Glow Up or Show Up
The brightness of a star is called its ________.
magnitude
The largest and brightest stars are called ________.
supergiants
Irregularly shaped pieces of rock, metal, and dust in space are called ________.
asteroids
Telescopes that bend light to make objects seem larger are ________ telescopes.
refracting
A group of stars that forms a pattern is called a ________.
constellation
A star’s apparent movement over time is measured using ________.
parallax
When an existing star flares up and becomes brighter than normal, it is called a ________.
nova
A chunk of frozen gases, water, and dust that orbits the sun is a ________.
comet
Telescopes that use mirrors to bounce light are ________ telescopes.
reflecting
A large group of stars held together by gravity is a ________.
star cluster
Apparent magnitude means how bright a star looks from Earth. This other kind of magnitude means how bright it really is.
absolute magnitude
A cloud of dust, gases, and debris in space is called a ________.
nebula
A rocky object is called this when it is in space before it hits Earth’s atmosphere.
meteoroid
Telescopes that “listen” for space signals using radio waves are ________ telescopes.
radio
A huge star system that covers many light-years of space is a ________.
galaxy
Stars that regularly change in brightness are called ________.
variable stars
A neutron star that spins rapidly on its axis is called a ________.
pulsar
A rocky object is called this when it enters Earth’s atmosphere and lights up due to friction.
meteor
A tool that breaks starlight into its colors is a ________.
spectroscope
The galaxy we live in is called the ________.
Milky Way
Name the scientific study of stars.
astronomy
When a massive supergiant collapses and “disappears,” what scientists call what is left is a ________.
black hole
A rocky object is called this when it passes through the atmosphere and hits Earth’s surface.
meteorite
True or False: Radio telescopes break starlight into its colors.
False
The Local Group is a cluster of galaxies traveling together. The Milky Way is ________ the Local Group.
one galaxy in