Glossary Part 4

Welcome to the Glossary section of the Solar Space Station, below is a comprehensive list of all the basic space-related words. If you have any additions, please e-mail me at .

Just click on the letter your desired word begins with from the list just below:

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Radar Mapping	A way of mapping a planet's surface using electromagnetic waves.
Radiation	Electromagnetic waves or particles which travel through space carrying energy.
Radio Telescope	A telescope shaped like a satellite dish which allows astronomers to collect radio waves from space.
Remote Control	A space probe operated by commands sent from here on Earth (eg Pathfinder rover)
Retrograde Motion	When a body moves around the Sun in the opposite direction to Earth.
Ring System	Some planets have millions of tiny rocks circling their equator which look like rings.
Rocket	Piece of equipment used to send stuff into space.

Satellite	An object which circles another object.
Shepherd Moon	Name given to tiny moons which orbit outside and inside a planet's ring system
Solar	Of the Sun.
Solar Nebula	The large cloud of gas from which the Sun and planets were formed 4,600 million years ago.
Space Probe	Machine sent out into space.
Space Station	A satellite orbiting the Earth that people can live on
Spacecraft	Unmanned machine sent from Earth into space.
Spaceship	A manned spacecraft.
Star	A big ball of burning gas sustained by nuclear reactions
Sun	The star at the centre of the Solar System
Sunspot	Dark, cool spots which form on the surface of the Sun.
Supernova	The explosion that occurs when a large star dies.
Synchronous Rotation	Phrase describing when a planet's moon takes the same amount of time orbiting the planet as it does spinning. This means the same side always faces the planet.

Telescope

A device which magnifies an object it is focused on. This is used a lot to observe celestial objects in space.

Ultraviolet	A part of the electromagnetic spectrum, with a higher frequency than blue light, but lower than X-Rays.
Universe	Everything around us is part of the Universe.

Volcano

A mountain which lava comes out of in some way or other.

White Dwarf

A white, small, very dense star. The Sun will be in this state in about 6,00 million years.

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Know of any words which should be here that aren't? If so, please E-mail me.

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Know of any words which should be here that aren't? If so, please E-mail me.

Zodiac

The imaginary band of the night sky through which the Sun appears to travel during a year. It contains 12 constellations.