Download Moon Cycle Vocab

Moon Cycle Vocabulary
Lunar Atlas: descriptions and photos of physical characteristics of the moon
Astronomer: an expert in the study of the Sun, Moon, stars, planets, and other space bodies
Bailey's Beads: pieces of the sun's surface shining through low areas of the Moon's
edge at the start or end of a total solar eclipse
Catena: a chain of craters
Corona: -outer atmosphere of the sun that is visible during a total solar eclipse
Crater: A hole caused by an object hitting the surface of a planet or moon. 2) A depression around the opening
of a volcano
Earthshine: sunlight reflected from Earth that is seen on the lunar surface
Eclipse: the hiding or dimming of one celestial object by another object
Lunation: the cycle from one New Moon to the next New Moon
Geosynchronous Orbit: a direct, circular, orbit in which a spacecraft appears to hang motionless above one
position of the planet's surface. The satellite's orbital velocity is matched to the rotational velocity of the planet
Gibbous: what the moon is called when the majority of the nearside is illuminated and only a diminishing
crescent remains in darkness, culminating in the "full moon" when the Moon and the Sun are on opposite sides
of the Earth.(when it has more than half its disk illuminated)
Gravity: a mutual physical force attracting two bodies, influenced by the mass of the two objects and the
distance between the two objects.
Lunar: involving--- caused by or affecting the moon; from the Latin word "luna", which means moon.
Lunar Eclipse: occurs when the Earth passes between the Moon and the Sun
Lunar Module: the section of the Apollo spacecraft designed to land on the Moon
Lunar Rover: the car-like vehicle used by Apollo astronauts while exploring the Moon's surface.
Mare: Latin word for "sea." Galileo thought the dark featureless areas on the Moon were bodies of water. The term is
still applied to the basalt-filled impact basins common on the face of the Moon visible from Earth. Maria is the plural of
mare.
Mass: the measure of the amount of matter in an object
New Moon: the phase of the Moon when the Moon is lined up between the Earth and the Sun. We see the side
of the Moon that is not being lit by the Sun
Mons- mountain
Moon: a small natural body which orbits a larger one. A natural satellite.
NASA: The National Aeronautics and Space Administration which is in charge of all space programs for the
United States
Orbit: the path followed by an object in space as it goes around another object; to travel around another object
in a single path
Phase: the particular appearance of a body's state of illumination, such as the new, full or crescent phases of the
Moon
Rays: streaks of light-colored material ejected from craters on the moon.
Revolve: to move in an orbit or circle around something
Rotate: to turn around a center point, or axis, like a wheel turns on a bicycle
Satellite: a smaller body which revolves around a larger body; a natural or an artificial moon. Earth-orbiting
spacecraft are called satellites
Solar Eclipse: a shadow which falls on an area of Earth when the Moon moves between the Sun and Earth
Solar wind: streams of charged gas particles flowing out from the Sun., moving at 450 km/sec.
Telescope: a device which makes a larger image of a far away object
Terra: an older, lighter, more densely cratered area of the Moon. Terra covers all the lunar surface except the
maria.
Universe: the huge space which contains all matter and energy
Wane: to decrease in size
Wax: to increase in size
MOON CYCLE