Exploring Our Solar System Vocabulary

Front

What is a ball of ice and dust whose orbit is a long narrow ellipse called?

Back

Comet

Front

____________________ is the amount by which an orbit deviates from a perfect circle.

Back

Orbital Eccentricity

Front

What term describes the brightness of a star as seen from Earth?

Back

Apparent Magnitude

Front

What is a very large star, much larger than the sun, called?

Back

Giant star

Front

What is the study of the interaction between light and matter?

Back

Spectroscopy

Front

What is the term for a small rocky body orbiting the sun?

Back

Asteroid

Front

What is the distance that light travels in one year?

Back

Light-year

Front

What is the term for the actual brightness of a star?

Back

Absolute Magnitude

Front

What is the name of our galaxy?

Back

Milky Way Galaxy

Front

What is the force that keeps planets in orbit around the sun?

Back

Gravity