Astronomy and Space Flashcards
Grade 6 · Science · Flashcards
Essential terms for understanding our solar system, stars, and the structure of the universe.
Flashcards
- Solar system
- The Sun and all objects bound by its gravity: 8 planets, dwarf planets, moons, asteroids, and comets.
- Terrestrial planets
- The four rocky inner planets: Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars.
- Gas giants
- The large outer planets composed mainly of gas: Jupiter and Saturn. Uranus and Neptune are ice giants.
- Nuclear fusion
- Process in a star's core where hydrogen nuclei fuse to form helium, releasing energy as light and heat.
- Star life cycle
- Nebula → protostar → main sequence star → red giant → white dwarf (for Sun-like stars) or supernova → neutron star/black hole (for massive stars).
- Nebula
- Cloud of gas and dust in space; birthplace of stars; also the remnant left when a star dies.
- Galaxy
- A gravitationally bound system of billions of stars, gas, and dust; our galaxy is the Milky Way.
- Milky Way
- The barred spiral galaxy containing our solar system; ~100,000 light-years across; contains ~300 billion stars.
- Light-year
- Distance light travels in one year (~9.5 trillion km); used because space distances are otherwise too large to express in km.
- Orbit
- The path one body takes around another due to gravitational attraction; planets orbit the Sun in ellipses.
- Lunar phases
- The cycle of Moon appearances (new, crescent, quarter, gibbous, full) as the Moon orbits Earth over ~29.5 days.
- Black hole
- A region of space with gravity so intense that nothing — not even light — can escape; forms from collapse of very massive stars.
- Asteroid
- A rocky body that orbits the Sun; most are found in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.
- Comet
- An icy body from the outer solar system; develops a bright tail of gas and dust when it passes near the Sun.
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