Copy of `Idaho PTV - Science terms`

The wordlist doesn't exist anymore, or, the website doesn't exist anymore. On this page you can find a copy of the original information. The information may have been taken offline because it is outdated.

Idaho PTV - Science terms Category: Sciences > Astronomy Date & country: 15/02/2017, USA Words: 66

telescope
an instrument that can make faraway things appear closer. There are optical, reflecting, refracting, radio, and telescopes in space

universe
the space that contains all of the matter and energy in existence

white dwarf
the remains of an old star after it uses its energy. It is a small, faint, whitish star that is very dense

speed of light
light travels at 186,000 miles per second, or 299,792,458 meters per second. Albert Einstein predicted that nothing can go faster than the speed of light

sunspot
a dark area on the sun's surface that is cooler than the area around it

supernova
a great explosion that gives off tremendous amounts of light at the end of a star's life cycle. A supernova can become a neutron star or a black hole

spectrum
the colors you see when white light is split apart. The order of the colors is: violet, blue, green, yellow, orange, and red. A rainbow is a natural spectrum

solar
something having to do with the sun

solar flare
a storm or eruption of hot gases on the sun

solar system
the sun, and all the planets and other objects that orbit around it

solar wind
streams of gas particles flowing out from the sun

space probe
an unmanned research spacecraft sent into space

spectroscope
an instrument that breaks up white light from a star into its different colors. This information is used to determine the surface temperature of the star which helps to determine its age

rotate
to turn around a center point, or axis, like a wheel turns on a bicycle

satellite
a small object revolving around a larger object. Satellites can be natural, such as moons, or they can be artificial objects sent into orbit around the earth, such as communication, weather and navigation satellites

shooting star
another name for a meteor

revolution
the orbital motion of one object around another. The Earth revolves around the Sun in one year. The moon revolves around the Earth in approximately 28 days

reflector
a telescope in which the main light gathering element is a mirror

refractor
a telescope in which the main light gathering element is a lens, known as the objective, or object lens

remote sensing
the process of collecting information with instruments that record various forms of energy

quasar
Quasars are not stars. They are galaxies traveling away from us at tremendous speeds

radio telescope
a telescope that studies planets, star, galaxies and other astronomical objects by using the radio waves they emit. These waves are longer than light waves and need very large antennas or arrays of antennas to capture them

radio wave
electromagnetic radiation. Other types of electromagnetic radiation are heat, light, and X-rays

red giant
a star that becomes cooler, swells and glows with a red color. This happens after a medium-sized star has used up all its energy and begins to collapse

pilot
controls and operates the shuttle

planet
a spherical object that orbits a central star and reflects the suns light. It's diameter can vary but is usually between 1,000 and 100,000 miles

pulsar
Pulsars are thought to be rapidly rotating neutron stars with very strong magnetic fields. Bursts of energy are detected on earth from a pulsar at spaced intervals of several seconds or less

optical telescope
a telescope that uses mirrors to reflect an image to the observer

orbit
the path followed by an object in space as it moves moves around another object

payload
in space flight, the passengers, crew, instruments, or equipment carried by a spacecraft

payload specialist
professionals from life sciences or physical sciences fields. They can also be skilled technicians who are trained to operate special equipment on the mission

nebula
(another name for embryonic star cloud) a cloud of dust and gas in space in which a star is born

neutron star
a rapidly spinning, extremely dense star composed of mainly neutrons (parts of an atom).. Neutron stars are the leftovers of a supernova. They are only about 10 miles across, but are very dense

nonluminous
(not emitting light or visible) material that cannot be seen in the sky. Dark matter is one of the most mysterious things in the universe. Scientists think that dark matter occurs everywhere but they don't yet know exactly what it is made of

navigation
directing the course of a ship or other craft

NASA
the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. NASA is in charge of all space programs for the United States

moon
one of a planet's natural satellites, generally no smaller than ten miles in diameter. There are more than fifty known moons in the Solar System, including Earth's

mission specialist
astronauts in charge of on-board operations. They release satellites into space, operate scientific or engineering experiments, repair satellites and operate equipment in the Shuttle's payload bay

meteoroid
a piece of stone or metal that travels in space around the sun

Milky Way
the galaxy that contains the solar system

meteorite
a part of a meteor that does not burn up when it enters the Earth's atmosphere but falls to the Earth's surface

meteor shower
what you might see when Earth passes through the tail of a very old comet. During a shower you might see between 30 - 80 meteors an hour. Two well-known major showers are the Perseid shower, which peaks on August 12, and the Geminid shower which peaks on December 13

meteor
a meteoroid that enters the Earth's atmosphere, heats up, and looks like a brief streak of fire in the sky

gravity
the attractive force of a body. The larger or more dense the body, the greater the gravitational force

kilometer
1,000 meters. A kilometer equals 0.6214 miles

light year
units used t o measure distance in space. One light- year is the distance light can travel in one year, which is about 6,000,000,000,000 (6 trillion) miles, or 9,500,000,000,000 kilometers

dwarf planet
a space body too small to be called a planet

elliptical
shaped like an egg, but with equal ends

embryonic star cloud
huge cocoons of dust grains, gas, and molecules that are the birthplace of stars

galaxy
a huge collection of stars, nebulae, star clusters, and dust and gas that measures many light years across. A galaxy's shape can be elliptical, spiral, or irregular

Galileo Galilei
(1564-1642) - Italian mathematician, astronomer, and physicist. In 1609, Galileo was the first person to use a telescope to observe the skies. Galileo discovered the rings of Saturn, was the first person to see the four major moons of Jupiter, observed the phases of Venus, and studied sunspots

constellation
groups of stars in that people have imagined to represent various objects or mythical beings

cosmonaut
the Russian term for an astronaut

crater
a hole formed by a meteorite hitting the surface of a planet or a moon dark matter

black hole
super dense invisible objects in outer space that form when a massive star collapses from its own gravity. Black holes have such an enormous amount of gravity that nothing, not even light, ca escape from them

comet
a small frozen mass of gas, dust, and ice. Comets revolve around the Sun or pass through the Solar System in elliptical orbit

commander
often the pilot. Commanders are responsible for the vehicle, the crew, mission success, and safety

black dwarf
the remains of a white dwarf after it cools

Big Bang Theory
a theory that says that the universe began with the rapid expansion of all space, time, and matter from a single point

aurora
a glow over the polar regions caused by the interaction between Earth's magnetic field and charged particles from the Sun

atmosphere
the layer of gases surrounding the earth that has gravity strong enough to prevent the gases from escaping into space

astronomer
a scientist who makes observations and studies planets, stars, galaxies any anything else in space

astronomical unit
a unit of length used by astronomers. One astronomical unit equals the distance from Earth to the Sun: 93 million miles

astronomy
the study of everything that is or was in space beyond the Earth's atmosphere. Astronomy is the oldest science, dating back thousands of years to when people noticed objects in the sky overhead and watched how they moved

astrophysics
a branch of astronomy. It is the investigation of objects in space by remote sensing from Earth or its vicinity

asteroid
a rocky object in space that can be a few feet wide to several hundred miles wide. Most Solar System asteroids orbit in a belt between Mars and Jupiter