|
OBJECT
|
IMAGE
Links to original sites |
DESCRIPTION
Oxford Dictionary of Astronomy |
LINKS
Links to informative sites |
| Moon |
|
Earth's only natural satellite; The moon rotates such that it faces the Earth with the same face perpetually. |
Named
Lunar Formations |
| Stars |
|
Luminous balls
of gas in space; |
|
| Solar System |  |
The
collective name for the Sun and bodies that orbit it; 9 planets, 61 natural satellites, asteroids, comets, meteoroids. |
Sun,
Mercury,
Venus,
Mars,
Jupiter,
Saturn,
Uranus,
Neptune,
Pluto.
|
| Open Clusters |  |
Groups of stars formed together in the spiral arm of a galaxy. | APOD - Open Clusters |
| Globular Clusters |
|
Spherical
groups of old stars in the halo of a galaxy; tens of thousands to millions
of stars concentrated in the centre; 100-300 light years in diameter |
Window
to the Universe - Globular Clusters SEDS - Globular Clusters |
| Diffuse Nebula |  |
Clouds
of gas and dust in space - Emission: creates own light - Reflection: reflects light - Dark: absorbs light behind it |
|
| Planetary Nebula |  |
Bright cloud of glowing dust and gas surrounding a highly evolved star. | Planetary Nebula Observers |
| Galaxies |  |
A system
of stars, often with interstellar gas and dust, bound together by gravity:
The Earth is located in the outer spiral arm of the Milky Way galaxy. |
NASSA
NSSDC Galaxies |
| Comets |  |
A small body of ice and dust in orbit around the sun. The closer to the sun it comes, the larger the coma and tail, facing away from the sun. |
Windows
to the Universe - Comets |
| Asteroids |  |
Small
rocky or metallic objects in the solar system mostly between Mars and
Jupiter; Often called minor planets. |
Windows
to the Universe - Asteroids |
| Meteors |  |
A brief streak of light in Earth's upper atmosphere caused by the high speed entry of interplanetary debris: Meteorites hit the surface. | American Meteor
Society Livesky.com - Meteors International Meteor Organisation |
| Constellations |  |
88 areas of the celestial sphere made up of recogniseable groups of stars e.g. The Southern Cross, Orion, Taurus, Aquarius, Scorpius, Capricorn. | Windows
to the Universe -Constellations Livesky.com - Constellations Stories of the Constellations |
| Artificial Satellites |  |
Space craft in orbit around the Earth; e.g. International Space Station, Hubble Space Telescope, Communications Satellites etc. |
NASA Human Space
Flight |
Messier
NGC/IC
