RES Astronomy Vocab

Nuclear Fusion

• A process where stars make energy by combining hydrogen atoms to form helium and releasing energy.

• A method of splitting heavy atomic nuclei to release energy.

• A chemical reaction that occurs in the Earth's atmosphere.

• A process of converting helium into hydrogen.

Aphelion

• Point in orbit closest to the Sun, when an orbiting object moves fastest (for Earth this occurs in January)

• Point in orbit away from the Sun, when an orbiting object moves slowest (for Earth this occurs in July)

• Point in orbit where the gravitational pull is weakest

• Point in orbit where the orbiting object is in a stable position

Milky Way

• a spiral-shaped galaxy

• a type of star

• a planet in our solar system

• a black hole

Heliocentric

• Earth is at the center of our solar system

• Sun is at the middle of our solar system

• Moon orbits around the Earth

• All planets revolve around the Milky Way

Revolution

• earth's moves around the sun… causes the year

• the process of rotating on an axis

• a sudden change in government

• the act of moving in a circular path

Constellations

• Patterns that people have drawn in the stars

• Random arrangements of stars

• Groups of planets in the sky

• Constellations are just myths

Circumpolar Stars

• Stars that are visible only during the summer months

• Stars in the northern sky that appear to go around Polaris as Earth's rotates

• Stars that are located at the equator

• Stars that are only visible from the southern hemisphere

Electromagnetic Energy

• Energy that is emitted from the Sun (ex: light)

• Energy stored in chemical bonds

• Energy produced by nuclear reactions

• Energy derived from mechanical work

Waxing Moon

• The lit up portion is getting bigger, the light is on the right hand side

• The lit up portion is getting smaller, the light is on the left hand side

• The moon is completely dark

• The moon is fully illuminated

Eccentricity

• 1= very oval, very elliptical, very eccentric

• 0= round, less elliptical, less eccentric

• 2= perfectly circular

• 3= highly irregular