15 Terms
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Planetary science
The scientific study of planets including Earth, moons, and planetary systems of the Solar System in particular and the processes that form them.
Industry: Astronomy
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Planetary science
Longitude
Astronomy; Planetary science
The angular distance East or West, between the meridian of a particular place on Earth and that of Greenwich, England, expressed in degrees or time.
Pluton
Astronomy; Planetary science
A body of igneous rock formed beneath the surface of a planet by the intrusion and crystallisation of magma.
Eccentricity
Astronomy; Planetary science
The measure of the degree of elongation of an ellipse. For example, a circle has an eccentricy of 0, and a parabola (an open figure) an eccentricity of 1. The deviation of an orbit from a perfect ...
Ammonia
Astronomy; Planetary science
A gas molecule composed of one part nitrogen and three parts hydrogen; NH 3 .
Ephemeris
Astronomy; Planetary science
A table of positions in right ascension (celestial coordinate corresponding to longitude on Earth) and declination (celestial coordinate corresponding to latitude on Earth), as a function of time for ...
Torino scale
Astronomy; Planetary science
The official scale (created by Professor Richard P. Binzel and formalised in Torino, Italy in 1999) for categorising the Earth impact hazard for asteroids and comets. Values range from 0 (no chance ...
Asteroid family
Astronomy; Planetary science
Group of asteroids with similar orbital elements (distance from the Sun, inclination of the orbital plane to the Earth's orbital plane, and eccentricity of the orbit) thought to be remnants of one ...
