Unit 1 Vocabulary
Across
- 1. , All of space and everything in it, including stars, galaxies, and planets.
- 4. , A range of wavelengths of light or other electromagnetic radiation.
- 5. spectrum , All types of electromagnetic radiation, including light, radio waves, and X,rays.
- 8. , The point in a planet’s orbit where it is closest to the Sun.
- 10. , A large cloud of gas and dust in space; often where new stars form.
- 15. , The distance between two peaks in a wave; used to identify different types of electromagnetic waves.
- 17. Unit (AU) , The average distance from Earth to the Sun; used to measure distances in our solar system.
- 20. , Small building blocks of planets formed from dust and gas.
- 22. , The distance light travels in one year; used to measure distances in space.
- 25. system , The Sun and all the objects that orbit it, including planets, moons, asteroids, and comets.
- 26. disk , A disk where planets form around a young star.
- 27. , The point in a planet’s orbit where it is farthest from the Sun.
Down
- 2. fusion , The process that powers stars; atoms combine to form a new element and release energy.
- 3. , A massive explosion that occurs when a star dies.
- 6. , A huge system of stars, gas, and dust held together by gravity; we live in the Milky Way galaxy.
- 7. , A large object that orbits a star and has cleared other objects from its orbit.
- 9. , A shift in the light from distant galaxies toward the red end of the spectrum, showing they are moving away.
- 11. disk , A rotating disk of gas and dust surrounding a new star.
- 12. , The apparent shift in position of a nearby object when viewed from different angles.
- 13. , A model of the solar system where the Sun is at the center.
- 14. , The path an object takes as it moves around another object in space.
- 16. Microwave Background (CMB) , Weak radiation left over from the Big Bang.
- 18. nebula , A cloud of gas and dust from which the solar system formed.
- 19. Bang theory , The idea that the universe began from a single point and has been expanding ever since.
- 21. giant , A large planet made mostly of gases like Jupiter and Saturn.
- 23. planet , A rocky planet like Earth, Mercury, Venus, or Mars.
- 24. , An older model where Earth is at the center of the universe.