Challenger Learning Center - Rendezvous w/ a Comet Mission Vocab

coma

• a large satellite equipped to support a human crew

• how bright a night sky object appears

• a cloud of dust and gas that forms around a comet's nucleus

• A meeting time or place scheduled for two objects/people to meet.

dust tail

• One of two tails of a comet made of ionized particles which have a bluish color form the emission lines mostly of ionized carbon monoxide.

• One of two tails made of dust grains which are yellow-white color from reflected sunlight.

Ion tail

• One of two tails made of dust grains which are yellow-white color from reflected sunlight.

• One of two tails of a comet made of ionized particles which have a bluish color form the emission lines mostly of ionized carbon monoxide.

eccentricity

• A numerical value for the shape of an orbit ranging from zero which equals a circular orbit to nearly one which equals a long orbit.

• A meeting time or place scheduled for two objects/people to meet.

• The path a planetary body makes as it revolves around the Sun.

• . A centralized location where persons work together to monitor and analyze the activities of the space station and its crew.

long period comet

• A comet with an orbital period of more than 200 years

• A comet with an orbital period of less than 200 years.

short period comet

• A comet with an orbital period of less than 200 years.

• A comet with an orbital period of more than 200 years

magnitude

• The path a planetary body makes as it revolves around the Sun.

• The solid part of a comet, made of ices and rock

• One of two tails made of dust grains which are yellow-white color from reflected sunlight.

• How bright a night sky object appears to the human eye from Earth.

Mission Control

• An instrument used to obtain and record a spectrum, series of colors that is produced when light is spread out in order of wavelength, of an astronomical object

• A cloud of dust and gas that forms around a comet’s nucleus due to solar heating

• . A step-by-step set of written instructions for performing a job/duty.

• A centralized location where persons work together to monitor and analyze the activities of the space station and its crew.

nucleus

• The solid part of a comet, made of ices and rock.

• A cloud of dust and gas that forms around a comet’s nucleus due to solar heating

• One of two tails of a comet made of ionized particles which have a bluish color form the emission lines mostly of ionized carbon monoxide.

• One of two tails made of dust grains which are yellow-white color from reflected sunlight.

rendezvous

• The path a planetary body makes as it revolves around the Sun.

• A meeting time or place scheduled for two objects/people to meet.

• An artificial environment created to resemble an actual place; used for training