Space Unit Vocab June 25

Front

Exoplanets

Back

Planets that orbit a star outside the solar system.

Front

Nebula

Back

A cloud of gas and dust in space, often a region where new stars are formed.

Front

Galaxy

Back

A massive system of stars, stellar remnants, interstellar gas, dust, and dark matter, bound together by gravity.

Front

Spiral Galaxy

Back

A galaxy characterized by a spiral structure, with arms winding outward from the center.

Front

Irregular Galaxy

Back

A galaxy that does not have a distinct regular shape, unlike a spiral or elliptical galaxy.

Front

Elliptical Galaxy

Back

A type of galaxy having an ellipsoidal shape and a smooth, nearly featureless brightness profile.

Front

Nuclear Fusion

Back

The process in stars where lighter elements are made by combining thier nuclei

Front

Terrestrial Planets

Back

Planets that are composed primarily of silicate rocks or metals, with a solid surface, like Earth.

Front

Jovian Planets

Back

Gas giant planets, like Jupiter, that are composed mostly of hydrogen and helium.

Front

Dwarf Planet

Back

A celestial body that orbits the sun and has sufficient mass for its self-gravity to make it nearly round in shape but has not cleared its neighboring region of other objects.