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The Solar System
Basics
22
Astronomy
12th Grade
10/25/2008

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Term
planet
Definition
celestial body orbiting a star that is massive enough to be rounded by its own gravity, is not massive enough to cause thermonuclear fusion, and has cleared its neighbouring region of planetesimals.
Term
satelites
Definition
solid bodies orbiing around the planets
Term
terrestial planets
Definition
four inner planets that are generally, smaller, densers, and are less massive
Term
jovian planets
Definition
large gassy planets rich in icy or gaseous hydrogen compounds
Term
ceres
Definition
large asteroid 1003 km in diameter that orbits the sun between mars and jupiter
Term
inferior planets
Definition
planets that are closer to the sun thatn earth; mercury and venus
Term
transit
Definition
the passage of an inferior planet between the earth and the sun
Term
apparent retrograde motion
Definition
phenomenon that occurs when mars seems to spin backwards for a short period before returning to normal orbit
Term
apparent retrograde motion
Definition
phenonmenon that occurs when the earth passes mars in orbit for a short period, before falling back behind it again.
Term
ptolemy
Definition
epiycle model, extremely complicated, and needed to be constantly adjested for acuracy
Term
Copernicus
Definition
proposed circular motions of planets around the sun
Term
Tycho Brahe
Definition
recorded planets' position into a vast data bank
Term
Johannes Kepler
Definition
analyzed tycho's records; deduced elliptical orbits and laws of planetary motion
Term
Galileo
Definition
made telescopic discoveries supporting Copernican model
Term
Isaac Newton
Definition
formulated laws of gravity and used them to explain elliptical planitary orbits
Term
kepler's first law of planetary motion
Definition
each planet moces in an ellipse with the sun at one focus
Term
kepler's second law of planetary motion
Definition
the line between the sun and planet sweeps over equal areas in equal intervals of time
Term
kepler's third law of planetary motion
Definition
the ration of the cube of the semi major axis to the square of the planet 9 of revolution is the same for each planet
Term
the harmonic law
Definition
what kepler's third law is also known as
Term
kepler's third law
Definition
a^3 = p^2
Term
bode's rule
Definition
first write a row of 4s for each planet, then add the sequence 0,3,6,12, and so on doubling each time until you reach pluto. If you put the decimal point in the right place, you will get the acerage distance from the sun in AU approximately.
Term
newton's law of gracitation
Definition
every particle in the universe attracts everyother particle with a force proportional to the product of their masses, and inversely proportional to the square distance between them
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