Galaxies
A collection of stars, dust, and gas bound together by gravity
Galaxy
A group of stars that form a pattern in the sky
What is a constellation?
The brightness of a star
What is magnitude?
The process of joining two or more particles to form a particle.
What is fusion?
The galaxy containing our solar system
What is the Milky Way?
A large cloud of dust and gas in space
Nebulas
The brightness of a star as seen from Earth
What is apparent magnitude?
A contracting cloud of gas and dust with enough mass to form a star, earliest stage of a star
What is a protostar?
All of space and everything in it
What is the universe?
What causes a black hole?
What is the collapse of a giant star?
A region of space having a gravitational field so intense that no matter or radiation can escape.
What is a black hole?
The actual brightness of a star, luminosity
What is absolute magnitude?
A star that has collapsed under its own gravity
What is a neutron star?
The true brightness of an object,another name for absolute magnitude
What is luminosity?
A small, hot star that is the leftover center of an older star; has no hydrogen left and cannot generate anymore energy; can shine completely cooling off
What is a white dwarf?
A normal star that is undergoing nuclear fusion of hydrogen into helium. Our sun is a typical main sequence star.
What is a main sequence star?
An area of outer space within a dense nebula in which gas and dust are contracting, resulting in the formation of new stars.
What is a stellar nursery?
One light year equals
9 trillion kilometers
The three main types of galaxies
What is are spiral, irregular and elliptical galaxies?
Brilliant explosion of a red giant star
What is a nova?
Element made up of four hydrogen atoms fuse together
What is a helium atom?
For measuring distances even greater light-years, scientists use
What is a parsec