Astronomy 1010 - Concepts and Terms

Dr. Donald Gudehus

Chapter 1 - Charting the Heavens

    Altitude
    Annular
    Apparent Solar Time
    Autumnal Equinox
    Azimuth
    Celestial Equator
    Celestial Sphere
    Coriolis Effect
    Declination
    Earthshine
    Eclipse Seasons
    Ecliptic
    Equinox
    First Contact
    Foucault Pendulum
    Gibbous
    Gregorian Calendar
    Harvest Moon
    Julian Calendar
    Last Contact
    Latitude
    Longitude
    Magnitude
    Mean Solar Time
    Node
    Penumbra
    Phases
    Precession
    Occultation
    Right Ascension
    Saros
    Siderial Day
    Siderial Time
    SI Units
    Solar Day
    Solar Time
    Solstice
    Synodic Month
    Terminator
    Transit
    Tropical Year
    Twilight
    Umbra
    Vernal Equinox
    Zenith

Chapter 2 - Early Astronomy

    Aristarchus
    Aristotle
    Barycenter
    Caracol
    Centrifugal Force
    Centripetal Force
    Conjunction
    Copernicus
    Deferent
    De Revolutionibus
    Eccentricity
    Ellipse
    Elongation
    Epicycle
    Eratosthenes
    F=ma
    Galileo
    Geocentric
    Heliocentric
    Hipparchus
    Hyperbola
    Kepler
    Kepler's Laws
    Lagrangian Points
    Newton
    Parabola
    Ptolemy
    Quadrature
    Retrograde Motion
    Semimajor Axis
    Siderial Period
    Stonehenge
    Synodic Period
    Tycho Brahe

Chapter 3 - Radiation

    Ångstroms
    Blackbody
    Blueshift
    Diffraction
    Doppler Effect
    Electromagnetic Radiation
    Gamma Rays
    hertz
    Infrared
    Inverse Square Law
    Kelvins
    Planck
    Redshift
    Stefan-Boltzmann Law
    Ultraviolet
    Velocity of light
    Wien's Law
    X-rays

Chapter 4 - Spectroscopy

    E=hf
    Ion
    Ionized
    Molecule
    Photon

Chapter 5 - Telescopes

    Adaptive Optics
    Astigmatism
    AXAF
    Brightness
    CCD
    Cassegrain Focus
    Charge Coupled Device
    Chromatic Aberration
    Coma
    Coudé Focus
    Declination Axis
    Equatorial Axis
    Focal Length
    Focal Ratio
    Focus
    GRO
    HST
    Interferometer
    Inverted Image
    IRAS
    IUE
    Light Pollution
    Magnification
    Monolithic Mirror
    Newtonian Focus
    Parabolic Surface
    Photomultiplier
    Point Source
    Primary Mirror
    Prime Focus
    Reflector
    Refractor
    Resolution
    Reversed Image
    ROSAT
    Schmidt Telescope
    Secondary Mirror
    Seeing
    Segmented Mirror
    Speckle Interferometry
    Spectrograph
    Spherical Aberration
    VLA
    VLBA
    VLBI

Chapter 6 - The Solar System in General

    Asteroids
    Comets
    Comparative Planetology
    Jovian
    Planets
    Satellites
    Terrestrial
    Titius-Bode Law

Chapter 7 - Earth

    Asthenosphere
    Aurora
    Basalt
    Core
    Cratering
    Crust
    Daughter
    Differentiation
    Flooding of Basins
    Greenhouse Effect
    Inner Core
    Ionosphere
    Lithosphere
    Magnetic Poles
    Magnetosphere
    Mantle
    Mesosphere
    Midocean Ridge
    Neap Tide
    Ocean Trench
    Outer Core
    Outgassing
    Ozone Layer
    P-waves
    Pangea
    Parent
    Plate Tectonics
    Pressure Waves
    Radioactive Dating
    Radioactivity
    Rayleigh Scattering
    S-waves
    Shadow Zone
    Shear Waves
    Seismic Waves
    Spring Tide
    Stratosphere
    Subduction
    Surface Evolution
    Tidal Bulge
    Tidal Slowing
    Tropopsphere
    Van Allen Belts

Chapter 8 - The Moon

    Albedo
    Anorthite
    Apollo
    Basalt
    Breccia
    Capture Hypothesis
    Co-accretion Hypothesis
    Corner-cube Reflector
    Ejecta
    Features (craters, maria)
    Fission Hypothesis
    Gabbro
    Highlands
    KREEP Norite
    Large-impact Hypothesis
    Laser Ranging
    Mascons
    Orbital Parameters (periods)
    Physical Properties (density, diameter, distance, gravity, magnetic field, temperature)
    Rays
    Refractory
    Regolith
    Retention of Atmosphere
    Rilles (sinuous and graben)
    Stages of Evolution (differentiation, cratering, flooding of basins, surface evolution)
    Synchronous Rotation
    Volatile
    Wrinkle Ridges

Chapter 8 cont. - Mercury

    Caloris Basin
    Intercrater Plains
    Lobate Scarp
    Old Cratered Plains
    Orbital Parameters (periods, eccentricity)
    Physical Properties (density, diameter, distance, gravity, magnetic field, temperature)
    Resonance
    Smooth Plains
    Weird Terrain

Chapter 9 - Venus

    Aphrodite Terra
    Arachnoids
    Corona
    Dynamical Parameters (periods of rotation and revolution, orientation, distance from sun
    Greenhouse Effect
    Ishtar Terra
    Lakshmi Planum
    Maxwell Montes
    Orbital Parameters (periods, eccentricity)
    Physical Properties (albedo, atmospheric composition, density, diameter, distance, gravity, magnetic field, mass, pressure, temperature)
    Runaway Greenhouse Effect
    Search for Life
    Shield Volcano
    SO2
    Spacecraft Visits
    Sulfuric Acid

Chapter 10 - Mars

    Canali
    Deimos
    Dust Storms
    Dynamical Parameters (periods of rotation and revolution, orientation, distance from sun
    Hellas
    Lowell
    Orbital Parameters (distance, periods, eccentricity)
    Physical Properties (albedo, atmospheric composition, density, diameter, gravity, magnetic field, mass, pressure, temperature)
    Olympus Mons
    Outflow Channels
    Patera
    Phobos
    Polar Caps
    Runoff Channels
    Satellites
    Shield Volcano
    Valles Marineris

Chapter 11 - Jupiter

    Ammonia
    Ammonium Hydrosulfide
    Belts
    Callisto
    CH4
    Decametric Radiation
    Decimetric Radiation
    Dynamical Parameters (periods of rotation and revolution, orientation, distance from sun
    Europa
    Ganymede
    Great Red Spot
    Io
    Liquid Molecular Hydrogen
    Magnetosphere
    Metallic Hydrogen
    Methane
    NH3
    Orbital Parameters (distance, periods, eccentricity)
    Physical Properties (atmospheric composition, density, diameter, gravity, magnetic field, mass, temperature)
    Plasma Torus
    Radiation Belts
    Rings
    Volcanoes
    Voyager Spacecraft
    Zones

Chapter 12 - Saturn

    Co-orbital Satellites
    Comparison to Jupiter
    Gaps in Rings
    Mimas
    Physical Properties (atmospheric composition, density, diameter, gravity, magnetic field, mass, temperature)
    Ring System
    Roche's Limit
    Shepherd Satellites
    Titan

Chapter 13 - Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto

    Charon
    Discovery
    Dynamical Parameters (periods of rotation and revolution, eccentricity, orientation, distance from sun)
    Eclipses
    Geysers
    Herschel
    Nereid
    Physical Properties (atmospheric composition, density, diameter, gravity, magnetic field, mass, temperature)
    Resonance
    Rings
    Shepherd Satellites
    Titania
    Tombaugh
    Triton

Chapter 14 - Asteroids, Meteoroids, and Comets

    Achondrites
    Amor Asteroids
    Apollo Asteroids
    Carbonaceous Chondrites
    Ceres
    Chondrites
    Collisions with Earth
    Dust Tail
    Dynamical Parameters of Asteroids and Comets (orbits, periods of revolution, eccentricity, inclination, distance from sun)
    Gas Tail
    Gegenschein
    Halley
    Kirkwood's Gaps
    Kuiper Belt
    Meteor
    Meteorite
    Meteoroids
    Oort Cloud
    Physical Properties of Asteroids (classification, composition, density, diameter, mass)
    Physical Properties of Comets (composition, structure, time development)
    Physical Properties of Meteoroids (composition, velocities)
    Tektites
    Trojan Asteroids
    Tunguska
    Zodiacal Light

Chapter 15 - Formation of the Solar System

    Accretion
    Condensation Theory
    Encounter Theory
    Nebular Hypothesis
    Planetesimals