OVERVIEW
NEW WORDS
Nouns.
- asteroid (plural: asteroids) any of numerous small celestial bodies that move around the sun mainly between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. Their diameters range from 930 kilometres to less than one kilometre.
- astronaut (plural: astronauts) a person trained to pilot, navigate, or otherwise participate as a crew member of a spacecraft.
- astronomy the scientific study of matter and phenomena in the universe, especially in outer space, including the positions, dimensions, distribution, motion, composition, energy, and evolution of celestial objects.
- astronomer (plural: astronomers) an expert in astronomy; a scientific observer of the celestial bodies.
- black hole (plural: holes) an object with large mass but small size, from which no light can escape; formed in the first moments in the life of the universe.
- comet (plural: comets) a celestial body that travels around the sun, usually in a highly elliptical orbit.
- constellation (plural: constellations) any of the 88 groups of stars as seen from the earth and the solar system, many of which were named by the ancient Greeks after animals, objects, or mythological persons.
- cosmos the universe regarded as an orderly, harmonious whole.
- eclipse (plural: eclipses) the total or partial obscuring of reflected light from a celestial body as a result of its passage through the shadow of another.
- equinox (plural: equinoxes) either of the two times during a year when the sun crosses the celestial equator and when the length of day and night are approximately equal.
- falling star (plural: stars) a meteor or shooting star.
- galaxy (plural: galaxies) a large system of stars held together by mutual gravitation and isolated from similar systems by vast regions of space.
- gravity the force of attraction that moves or tends to move bodies towards the centre of a celestial body, such as the earth or moon.
- meteor (plural: meteors) a fiery streak in the sky produced by a meteoroid passing through the earth’s atmosphere; a shooting star.
- meteorite (plural: meteorites) a rocklike object consisting of the remains of a meteoroid that has fallen on earth.
- moon (plural: moons) the earth’s natural satellite.
- nebula a diffuse cloud of particles and gases (mainly hydrogen) that is visible either as a hazy patch of light (either an emission or a reflection nebula) or an irregular dark region against a brighter background.
- observatory (plural: observatories) an institution or building specially designed and equipped for observing meteorological and astronomical phenomena.
- outer space any region of space beyond limits determined with reference to the boundaries of a celestial body or system, especially the region of space immediately beyond Earth’s atmosphere.
- orbit (plural: orbits) the path of a celestial body or an artificial satellite as it revolves around another body due to their mutual gravitational attraction.
- planet (plural: planets) any of the eight celestial bodies, Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune, that revolve around the sun in elliptical orbits and are illuminated by light from the sun.
- planetarium (plural: planetariums) a building housing an instrument for projecting the positions of the planets onto a domed ceiling.
- rotation the act or process of turning around a center or an axis.
- satellite (plural: satellites) a celestial body, such as a moon, planet, comet, or other solar system body, that orbits a larger body; an object launched to orbit Earth or another celestial body, as a device for reflecting or relaying radio signals or for capturing images.
- shooting star (plural: stars) a streak of light in the sky at night that results when a meteoroid hits the earth’s atmosphere and air friction causes the meteoroid to melt or vaporize or explode.
- solar system (plural: systems) the sun together with the eight planets and all other celestial bodies that orbit the sun.
- solstice either of two times of the year when the sun is at its greatest angular distance from the celestial equator. The summer solstice in the Northern Hemisphere occurs about June 21, when the sun is at the zenith on the Tropic of Cancer; the winter solstice occurs about December 21, when the sun is at zenith on the Tropic of Capricorn. The summer solstice is the longest day of the year; the winter solstice is the shortest.
- space the region beyond the earth’s atmosphere containing the other planets of the solar system, stars, galaxies, etc; universe.
- spacecraft a manned or unmanned vehicle designed to orbit the earth or travel to celestial objects for the purpose of research, exploration, etc.
- space station (plural: stations) a structure equipped to support a human crew and designed to remain in space for an extended period and serve as a base for research, repair of satellites, or other space-related activities.
- star (plural: stars) any of the celestial bodies visible at night from Earth as relatively stationary, usually twinkling points of light.
- sun a star that is the source of light and heat for planets in the solar system; the luminous celestial body the earth and other planets revolve around.
- sunspot (plural: sunspots) any of the dark cool patches, with a diameter of up to several thousand kilometres, that appear on the surface of the sun and last about a week.
- telescope (plural: telescopes) an optical instrument for making distant objects appear larger and brighter by use of a combination of lenses or lenses and curved mirrors.
- universe (plural: universes) the aggregate of all existing matter, energy, and space.
- zenith (plural: zeniths) the point on the celestial sphere that is directly above the observer.
- zodiac (plural: zodiacs) an imaginary band, viewed as if from the center of the solar system, and divided into twelve segments of 30 degrees. Each segment is named after a nearby constellation of stars.
Planets.
Proper nouns.
- Earth
- Jupiter the fifth planet from the sun and the largest, with a diameter about 11 times that of Earth. It turns on its axis faster than any other planet in the solar system, taking less than ten hours to complete one rotation.
- Mars the fourth planet from the sun, having a reddish-orange surface with numerous dark patches and two white polar caps. Also called the Red Planet.
- Mercury the smallest of the planets and the one nearest the sun.
- Milky Way the galaxy containing the sun, solar system, and all of the individually visible stars in the night sky, along with various nebulae, star clusters, and dust clouds.
- Neptune the eighth planet from the sun, having fourteen known satellites.
- Saturn the sixth planet from the sun and the second largest in the solar system.
- Uranus the planet seventh in order from the sun. It has 27 satellites.
- Venus the second nearest to the sun, visible as a bright morning or evening star. Its surface is extremely hot.
Note: Pluto is considered a dwarf planet
Adjectives.
- astral relating to the stars.
- celestial of or relating to the sky or physical universe.
- cosmic of or relating to the regions of the universe distinct from Earth.
- galactic relating to a galaxy, especially the Milky Way.
- intergalactic relating to, or existing between two or more galaxies.
- interstellar situated or occurring between the stars.
- lunar relating to the moon.
- planetary relating to or resembling the physical or orbital characteristics of a planet or the planets.
- solar relating to the sun.
Verbs.
- to revolve to turn on an axis; to rotate.
- to rotate to turn around on an axis.
- to stargaze to observe the stars.
VISUAL VOCABULARY
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