Moons - Definitions

Full list of definitions for the FutureLearn course Moons.

?
  • Created by: zelahl32
  • Created on: 15-11-16 15:40
A disc of gas and dust around a young planet within which moons may grow.
Accretionary disc
1 of 118
Small particles of dust-rich glassy breccias formed when micrometeorites strike the lunar regolith.
Agglutinates
2 of 118
The percentage of incident light reflected by an object.
Albedo
3 of 118
Having an irregular, non-repeating structure at the atomic level.
Amorphous
4 of 118
A class of rock-forming hydrous aluminosilicate mineral with characteristic double-chain structure.
Amphibole
5 of 118
A material that has properties that are different in one direction from another.
Anisotropic
6 of 118
An example of a plagioclase feldspar.
Anorthite
7 of 118
The point at which an orbiting is furthest from the object it orbits.
Apoapsis
8 of 118
The point at which the Moon or any other Earth satellite is furthest from Earth.
Apogee
9 of 118
A rocky or metallic body smaller than a planet. Most are found in the ______ Belt between Mars and Jupiter.
Asteroid
10 of 118
The circular belt of asteroids that orbit the Sun between Mars and Jupiter.
Asteroid Belt
11 of 118
The mean distance between the Sun and the Earth ( about 1.5x10^8 km).
Astronomical unit
12 of 118
Lava that is rich in pyroxene, olivine and plagioclase feldspars.
Basaltic lava
13 of 118
The exposed crust when any soil or regolith has been removed.
Bedrock
14 of 118
Two objects orbiting a common centre of mass.
Binary system
15 of 118
A rock-forming hydrous aluminosilicate mineral with characteristic sheet structure and strong cleavage.
Biotite
16 of 118
The splitting of light into two rays by anisotropic materials, which causes characteristic colour schemes when observed in thin sections between crossed polarisers.
Birefringence
17 of 118
Coarse grained clastic rock.
Breccia
18 of 118
A circular depression more than 1km across resulting from a volcanic eruption. Excavation may be mainly by explosive ejection or by collapse into the space left inside after magma has been erupted.
Caldera
19 of 118
Rich in carbon.
Carbonaceous
20 of 118
Descriptor term to denote a distinctive area of broken-looking terrain.
Chaos
21 of 118
The formation of organic matter using chemical energy.
Chemosynthesis
22 of 118
Thin strands of clouds, named after the Latin word '___' for a ringlet or curling strand of hair.
Cirrus clouds
23 of 118
A rock formed from fragments of pre-existing rocks.
Clastic rock
24 of 118
Coming together of fragmented material, for example under its own gravity.
Coalescing
25 of 118
An icy/carbonaceous body from the outer Solar System typically kilometres or tens of kilometres in size, which occasionally visits the inner regions at great speed.
Comet
26 of 118
Circular objects having a common centre but different radii.
Concentric
27 of 118
The tendency of heated fluid to expand, become less dense and rise buoyantly through surrounding cooler liquid.
Convection
28 of 118
Term used to describe a class of terrain seen on Uranus' moon Miranda.
Corona (1)
29 of 118
Part of the solar atmosphere, less dense and warmer than lower levels of the atmosphere; visible without instrumentation only during total eclipse.
Corona (2)
30 of 118
Magma generated from icy material, as opposed to silicate magma produced by the melting of rock.
Cryomagma
31 of 118
Volcano that erupts liquid or vapour e.g. water or methane, instead of molten rock.
Cryovolcanism
32 of 118
Having a regular repeating structure at the atomic level.
Crystalline
33 of 118
Process by which glass becomes crystalline.
Devitrification
34 of 118
Sorting of material by gravity according to density.
Differentiation
35 of 118
An area covered by dunes.
Dune field
36 of 118
Coarse-grained igneous rock consisting largely of olivine.
Dunite
37 of 118
Long narrow tube of lava that cuts through earlier structures, often vertically.
Dyke
38 of 118
The plane at which the Earth orbits the Sun.
Ecliptic plane
39 of 118
C2H6 - under terrestrial conditions, a colourless, odourless gas closely related to methane.
Ethane
40 of 118
A moon in orbit around an exoplanet.
Exomoon
41 of 118
A planet in orbit around a star other than the Sun.
Exoplanet
42 of 118
Faulting resulting from extension of the ground surface, in contrast to compressional faulting such as thrusts.
Extensional faulting
43 of 118
One of Saturn's rings. They were named in order of their detection, so the spatial order is D,C,B,A,F,G and E-ring, going outwards.
F-ring
44 of 118
A break in the crust of a planet through which volcanic material may emerge.
Fissure
45 of 118
A process occurring in a cooling liquid where the crystallisation of one phase changes the composition of the remaining liquid, which in turn changes the composition of later-forming crystals.
Fractional crystallisation
46 of 118
A rock easily crumbled or reduced to dust in the hand.
Friable
47 of 118
Device for detecting tiny vibrations of the ground.
Geophone
48 of 118
The shape of the Moon between half and full moon.
Gibbous
49 of 118
A down-dropped trough of terrain bounded by faults.
Graben
50 of 118
When a spacecraft uses the gravity of a planet to alter its path and speed.
Gravitational slingshot manoeuvre
51 of 118
Using the gravity of a planet or moon to change the trajectory of a spacecraft.
Gravity-assist manoeuvre
52 of 118
Compounds with metal-halogen composition such as sodium chloride (common salt).
Halides
53 of 118
A compound consisting exclusively of hydrogen and carbon.
Hydrocarbon
54 of 118
The molecular grouping (OH) that is characteristic of alcohols.
Hydroxyl
55 of 118
Speeds in the range of several to several tens of km/s.
Hypervelocity
56 of 118
Electromagnetic radiation of longer wavelength than visible but not as long as microwaves.
Infrared radiation
57 of 118
Space beyond the Sun's influence.
Interstellar space
58 of 118
To remove at least one electron from an atom.
Ionise
59 of 118
Two atoms having the same atomic number but different mass numbers.
Isotope
60 of 118
Measuring the age of a sample by the ratio of the amount of decay product to the surviving amount of its parent isotope.
Isotopic dating
61 of 118
The apparent oscillations of a moon as seen from its parent body, if the moon rotates once per orbit but its orbit is not exactly circular.
Libration
62 of 118
A linear fissure that is the source of an eruption, as opposed to a circular (pipe-like) vent.
Linear vent
63 of 118
Rock types classified by their origin, formation and mineral composition.
Lithologies
64 of 118
A simple antenna on a spacecraft that does not need to be steered, but which is much less sensitive than a parabolic antenna.
Low-gain antenna
65 of 118
Molten rock, usually containing dissolved gas, in the interior of a planet or moon.
Magma
66 of 118
On planets and larger moons, the region between core and crust.
Mantle
67 of 118
Latin for sea, applied to relatively smooth and dark areas on the Moon, now known to have been flooded with lava. Also used to refer to the large methane lakes on Titan.
Mare
68 of 118
A small rocky or metallic body flying through space.
Meteoroid
69 of 118
CH4 - under terrestrial conditions, a colourless, odourless gas but sometimes liquid on the surface of Titan. Can form an ice in the outermost regions of the Solar System.
Methane
70 of 118
Tiny meteorites, sometimes defined as less than 2mm in diameter.
Micrometeorites
71 of 118
Term used to describe a micrometeorite when still in space i.e. before impact onto a moon or planet.
Micrometeoroid
72 of 118
Shapes of objects. When writing of terrain features such as craters this means their three-dimensional shapes, taking into account their outline and their topography.
Morphologies
73 of 118
10^-9 m
Nanometre
74 of 118
Describes electromagnetic radiation that is of wavelength just longer than visible.
Near-infrared wavelength
75 of 118
The solid state of nitrogen found on some of the extremely cold moons in the outer Solar System.
Nitrogen-ice
76 of 118
Splitting of heavy nuclei into fragments with release of energy.
Nuclear fission
77 of 118
The core of an atom consisting of protons and neutrons.
Nucleus
78 of 118
Mineral containing silicon, iron and magnesium.
Olivine
79 of 118
When two moons have their orbital periods in an integer ratio e.g. 2:1 or 3:2.
Orbital resonance
80 of 118
Pressure is higher than outside. In a geological context refers to the fluid or gas inside fractures or voids of a rock.
Overpressure
81 of 118
Dish-like antenna on a space probe used to transmit and receive signals. To communicate to Earth it must be pointed towards the Earth, so it has to be steerable.
Parabolic antenna
82 of 118
A small probe designed to be dropped from a spacecraft so that it impacts into a moon's surface, from where it can gather data.
Penetrator
83 of 118
The point at which an orbiting body is closest to the object it orbits.
Periapsis
84 of 118
The point at which the Moon or any other Earth satellite is closest to Earth.
Perigee
85 of 118
Production by plants of organic compounds using carbon dioxide and fuelled by solar energy.
Photosynthesis
86 of 118
A series of silicate minerals found in many igneous rocks.
Plagioclase feldspars
87 of 118
A small asteroidal body formed early in Solar System history.
Planetesimal
88 of 118
The creation and subsequent movement of distinct plates in the crust of a planet.
Plate tectonics
89 of 118
Breccias containing many different types of rock or mineral fragment.
Polymict breccias
90 of 118
The body whose gravity keeps a satellite in its orbit.
Primary body
91 of 118
Term describing an orbit of an object round the Sun, or a moon around a planet, in which the orbital motion is in the same direction as the rotation of the Sun or the planet.
Prograde
92 of 118
A disc of gas and dust around a star from which planets may form.
Protoplanetary disc
93 of 118
Adjectives referring to fragments (as opposed to lava flows) produced by an eruption.
Pyroclastic
94 of 118
Mineral containing silicon, iron, calcium and magnesium.
Pyroxene
95 of 118
Production of an image from radar data.
Radar imaging
96 of 118
The disintegration of unstable nuclei.
Radioactivity
97 of 118
The mixture of impact-generated fragmental material that develops on the surface of any airless planet or moon.
Regolith
98 of 118
Describes an object's spin that is in the opposite direction to its orbital motion.
Retrograde
99 of 118
A moon whose orbit is close to one of a planet's rings and whose repeated gravitational influence helps to maintain the shape of the ring.
Shepherd moon
100 of 118
A type of volcano that has been built almost entirely by low viscosity lava flows erupted from near its summit.
Shield volcano
101 of 118
Any rock containing silicate minerals, which are based around silicon oxide.
Silicate rock
102 of 118
Instrument for measuring the wavelengths of spectral lines.
Spectrometer
103 of 118
The study of the composition of something from analysis of the light emitted or reflected.
Spectroscopy
104 of 118
Electromagnetic signature of an element or compound.
Spectrum
105 of 118
The study of sequences of rock strata and their relationships in time and space.
Stratigraphy
106 of 118
The acceleration experienced by an object when dropped near the surface of a planet or moon.
Surface gravity
107 of 118
Equalisation of the rotation period of a body (its' day) with its orbital period (a 'year').
Synchronicity
108 of 118
The boundary between the sunlit and unilluminated hemispheres of a planet or moon.
Terminator
109 of 118
The tendency of an object to heat up, because of internal friction, when pulled out of shape by tidal forces.
Tidal heating
110 of 118
The lie of the land
Topography
111 of 118
The size of a crater formed by an impact measured before it has been widened by outwards slumping of its walls.
Transient crater size
112 of 118
Electromagnetic radiation of shorter wavelength than visible but not as short as X-rays.
Ultraviolet radiation
113 of 118
Said of a body in which gravity has not sorted material according to density.
Undifferentiated
114 of 118
Tendency of fluids to resist flow as a result of internal friction.
Viscosity
115 of 118
Hypothetical asteroids orbiting the Sun inside Mercury's orbit.
Vulcanoid asteroids
116 of 118
The state of water when it is below 0 degrees Celsius
Water-ice
117 of 118
An instrument measuring fluorescene caused when elements are bombarded by high-energy X-rats, used to determine elemental composition of rocks.
X-ray fluorescence spectrometer
118 of 118

Other cards in this set

Card 2

Front

Small particles of dust-rich glassy breccias formed when micrometeorites strike the lunar regolith.

Back

Agglutinates

Card 3

Front

The percentage of incident light reflected by an object.

Back

Preview of the front of card 3

Card 4

Front

Having an irregular, non-repeating structure at the atomic level.

Back

Preview of the front of card 4

Card 5

Front

A class of rock-forming hydrous aluminosilicate mineral with characteristic double-chain structure.

Back

Preview of the front of card 5
View more cards

Comments

No comments have yet been made

Similar Fun resources:

See all Fun resources »See all Fun resources »