Chapter 6 The Terrestrial Planets term Albedo click

Chapter 6 The Terrestrial Planets

term: Albedo [ click for answer ] 1 of 25

definition: The fraction of incident light reflected by a body. [ click for next term ] 1 of 25

term: aurora australis [ click for answer ] 2 of 25

definition: The southern aurora. [ click for next term ] 2 of 25

term: aurora borealis [ click for answer ] 3 of 25

definition: The northern aurora. [ click for next term ] 3 of 25

term: comparative planetology [ click for answer ] 4 of 25

definition: Studying the properties of Solar-System bodies by comparing them. [ click for next term ] 4 of 25

term: continental drift [ click for answer ] 5 of 25

definition: The slow motion of the continents across the Earth's surface, explained in theory of plate tectonics as a set of shifting regions called plates. [ click for next term ] 5 of 25

term: Core [ click for answer ] 6 of 25

definition: The central region of a star or planet. [ click for next term ] 6 of 25

term: Crust [ click for answer ] 7 of 25

definition: The outermost solid layer of some objects, including neutron stars and some planets. [ click for next term ] 7 of 25

term: Geology [ click for answer ] 8 of 25

definition: The study of the Earth, or of other solid bodies. [ click for next term ] 8 of 25

term: geothermal energy [ click for answer ] 9 of 25

definition: Energy from the Earth's surface. [ click for next term ] 9 of 25

term: greenhouse effect [ click for answer ] 10 of 25

definition: The effect by which the atmosphere of a planet heats up above its equilibrium temperature because it is transparent to incoming visible radiation but opaque to the infrared radiation that is emitted by the surface of the planet. [ click for next term ] 10 of 25

term: Ionosphere [ click for answer ] 11 of 25

definition: The highest region of the Earth's atmosphere. [ click for next term ] 11 of 25

term: Mantle [ click for answer ] 12 of 25

definition: The shell of rock separating the core of a differentiated planet from its thin surface crust. [ click for next term ] 12 of 25

term: Marie (Mare) [ click for answer ] 13 of 25

definition: One of the smooth areas of the Moon or on some of the other planets. [ click for next term ] 13 of 25

term: Mascon [ click for answer ] 14 of 25

definition: A concentration of mass under the surface of the Moon, discovered from its gravitational effect on spacecraft orbiting the Moon. [ click for next term ] 14 of 25

term: Plate tectonics [ click for answer ] 15 of 25

definition: The theory of the Earth's crust, explaining it as plates moving because of processes beneath. [ click for next term ] 15 of 25

term: Plates [ click for answer ] 16 of 25

definition: Large flat structures making up a planet's crust. [ click for next term ] 16 of 25

term: Resolution [ click for answer ] 17 of 25

definition: The ability of an optical system to distinguish detail; also called "angular resolution. " [ click for next term ] 17 of 25

term: Scarps [ click for answer ] 18 of 25

definition: Lines of cliffs; found on Mercury, Earth, the Moon, and Mars. [ click for next term ] 18 of 25

term: Seismology [ click for answer ] 19 of 25

definition: The study of waves propagating through a body and the resulting deduction of the internal properties of the body. "Seismo-" comes from the Greek for earthquake. [ click for next term ] 19 of 25

term: Terminator [ click for answer ] 20 of 25

definition: The line between night and day on a moon or planet; the edge of the part that is lighted by the Sun. [ click for next term ] 20 of 25

term: terrestrial planets [ click for answer ] 21 of 25

definition: Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars. [ click for next term ] 21 of 25

term: Tide [ click for answer ] 22 of 25

definition: A periodic variation of the force of gravity on a body, based on the difference in the strength of gravitational pull from one place on the body to another (the tidal force); on Earth, the tide shows most obviously where the ocean meets the shore as a periodic variation of sea level. [ click for next term ] 22 of 25

term: Transit [ click for answer ] 23 of 25

definition: The passage of one celestial body in front of another celestial body. When a planet is in transit, we understand that it is passing in front of the Sun. Also, transit is the moment when a celestial body crosses an observer's meridian, or the special type of telescope used to study such events. [ click for next term ] 23 of 25

term: Troposphere [ click for answer ] 24 of 25

definition: The lowest level of the atmosphere of the Earth and some other planets, in which all weather takes place. [ click for next term ] 24 of 25

term: Van Allen belts [ click for answer ] 25 of 25

definition: Regions of high-energy particles trapped by the magnetic field of the Earth. [ end of Chapter 6 ] 25 of 25