9 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
Reflectance spectroscopy
Astronomy; Planetary science
The study of light as a function of wavelength that has been reflected or scattered from a solid, liquid, or gas. Also see spectroscopy.
Vesta
Astronomy; Planetary science
The brightest of the known asteroids. Also called 4 Vesta because it was the fourth asteroid to be discovered (by Olbers in 1807).
Mantle
Astronomy; Planetary science
A mostly solid layer of Earth lying beneath the crust and above the core; consisting mostly of iron, magnesium, silicon, and oxygen. On other planets and moons, the mantle is the layer between the ...
Anorthosite
Astronomy; Planetary science
An igneous rock made up almost entirely of plagioclase feldspar. This rock dominates the lunar highlands.
Gigapascal (GPa)
Astronomy; Planetary science
Conventional unit of pressure when discussing the deep Earth: 1 GPa = 10 kilobars = 10,000 times air pressure at sea level.
Bacteria
Astronomy; Planetary science
Single-celled microorganisms whose cells lack a nucleus. Bacteria comprise a major domain of life called prokaryotes. In contrast, the cells in eukaryotes have a well-defined nucleus; eukarya include ...
Space weathering
Astronomy; Planetary science
Processes that change the physical structure, optical properties, or chemical or mineralogical properties of the surface of an airless planetary body from their original state. These processes ...
