Details Title: Astronomy Book Vocabulary Description: Chapter 3/Sections 3-5 Total Flash Cards: 14 Created: 06/26/2005 12:38:40		New Users: To study from this flashcard set, or to create your own your own study flash cards, REGISTER HERE. Existing Users: CLICK HERE. Additional Astronomy Flashcards
Cards in this set: Term terrestrial planets Definition the name often given to the four inner planets: Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars Term greenhouse effect Definition the trapping of heat by a planet's atmosphere Term gas giant Definition the name often given to the first four outer planets: Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune Term comet Definition a loose collection of ice, dust, and small rocky particles, typically with a long, narrow orbit Term asteroids Definition rocky objects revolving around the sun that are too small and numerous to be considered planets Term asteroid belt Definition the region of the solar system between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter, where many asteroids are found Term meteoroid Definition a chunk of rock or dust in space Term meteor Definition a streak of light in the sky produced by the burning of a meteoroid in Earth's atmosphere Term meteorite Definition a meteoroid that passes through the atmosphere and hits Earth's surface Term ring Definition a thin disk of small ice and rock particles surrounding a planet Term Oort cloud Definition a spherical region of comets that surrounds the solar system Term coma Definition the fuzzy outer layer of a comet Term nucleus Definition the solid inner core of a comet Term Kuiper belt Definition a doughnut-shaped region that stretches from around Pluto's orbit to about 100 times Earth's distance from the sun