Universe Vocab

Front

What is a light year?

Back

A unit of astronomical distance equivalent to the distance that light travels in one year, approximately 9.4607 × 10^12 km (nearly 6 trillion miles).

Front

What is apparent magnitude?

Back

The brightness of a star as seen from Earth.

Front

What is a New Moon?

Back

The phase of the Moon when it is between the Earth and the Sun, and is not visible from Earth.

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS1-1

Front

What is a galaxy?

Back

A system of millions or billions of stars, along with gas and dust, held together by gravitational attraction.

Front

What is a supernova?

Back

The stage where a massive star explodes and releases a lot of energy.

Tags

NGSS.HS-ESS1-3

Front

What is absolute magnitude?

Back

The measure of the intrinsic brightness of a celestial object, regardless of its distance from Earth.

Front

What is a solar system?

Back

A collection of planets and other celestial bodies that orbit a star, including the Sun and its planets.

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS1-2

NGSS.MS-ESS1-3

Front

What is a black hole?

Back

A region in space where the gravitational pull is so strong that nothing, not even light, can escape from it.

Front

What is a planet?

Back

A celestial body that orbits a star, is spherical in shape, and has cleared its orbit of other debris.

Front

What is the universe?

Back

The totality of all space, time, matter, and energy, including galaxies, stars, planets, and all forms of matter.

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS1-2