Models & Systems
This model says the Sun is at the center and planets orbit it.
What is Heliocentric?
: The force that pulls objects toward each other; it keeps you on Earth.
What is Gravity?
A huge group of stars, gas, and dust held together by gravity.
What is Galaxy?
A massive, glowing ball of hot gas that makes its own light.
What is Star?
This spreads light into different wavelengths to help as astronomers study stars?
What is Spectroscope?
This model says the Earth is at the center and everything orbits Earth.
What is Geocentric?
The attraction between any two masses—stronger with more mass, weaker with more distance.
What is Gravitational Force?
A galaxy shape with curving arms that wind outward from the center.
What is Spiral?
The process in a star’s core that combines smaller atoms to make bigger atoms and releases energy and happens at the core of the Sun.
What is Nuclear Fusion?
How bright something truly is (the amount of light energy it gives off).
What is Luminosity?
The collection of the Sun, planets, moons, asteroids, and comets all held together by gravity.
What is Solar System?
The pull from our star that keeps planets in orbit around it.
What is Sun's Gravity?
A galaxy shape that looks like a stretched-out ball or football—smooth and rounded.
What is Elliptical? (yes - used here too because it's also a galaxy type)
The stage where a star spends most of its life, fusing hydrogen into helium.
What is Main Sequence?
The distance light travels in one year (used for huge space distances).
What is a Light-Year?
The shape of most planet orbits—an oval, not a perfect circle.
What is Elliptical?
An object so dense that not even light can escape its gravity.
What is Black Hole?
A galaxy with no clear shape—often messy-looking due to collisions or gravity pulls.
What is Irregular?
A later stage for a Sun-like star when it expands and cools at the surface.
What is Red Giant?
Color of the Sun: From space (not through Earth’s air), this is the Sun’s true color.
What is Yellow?
The biggest “everything” category: all space, time, matter, and energy.
What is the Universe?
The measure of how bright a star would be if it were seen at a standard distance.
What is Absolute Magnitude?
The greater the mass of an object, the more force.
What is how gravity affects mass?
The hot, dense leftover core of a small/medium star after it sheds its outer layers.
What is White Dwarf?
hottest star: This color of star is the hottest compared to red, yellow, and white.
What is Blue?