- 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 ...
The angle between the lines of sight to the Sun and to the celestial body in question.
Industry:Astronomy
Movements of mantle material, laterally or in upward-downward directions, due to heat variations.
Industry:Astronomy
A course-grained igneous rock rich in the minerals olivine, pyroxene, and plagioclase feldspar.
Industry:Astronomy
Jupiter's four largest moons: Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto, discovered independently by Galileo Galilei and Simon Marius in 1609-1610.
Industry:Astronomy
U. S. Mission to study Jupiter's atmosphere, moons, and magnetosphere. The Galileo spacecraft was carried into space and released in 1989 by the shuttle Atlantis. It used its own rocket booster to leave Earth orbit. The Galileo spacecraft arrived at Jupiter in 1995 and completed its two-year primary mission before going on to explore Europa. The 14-year mission ended in 2003. Project Galileo website.
Industry:Astronomy
An element with atomic number 1; symbol: H. It is the most abundant element in the Solar System, making up 90 percent of the Sun. Hydrogen, carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen are essential for life.
Industry:Astronomy
The geologic history of Earth's Moon has been divided into five broad time periods, or systems. From oldest to youngest, these are pre-Nectarian, Nectarian, Imbrian, Eratosthenian, and Copernican. These systems are defined by the number of impact craters on the ground surface (more craters = older surface) correlated to the absolute ages determined for the lunar rock samples returned to Earth by the U. S. Apollo missions and unpiloted Soviet Luna missions. The Eratosthenian system extends from 3. 2 billion to 1. 1 billion years ago.
Industry:Astronomy
A global mapping mission to the Moon launched in 1994 by the U. S. Department of Defense, with science support from NASA.
Industry:Astronomy
The largest of the known asteroids; a dwarf planet. Also called 1 Ceres because it was the first asteroid to be discovered (by Piazzi in 1801).
Industry:Astronomy
