Massive gravitationally bound system of between 10^7 - 10^14 stars (ten million to one hundred trillion) e.g. Andromeda
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Exoplanet
Planets outside of the Solar System around distant stars in the milky way galaxy
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Rover
Robotic space craft which lands on a planet or other astronomical object and can sample soil or rocks &take close up images of the surface e.g. Curiosity
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Black Hole
A type of stellar remmant that can result from the gravitational collapse of a star during a supernova event
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Fusion
Reaction in the core of the sun when the nuclei of two atoms join together and release energy
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Red Giant
A star that has exhausted the hydrogen in it's core & is using helium as a fuel. They have radii much larger than the sun, and a cooler surface temperature e.g. Betelgeuse
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Probe
Robotic space craft which images and maps planets and other astronomical objects e.g. voyager
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White Dwarf
A very dense star that is not very bright - the final evolutionary stage of a medium sized star.
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Big Bang Theory
Theory that says the Universe began from a tiny point with huge energy, and has been expanding ever since.
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Red-Shift
Effect caused by the expansion of the universe when light seen coming from an object that is moving away is proportionally increased in wavelength
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Protostar
A cloud of gas and dust drawn together by gravity that has not yet started to produce its own energy
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Cosmic Microwave Background
Microwave Radiation recieved from all over the sky, originating from the Big Bang
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Supernova
An explosion of a red supergiant releasing massive amounts of energy, dust and gas into space
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Orbiter
Robotic space craft that goes into orbit around a planet or other astronomical objects and samples the atmosphere and photographs the surface
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SETI
The search for extraterrestrial intelligence
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neutron star
Core of a red supergiant that has collapsed; formed if the remaining core has a mass more than 3-4 times the mass of the sun
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Nebula
Interstellar cloud of dust, hydrogen and helium, often star forming regions
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Steadystate
The theory that the Universe is expanding but new matter is continually being created, so it will allways appear the same
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Dopppler effect
The change in pitch of sound coming from a moving source
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Supergiant
The most massive stars (from 10-70 solar masses)
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Main sequence
The most stable part of the life cycle of a medium sized star where hydrogen is the fuel
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Other cards in this set
Card 2
Front
Planets outside of the Solar System around distant stars in the milky way galaxy
Back
Exoplanet
Card 3
Front
Robotic space craft which lands on a planet or other astronomical object and can sample soil or rocks &take close up images of the surface e.g. Curiosity
Back
Card 4
Front
A type of stellar remmant that can result from the gravitational collapse of a star during a supernova event
Back
Card 5
Front
Reaction in the core of the sun when the nuclei of two atoms join together and release energy
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