Unit 4 Vocabulary

The spinning of earth on its axis

A rocket-launched spacecraft, able to land like an unpowered aircraft. Used to make journeys

A collection of stars, dust, and gas bound together by gravity

The force that draws objects toward each other

Piece of rock or metal that burns very brightly when entering the Earth's atmosphere from space

All of space and everything in it

The orbital speed of a revolving body in a gravitational field

To move in a circle about/around a central axis

The alternate rise and fall of the surface of water connected to the ocean

A period of the year characterized by particular conditions of weather, and Temperature

When the moon goes into Earth's shadow. Only happens on the night of a full moon

The pushing or pulling force exerted by the engine of an aircraft or rocket

An empty space with no particles and no pressure

The darkest part of the moon's shadow

A tide just after a full moon, when there is the greatest difference between high/low tide

The path that a body follows as it travels around another body in space

The lighter part of a shadow where light is partially blocked

Tide just after the 1st or 3rd quarters of the moon; the least difference between high/low tide

The speed of which an object is leaving Earth/ escaping the gravitational attraction of planet

The tendency of an object to resist a change in motion

The time/date when both day and night are at an equal time (happens twice a year)

Either of the two times a year when the sun reaches its highest or lowest point in sky @ noon

Large clumps of ice, dust, frozen gases that travel around the Sun in long elliptical orbits

Large space telescope able to see farther than any other telescope.

A system of organizing time that defines the beginning, length, and divisions of a year

Occurs when the moon's illumination is decreasing. Changing of appearances of moon from Earth

A small rocky body orbiting the sun

An artificial body placed in orbit around Earth, moon, or planet in order to collect info

The angle between an object's rotational axis and its orbital axis. (Cause of the Seasons)

When the sun is completely, or almost completely covered by the moon