Just+the+facts!

=This page contains all tested Vocabulary for our space unit! Use this page to study for our unit test!!=

**(//Source: Scott Foresman Science - pages C56 - C83//)**

 * __**Star**__ - a very large mass of hot, glowing gases (Note: the sun is a star)
 * **__Sunspots__** - dark spots on the sun's surface. They appear dark because they are cooler than the areas around them
 * **__Flares__** - bright spots on the sun's surface. The temperature on these bright spots is higher than the temperature on the sun's surface.
 * **__Loop__** - it is located on the side of the sun. It is a huge bright arc of gas that rises from the edge of the sun, then flows back into it.
 * **__Planet__** - a large body of mater that moves around a star such as the sun. There are eight planets in our solar system now (Pluto was kicked out!). The planets in order of the distance from the sun is as follows: Mercury (My), Venus (very), Earth (excellent), Mars (mother), Jupiter (just), Saturn (served), Uranus (us), Neptune (nachos).
 * **__Solar System__** - the sun, the planets, and their moons, and other objects that move around the sun
 * **__Crater__** - a large hole in the ground that is shaped like a bowl
 * **__Axis -__** an imaginary straight line through the center of the Earth around which Earth rotates
 * **__Rotate__** - to spin on an axis
 * **__Orbit__** - the path an object follows as it moves around another object
 * **__Revolution__** - movement of an object in an orbit around another object
 * **__Satellite__** - an object that revolves around another object (The moon is a satellite to the Earth)
 * **__Tide__** - the rise and fall of the ocean mainly due to the moon's gravity
 * **__Phase__** - the shape of the lighted part of the moon (there are 4 phases: new moon, crescent moon, half moon, full moon - see page C77)
 * **__Telescope__** - an instrument for making distant objects appear nearer and larger
 * **__Astronaut__** - a person who travels in space
 * **__Comet -__** an icy body that releases gas or dust
 * **__Asteroid -__** a small planetary body that revolves around the sun. They are often called minor planets or planetoids.
 * **__Meteor -__** a bright streak of light that appears briefly in the sky (shooting star).