTRIC UNIV. |
| KANT | NEBULAR THEORY |
| KEPLER | PLANETS ORBIT THE SUN IN ELLIPTICAL ORBITS |
| NEWTON | GRAVITY AND INERTIA KEEP PLANETS IN ORBIT |
| ARISTOTLE | EARTH IS AT THE CTR OF UNIV., EARTH IS ROUND, EARTH DOES NOT MOVE |
| WAXING | INCREASING IN SIZE |
| WANING | DECREASING IN SIZE |
| GIBOUS | CURVED OR ROUNDED, A HUMBACK WHALES BACK IS GIBOUS SHAPED. |
| CONSTELLATION | GROUP OF STARS THAT FORM A PATTERN IN THE NIGHT SKY |
| STAR | A MASSIVE BALL OF BURNING HYDROGEN GAS AS A RESULT OF FUSION. THERE ARE BILLIONS OF STARS IN JUST 1 GALAXY. SOME ASTRONOMERS BELIEVE THAT THERE ARE MORE STARS IN THE SKY THAN GRAINS OF SAND ON ALL OF EARTH'S BEACHES. |
| SUN | OUR STAR THAT SITS AT THE CENTER OF OUR SOLAR SYSTEM AND IS SURROUNDED BY PLANETS, METEORS, COMETS AND ASTEROIDS |
| PLANETS | "WANDERING OBJECTS" IN SPACE AS EARLY ASTRONOMERS CALLED THEM. ASTRONOMERS HAVE NOW IDENTIFIED 8 IN OUR SOLAR SYST. |
| PLANETOIDS OR DWARF PLANETS | OBJECTS TOO SMALL TO BE PLANETS & DO NOT MEET THE DEFINITION OF A PLANET. ASTRONOMERS HAVE IDENTIFIED 3: CERES, PLUTO AND ERIS |
| NOVA | DEATH OF A MEDIUM SIZE STAR-EXPANDS AND CONTRACTS BUT DOES NOT EXPLODE. |
| BRIGHTNESS OF A STAR | DEPENDS ON SIZE, TEMP AND DISTANCE. |
| APPARENT MAGNITUDE | BRIGHTNESS OF A STAR AS IT APPEARS FROM EARTH |
| ABSOLUTE MAGNITUDE | ACTUAL AMOUNT LIGHT A STAR GIVES OFF |
| PARALLAX | METHOD OF MEASURING THE DISTANCE OF A STAR UP TO 100 L.Y. AWAY BY THE APPARENT CHANGE IN POSITION OF AN OBJECT WHEN VIEWED FROM 2 DIFFERENT PLACES |
| FUSION | PROCESS BY WHICH A STAR CONVERTS H INTO He FROM TREMENDOUS HEAT AND PRESSURE & HEAT INSIDE ITS CORE |
| SOLAR FLARES | A SOLAR STORM CAUSED BY AN AREAS OF MAGNETIC DISTURBANCE ON THE SUN |
| C.M.E. | CORONAL MASS EJECTIONS- MASSIVE BURSTS OF THE SUN MATERIAL- EJECTED MILLIONS OF MILES INTO SPACE, MAGNETIC STORMS |
| SUNSPOTS | COOLER AREAS ON THE SUN SURFACE - AREAS OF MAG DISTURBANCE |
| PROTOSTAR | A PRE-STAR |
| ACCRETION | PROCESS OF PLANET FORMATION- HOT MATERIAL SPINS AND COALESCES (CHUNCK COLLECT BY GRAVITY) INTO LARGER AND LARGER PIECES UNTIL A PLANET FORMS |
| WMAP | Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP)SPACECARFT USED TO DETECT Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation PROVING THAT THE EXPLOSION OF THE BIG BANG DID OCCUR. |
| DARK ENERGY | A MYSTERIOUS FORCE THAT CAUSES THE EXPANDING UNIVERSE TO ACCELERATE |
| DARK MATTER | MATTER THAT DOES NOT GIVE OFF RADIATION BUT IS QUITE ABUNDANT IN THE UNIVERSE |
| SOLAR WIND | STREAM OF ELECTRICALLY CHARGED PARTICLES THAT EMINATES FROM THE SUNS CORONA |
| ECLIPSE | THE PARTIAL OR TOTAL BLOCKING OF ONE OBJECT IN SPACE BY ANOTHER |
| SOLAR ECLIPSE | THE BLOCKING OF THE SUN'S LIGHT BY THE MOON. MOON IS BETWEEN THE SUN AND EARTH-HAPPENS ONLY DURING A NEW MOON |
| LUNAR ECLIPSE | THE BLOCK OF THE MOONS REFLECTED LIGHT BY THE EARTH. EARTH IS BETWEEN THE SUN AND MOON. HAPPENS DURING A FULL MOON |
| ELLIPSE | OVAL SHAPED PATH ALL PLANETS FOLLOW AS THEY ORBIT THE SUN. AS FIRST DESCRIBED BY KEPLER |
| ROTATE | SPIN |
| REVOLVE | TO GO AROUND |
| PULSAR | A RAPIDLY SPINNING NEUTRON STAR THAT PRODUCES RADIO WAVES |
| GRAVITY | THE ATTRACTIVE FORCE BETWEEN 2 OBJECTS. THEIR STRENGTH IS DETERMINED BY THEIR DISTANCE AND MASS. |
| CMB | COSMIC MICROWAVE BACKGROUND RADIATION - LEFT OVER ENERGY FROM BIG BANG |
| ASTRONOMY | STUDY OF THE STARS AND UNIVERSE |
| SINGULARITY | UNIMAGINABLY HOT, DENSE BUBBLE-START OF UNIVERSE |
| ROTATE | TO SPIN |
| REVOLVE | TO GO AROUND |
| RED SHIFT | COLOR PRODUCED BY A LIGHTED OBJECT, VIEWED THROUGH A SPECTROSCOPE, THAT IS MOVING AWAY FROM YOU |
| BLUE SHIFT | OBJECT IS MOVING TOWARDS YOU |
| MOONS | SOLAR SYSTEMS NATURAL SATELLITES- THEY ORBIT PLANETS |
| ASTRONOMICAL UNIT | A UNIT OF MEASUREMENT FOR OUR SOLAR SYSTEM. 1 AU IS EQUAL TO THE AVG. DISTANCE OF THE EARTH TO THE SUN. |
| IAU | INTERNATIONAL ASTRONOMICAL UNION |
