The average distance between the sun and the earth.
A small fragment of an orbiting body that has fallen to Earth, generating heat; does not completely burn up in Earth's atmosphere and strikes Earth's surface, sometimes causing an impact crater.
Collapsed, dense core of a star that forms quickly while its outer layers are falling inward, has a radius of about 10 km, a mass 1.4 to 3 times that of the Sun, and contains mostly neutrons.
Ratio of the distance between the foci to the length of the major axis; defines the shape of a planet's elliptical orbit.
Rocky-surfaced, relatively small, dense inner planets closest to the sun- Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars.
Graph that related stellar characteristics- class, mass, temperature, magnitude, diameter, and luminosity.
An object that, due to its own gravity, is spherical in shape, orbits the Sun, is not a satellite, and has not cleared the area of its orbit of smaller debris.
Energy output from the surface of a star per second; measured in watts.
Occurs when Earth intersects a cometary orbit and comet particles burn up as they enter Earth's upper atmosphere.
Streak of light produced when a meteoroid falls toward Earth and burns up in Earth's atmosphere.
Large cloud of interstellar gas and dust that collapses on itself, due to its own gravity, and forms a hot, condensed object that will become a new star.
Group of stars that forms a pattern in the sky that resembles an animal, mythological character, or everyday object.
Piece of interplanetary material that falls toward Earth and enters its atmosphere.