Astronomy Vocabulary Set 3 Constellations Imaginary patterns formed
Astronomy Vocabulary Set #3
Constellations Imaginary patterns formed by groups of stars
Parallax: The apparent change in the position of an object when seen from different places
Light-year The distance light travels in one year; about 9. 5 million kilometers (9. 5 trillion km) (from the Sun to Earth is 152 million kilometers; it takes 8 seconds for sunlight to travel that far)
Hertzsprung-Russell diagram Graph showing the relationship between a star’s temperature and its brightness (Red giants are bright but cool; blue giants are bright and hot; white dwarfs are dimmer, but still hot. )
Solar nebula Large cloud of gas and dust such as the one that formed our solar system
Spiral galaxy Galaxy with a bulge in the center and arms that spiral outward like a pinwheel
Elliptical galaxy Galaxy shaped like a round or flattened ball, generally containing only old stars
Binary star Star systems that have two, or double, stars Albireo
Quasar Extremely bright, distant galaxy with a giant black hole at its center
Refracting telescope Uses convex lenses to gather and focus light
Reflecting telescope Uses a curved mirror to collect and focus light
Radio telescope Device used to detect radio waves from objects in space
Optical telescope Uses lenses and mirrors to collect and focus visible light (the optical telescope family includes both refracting and reflecting telescopes)
Nebula Horsehead Nebula Large cloud of gas and dust spread out in an immense volume Cat’s Eye Nebula Crab Nebula
Protostar Contracting cloud of dust and gas with enough mass to form a star
White dwarf Blue-white hot core of a star after the outer layers have expanded and drifted into space
Supernova The brilliant explosion occurring of a dying supergiant star
Neutron star The remains of a dense, high-mass star after a supernova
Pulsar Rapidly spinning neutron star that produces radio waves
Black hole An object with gravity so strong that nothing, including light, can escape
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