Challenger Learning Center - Rendezvous w/ a Comet Mission Vocab

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coma

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a cloud of dust and gas around a comet's nucleus

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Dust tail of a comet

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One of two tails made of dust grains, yellow-white from reflected sunlight.

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Ion tail

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One of two tails of a comet made of ionized particles with a bluish color from emission lines of ionized carbon monoxide.

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Eccentricity: A numerical value for orbit shape, from 0 (circular) to nearly 1 (elongated).

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A numerical value for the shape of an orbit ranging from zero which equals a circular orbit to nearly one which equals a long orbit.

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Long period comet

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A comet with an orbital period of >200 years.

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Short period comet

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A comet with an orbital period of < 200 years.

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Magnitude

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How bright a night sky object appears to the human eye from Earth.

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Mission Control

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A centralized location where persons work together to monitor and analyze the activities of the space station and its crew.

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Nucleus of a comet

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The solid part of a comet, made of ices and rock.

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rendezvous

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A meeting time or place for two objects/people to meet.