- Branche: Astronomy
- Number of terms: 6727
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Planetary Science Research Discoveries (PSRD) is an educational site sharing the latest research by NASA-sponsored scientists on meteorites, asteroids, planets, moons, and other materials in our Solar System. The website is supported by the Cosmochemistry Program of NASA's Science Mission ...
Gamma rays are like the light we see with our eyes, the x-rays used to probe our bodies in search of problems, and the radio waves that our television sets translate into inane shows. The only difference among these types of electromagnetic radiation is the wavelengths of the waves and how fast they vibrate. Gamma rays are the most energetic (and vibrate the most); radio waves are the least energetic and vibrate the least.
Industry:Astronomy
Meteorites that have been identified through their chemistry and minerals as being from the Moon. (See Lunar Meteorites compiled by Randy Korotev from Washington University, St. Louis. )
Industry:Astronomy
A silicate mineral common in basalt and composed mostly of iron (Fe), magnesium (Mg), calcium ( Ca), and silicon (Si). Composition varies as a mixture among FeSiO<sub>3</sub>, MgSiO<sub>3</sub>, and CaSiO<sub>3</sub>.
Industry:Astronomy
The study of heat and its transformation to mechanical and other forms of energy.
Industry:Astronomy
U. S. Space Program that included 6 piloted lunar landings between 1969 and 1972. Apollo astronauts collected and returned 382 kilograms of rock and sediment samples from the Moon.
Industry:Astronomy
A 10 µm to 1-meter-size natural solid object moving in interplanetary space. Meteoroids may be primary objects or derived by the fragmentation of larger celestial bodies, not limited to asteroids. Meteoroids between 10 µm (microns) and 2 mm in size are called "micrometeoroids. "
Industry:Astronomy
In the context of space weathering on the surfaces of airless planetary bodies, sputtering is the process in which atoms on the surface are knocked free by high-speed atomic particles in the solar wind; much higher-energy cosmic rays can also sputter surface materials.
Industry:Astronomy
Dark-colored, fine-grained extrusive igneous rock with about 52 to 63 weight percent silica (SiO<sub>2</sub>). Andesite consists mainly of plagioclase and one or more mafic minerals. The word andesite is derived from the Andes Mountains, located along the western edge of South America, where andesite rock is common.
Industry:Astronomy
