Earth and the Solar System - Introductory

Review these words related to Earth and the solar system, and you'll be a vocabulary star. Learn about the planets, different kinds of celestial bodies, gravity, eclipses, and much more. This list is out of this world!
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. asteroid
    a small celestial body composed of rock and metal
  2. atmosphere
    the envelope of gases surrounding any celestial body
  3. axis
    the center around which something rotates
  4. Big Dipper
    a group of seven bright stars in the constellation Ursa Major
  5. celestial body
    a natural object visible in the sky
  6. Celsius scale
    a temperature scale that defines the freezing point of water as 0 degrees and the boiling point of water as 100 degrees
  7. comet
    a small frozen mass that travels around the sun
  8. constellation
    a configuration of stars as seen from the earth
  9. core
    the central part of the Earth
  10. corona
    the outermost region of the sun's atmosphere
  11. crater
    a depression formed by the impact of a meteorite or bomb
  12. cycle
    a periodically repeated sequence of events
  13. cyclical
    recurring in a repeated sequence of events
  14. direction
    relation between something and the course on which it moves
  15. distance
    the size of the gap between two places
  16. earth
    the third planet from the sun
  17. eclipse
    the phenomenon when one celestial body obscures another
  18. elliptical
    rounded like an egg
  19. energy
    any source of usable power
  20. eternity
    time without end
  21. Fahrenheit
    of or relating to a temperature scale proposed by the inventor of the mercury thermometer
  22. Fahrenheit scale
    a temperature scale that defines the freezing point of water as 32 degrees and the boiling point of water a 212 degrees
  23. force
    influence that results in motion, stress, etc. when applied
  24. galaxy
    a collection of star systems
  25. Galileo Galilei
    Italian astronomer and mathematician who was the first to use a telescope to study the stars; demonstrated that different weights descend at the same rate; perfected the refracting telescope that enabled him to make many discoveries (1564-1642)
  26. gas
    state of matter distinguished from solid and liquid states
  27. gas giant
    any of the four outermost planets in the solar system
  28. gravity
    the force of attraction between all masses in the universe
  29. hemisphere
    half of the terrestrial globe
  30. Jupiter
    the largest planet and the 5th from the sun
  31. leap year
    a year with 366 days that occurs every four years
  32. light year
    the distance that light travels in a vacuum in 1 year
  33. Little Dipper
    a cluster of seven stars in Ursa Minor
  34. lunar
    of or relating to or associated with the moon
  35. Mars
    a small reddish planet that is the 4th from the sun and is periodically visible to the naked eye; minerals rich in iron cover its surface and are responsible for its characteristic color
  36. Mercury
    the smallest planet and the nearest to the sun
  37. meteor
    a mass that enters earth's atmosphere, becoming incandescent
  38. meteorite
    a stony or metallic object from space that hits the earth
  39. meteoroid
    a small piece of rock or metal moving through outer space
  40. meteor shower
    a transient shower of meteors when a meteor swarm enters the earth's atmosphere
  41. Milky Way
    the galaxy containing the solar system
  42. month
    one of the twelve divisions of the calendar year
  43. moon
    the natural satellite of the Earth
  44. motion
    the act of changing location from one place to another
  45. NASA
    an independent agency of the United States government responsible for aviation and spaceflight
  46. nebula
    an immense cloud of gas and dust in interstellar space
  47. Neptune
    a giant planet with a ring of ice particles
  48. Nicolaus Copernicus
    Polish astronomer who produced a workable model of the solar system with the sun in the center (1473-1543)
  49. North Star
    the brightest star in Ursa Minor
  50. orbit
    the path of a celestial body in its revolution about another
  51. outer planet
    a major planet whose orbit is outside the asteroid belt
  52. oxygen
    a colorless, odorless gas that is essential for respiration
  53. phase
    the particular appearance of a body's state of illumination
  54. planet
    a celestial body that revolves around the sun
  55. Pluto
    a dwarf planet with an elliptical orbit
  56. pole
    either of the two endpoints of the Earth's axis of rotation
  57. position
    the particular part of space occupied by something
  58. reflect
    throw or bend back from a surface
  59. reflection
    the phenomenon of a wave being thrown back from a surface
  60. revolution
    a single complete turn
  61. revolve
    turn on or around an axis or a center
  62. ring
    a toroidal shape
  63. rotate
    turn on or around an axis or a center
  64. rotation
    the act of turning as if on an axis
  65. satellite
    any celestial body orbiting around a planet or star
  66. Saturn
    a giant planet that is surrounded by three planar concentric rings of ice particles; the 6th planet from the sun
  67. scale
    an ordered reference standard
  68. season
    one of the natural periods into which the year is divided by the equinoxes and solstices or atmospheric conditions
  69. solar
    relating to the sun or utilizing the energies of the sun
  70. solar eclipse
    when the moon interrupts light from the sun
  71. solar system
    the sun with the celestial bodies that revolve around it
  72. space
    the unlimited expanse in which everything is located
  73. space shuttle
    a reusable spacecraft with wings for a controlled descent through the Earth's atmosphere
  74. space station
    a manned artificial satellite in a fixed orbit designed for scientific research
  75. speed
    distance travelled per unit time
  76. star
    a celestial body of hot gases that radiates energy
  77. Sun
    the star that is the source of light and heat for the planets in the solar system
  78. surface
    the two-dimensional boundary of a three-dimensional object
  79. telescope
    a magnifier of images of distant objects
  80. terrestrial
    of or relating to or characteristic of the planet Earth
  81. tide
    the periodic rise and fall of the sea level
  82. tilt
    property possessed by a line that departs from the vertical
  83. universe
    everything that exists anywhere
  84. Uranus
    a giant planet with a ring of ice particles
  85. Venus
    the second nearest planet to the sun
  86. weight
    the vertical force exerted by a mass as a result of gravity
  87. year
    the period of time that it takes for a planet (as, e.g., Earth or Mars) to make a complete revolution around the sun
Created on Thu Feb 02 17:06:38 EST 2017 (updated Tue Apr 18 08:55:27 EDT 2017)

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