The Cosmic Perspective 1 - 3

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angular distance: A measure of separation between two objects

in the sky; numerically equat to the angle in degrees between
two lines extending from the observer's eye to the two objects.
angular size: the angle it appears to span in your field of view
(does not tell us true size because it depends on distance)
(further away objects smaller angular size)

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annular eclipse: An eclipse of the Sun in which the Moon is too

distant to cover the Sun completely, so that a ring of sunlight is
seen around the Moon at mid-eclipse.
apparent retrograde motion: The apparent motion of a planet,
as viewed from Earth, during the period of a few weeks or
months when it moves westward relative to the stars in our sky

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archaeoastronomy: The study of astronomy using

archaeological techniques, used when written records are not
available, as for Stonehenge or Native American sites, or when
pictograms need interpretation, as for Mayan sites.

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arcminutes: one arcminute is 1/60 of 1 degree., 1 = 60'(min)

arcseconds: One-sixtieth (1/60) of an arcminute or 1/3600 of a
degree, designated by the symbol
asteroid: any of numerous small celestial bodies composed of
rock and metal that move around the sun (mainly between the
orbits of Mars and Jupiter)
astronomical unit: the average distance from the earth to the
sun (150 million kilometers), used to measure distances in our
solar system

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axis tilt: the 23.5 degree tilt on Earth's axis, reason why we
have seasonal changes
celestial equator: the great circle on the celestial sphere
midway between the celestial poles
circumpolar: A term describing a star that neither rises nor
sets but appears to rotate around one of the celestial poles.

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comet: space object made of dust and rock particles mixed with
frozen water, methane, and ammonia that forms a bright coma
as it approaches the Sun

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constellation: A group of stars that form a pattern in the sky

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copernican revolution: is the change from an earth-centered

to a sun-centered universe(earth revolves around the sun)
initiated by Copernicus in the 16th century(the churches didnt
like this
doppler shifts: Used to determine how fast stars or other
celestial objects move toward or away from the Earth
Diffrent colors:
Blue shift- object approaching Earth (short waves)
Red shift- object moving away from Earth (long waves)

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eccentricity: (geometry) a ratio describing the shape of a conic

section

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eclipse seasons: two periods of the year when the nodes of the
moons orbit are nearly aligned with the sun, lasts a few weeks

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ecliptic: apparent path of the sun across the sky throughout

the year

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ecliptic plane: the plane of the Earth's orbit around the Sun

ellipse: A regular oval shape, traced by a point moving in a

plane so that the sum of its distances from two other points is
constant, or resulting when a cone is cut by an oblique plane
which does not intersect the base.
expansion of the universe: the increase in the average
distance between galaxies as time progresses. Note that while
the universe as a whole continues to expand, individual
galaxies (and groups and clusters of galaxies) and their
contents do not expand
fall equinox: The name given to the date September 22
(approximately) in the Northern Hemisphere when the sun's
rays fall directly on the equator.
first quarter: "The moon has moved eastward in its orbit from
the new moon phase and forms a 90 degree angle with the sun
and Earth, and the moon appears half bright and half dark."
foci: These are the two points used to measure eccentricity. The
sun is ALWAYS one, and the closer the foci are, the less eccentric
the orbit is.
full moon: the time when the moon is fully illuminated
galaxy: large group of stars, dust, and gas held together by
gravity; can be elliptical, spiral, or irregular made of star systems
galaxy clusters: a collection of a few dozen or more galaxies
bound together by gravity; smaller collections of galaxies, and
individual galaxies
galileo: Publicized Copernicus's findings; used the telescope to
study moon and planets; added discoveries concerning the
laws of gravity; condemned by the Catholic church for his work.
geocentric model: A representation of the universe in which
starts and planets revolve around Earth. Ptolemy proposed the
model.
hypothesis: a proposal intended to explain certain facts or
observations
kepler's first law: The orbit of each planet around the Sun is
an ellipse with the Sun at one focus.
kepler's second law: As a planet moves around its orbit, it
sweeps out equal areas in equal times.
kepler's third law: p^2 = a^3 <--- implies that the orbital period
of a planet increases rapidly with increase in distance from the
sun (planets farther from the sun have much longer orbits).
However, mass or eccentricity have no effect on length of orbit.
latitude: an imaginary line around the Earth parallel to the
equator
law of conservation of angular momentum: An object or
system of objects will maintain a constant angular momentum
unless acted upon by an unbalanced external torque.
light-year: The distance light travels in a year - 300,000km per
sec or 9,450,000,000000 per year
local group: a group of about 30 galaxies that includes the
Milky Way
longitude: an imaginary great circle on the surface of the earth
passing through the north and south poles at right angles to
the equator

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lunar calendar: A calendar based on the moon's cycle: 29.5

Days a month x 12 months = 354 days. This is 11 days fewer
than the 365 in our regular calendar.
lunar eclipse: The blocking of sunlight to the moon that occurs
when Earth is directly between the sun and moon
meridian: an imaginary great circle on the surface of the earth
passing through the north and south poles at right angles to
the equator
metonic cycle: The nineteen-year cycle named for the
Athenian astronomer Meton who discovered (ca. 432) that the
new Moon occurs on the same day of the year at approximate
nineteen-year intervals.
milky way galaxy: the name of our galaxy, a spiral galaxy that
contains about 400 billion stars
moon: any natural satellite of a planet
moon rises and sets in...: appears to rise in the east and set in
the west
new moon: moon phase that occurs when the Moon is
between Earth and the Sun, at which point the Moon cannot be
seen because its lighted half is facing the Sun and its dark side
faces Earth
north celestial pole: point directly over earth's north pole

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observable universe: the portion of the entire universe that

can be seen from Earth, at least in principle. The observable
universe is probably only a tiny portion of the entire universe.
occam's razor: simpler explanations are more likely to be true
than complex ones

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orbit: the (usually elliptical) path described by one celestial

body in its revolution about another

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paradigm: One that serves as a pattern or model

partial lunar eclipse: part of the sunlight is blocked from
reaching the moon. occurs when the moon is partly in the
umbra and partly in the penumbra.
partial solar eclipse: occurs when the moon is at perigee, only
visible at areas of earth within the moons penumbra

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penumbra: a fringe region of partial shadow around an umbra

penumbral lunar eclipse: an eclipse of the Moon in which the
Moon passes through the Earth's penumbra but not through
its umbra

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planet: A large body in space that orbits a star and does not
produce light of its own

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precession: the motion of a spinning body (as a top) in which it

wobbles so that the axis of rotation sweeps out a cone
prime meridian: meridian at zero degree longitude from which
east and west are reckoned (usually the Greenwich longitude in
England)
pseudoscience: an unscientific system which pretends to
discover psychological information that his means are
unscientific or deliberately fraudulent
ptolemaic model: The geocentric model of the universe
developed by Ptolemy in about 150 A.D.

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revolution: a single complete turn (axial or orbital)

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rotation: a single complete turn (axial or orbital)

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saros cycle: one of a number of cycles of similar seasonal

eclipses that recurs after a period of about 18.03 years combining synodic and draconic periods to give you an eclipse
pattern over time
semimajor axis: half of the longest dimension of an ellipse
small solar system body: A term defined in 2006 by the
International Astronomical Union to describe objects in the
Solar System that are neither planets or dwarf planets. These
include most of the asteroids, comets, and other small bodies in
the Solar System.
solar eclipse: the blocking of sunlight to Earth that occurs when
the moon is directly between the sun and Earth
solar system: the sun and all of the planets and other bodies
that travel around it
south celestial pole: point directly over earth's south pole
spring equinox: the equinox that occurs on march 21 or 22 in
the northern hemisphere
star: (astronomy) a celestial body of hot gases that radiates
energy derived from thermonuclear reactions in the interior
star system: a group of two or more stars that are held together
by gravity
stellar parallax: A method of determining the distance to
nearby stars. The method involves measuring the apparent
shift of a star amongst the background of more distant stars as it
is viewed through telescopes from positions in the earth's orbit
that are 6 months apart.
summer solstice: June 21, when the sun is at its northernmost
point
supercluster: gigantic threadlike or sheetlike cluster of galaxies
that is hundreds of millions of light-years in size.
superclusters: Collection of galaxy clusters held together by
gravity
synchronous rotation: Describes the state at which the
Moon's orbital and rotational periods are equal.
theory: an explanation using an integrated set of principles
that organizes and predicts observations
third quarter: Moon phase in which exactly half of the Moon
appears to be illuminated (occurs when the Moon has gone
three quarters of the way around Earth).
total lunar eclipse: a complete blocking of the sunlight from
reaching the moon. occurs when the moon is completely in the
Earth's umbra
total solar eclipse: what occurs over the part of the Earth
under the moon's umbra during a solar eclipse
tycho: The greatest naked eyed astronomer provided the data
to discover the actual orbits of the planets.
umbra: a region of complete shadow resulting from total
obstruction of light
universe: All matter and energy that exists in space
waning crescent: You can see a crescent of light on the LEFT
side of the moon.

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waning gibbous: a phase of the moon that comes after a full moon and before a last quarter moon where all of the moon is lit up except
for a small bit on the right side of the moon that we can see.
waxing crescent: A phase of the moon coming after a new moon and before a 1st quarter moon that is a lit up crescent on the right
waxing gibbous: a phase of the moon that comes after a 1st quarter moon and before a full moon where almost all of the moon is lit up
from the right to the left, except a small bit on the left.
winter solstice: December 22, when the sun is at its southernmost point
zenith: the point above the observer that is directly opposite the nadir on the imaginary sphere against which celestial bodies appear to
be projected