Unit 7 Earth, Moon and Sun Vocabulary Words
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AstronomyAxis
Rotation
Revolution
Orbit
Calendar
Solstice
Equinox
Force
Gravity
Law of Universal Gravitation
Mass
Weight
Inertia
Newton’s first law of motion
Phases
Eclipse
Umbra
Penumbra
Lunar eclipse
Tide
Telescope
Maria
Craters
Meteoroids
Unit 7 Earth, Moon and Sun Vocabulary
1. Astronomy- the study of the moon, stars and other objects in space
2. Axis- an imaginary lie that passes through earth’s center and out through the N and S poles. Earth rotates about
this axis.
3. Rotation- the spinning motion of a planet on its axis
4. Revolution-the movement of an object around another object
5. Orbit- the path of an object as it revolves around another object in space
6. Calendar- a system of organizing time that defines the beginning, length and division of a year
7. Solstice- the 2 days of the year on which the sun reaches its greatest distance north or south from the equator
8. Equinox- the two days of the year on which neither hemisphere is tilted toward or away from the sun
9. Force- a push or a pull on an object
10. Gravity- the attractive force between objects; depends on mass and distance
11. Law of Universal Gravitation- the scientific law that states that every object in the universe attracts every other
object
12. Mass- the amount of matter in an object
13. Weight- the force of gravity on an object
14. Inertia- the tendency of an object to resist change in motion
15. Newton’s first law of motion- the scientific law that states that an object at rest will stay at rest and an object in
motion will stay in motion WITH CONSTANT SPEED AND DIRECTION. Unless its acted on by a force
16. Phases- on of the different apparent shapes of the moon as seen from Earth
17. Eclipse- the partial or total blocking of one object in space by another
18. Umbra- the darkest part of a shadow
19. Penumbra- the part of a shadoe surrounding the darkest part
20. Lunar eclipse- the blocking of sunlight to the moon that occurs when earth is directly between the sun and the
moon.
21. Tide – the periodic rise and fall of the levels of water in the oceans
22. Telescope-a device built to observe distant objects by making them appear closer
23. Maria- dark, flat areas on the moon’s surface formed from huge ancient lava flows
24. Craters- a large round pit caused by the impact of a meteoroid
25. Meteoroid- a chunk of rock or dust in space