Space news
Power Words
astronomy
The area of science that deals with celestial objects, space and the
physical universe as a whole. People who work in this field are called astronomers.
constellation Patterns formed by prominent stars that lie close to each other in
the night sky. Modern astronomers divide the sky into 88 constellations, 12 of
which (known as the zodiac) lie along the sun’s path through the sky over the
course of a year. Cancri, the original Greek name for the constellation Cancer, is
one of those 12 zodiac constellations.
element (in chemistry)Each of more than one hundred substances for which the
smallest unit of each is a single atom. Examples include hydrogen, oxygen, carbon,
lithium and uranium.
exo-planet A planet that orbits a star outside the solar system.
extraterrestrial Anything of or from regions beyond Earth.
hydrogen The lightest element in the universe. As a gas, it is colorless, odorless
and highly flammable. It’s an integral part of many fuels, fats and chemicals that
make up living tissues.
infrared light A type of electromagnetic radiation invisible to the human eye. The
name incorporates a Latin term and means “below red.” Infrared light has
wavelengths longer than those visible to humans. Other invisible wavelengths
include X rays, radio waves and microwaves. It tends to record a hit signature of an
object or environment.
Jupiter (in astronomy) The solar system’s largest planet, it has the shortest day
length (10 hours). A gas giant, its low density indicates that this planet is composed
of light elements, such as hydrogen and helium. This planet also releases more
heat than it receives from the sun as gravity compresses its mass (and slowly
shrinks the planet).
light-year The distance light travels in a year, about 9.48 trillion kilometers
(almost 6 trillion miles). To get some idea of this length, imagine a rope long
enough to wrap around the Earth. It would be a little over 40,000 kilometers
(24,900 miles) long. Lay it out straight. Now lay another 236 more that are the
same length, end-to-end, right after the first. The total distance they now span
would equal one light-year.
planet A celestial object that orbits a star, is big enough for gravity to have
squashed it into a roundish ball and it must have cleared other objects out of the
way in its orbital neighborhood. To accomplish the third feat, it must be big enough
to pull neighboring objects into the planet itself or to sling-shot them around the
planet and off into outer space. Based on that definition, the International
Astronomical Union has ruled that our solar system now consists of eight planets:
Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune (and not Pluto).
Neptune The furthest planet from the sun in our solar system. It is the fourth
largest planet in the solar system.
star The basic building block from which galaxies are made. Stars develop when
gravity compacts clouds of gas. When they become dense enough to sustain
nuclear-fusion reactions, stars will emit light and sometimes other forms of
electromagnetic radiation. The sun is our closest star.
telescope
Usually a light-collecting instrument that makes distant objects appear
nearer through the use of lenses or a combination of curved mirrors and lenses.
Some, however, use a network of antennas to collect radio emissions (energy from
a different portion of the electromagnetic spectrum).
water vapour Water in its gaseous state, capable of being suspended in the air.
wavelength The distance between one peak and the next in a series of waves, or
the distance between one trough and the next. Visible light — which, like all
electromagnetic radiation, travels in waves — includes wavelengths between about
380 nanometers (violet) and about 740 nanometers (red). Radiation with
wavelengths shorter than visible light includes gamma rays, X-rays and ultraviolet
light. Longer-wavelength radiation includes infrared light, microwaves and radio
waves.