[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"doc-seo-409023-105":3,"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":81,"doc-detail-409023-en":130},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"ok",{"site_id":7,"language":8,"slug":9,"title":10,"keywords":11,"description":12,"schema_data":13,"social_meta":74,"head_meta":76,"extra_data":78,"updated_unix":80},105,"en","introductory-astronomy-glossary-no-14-spring-1990","Introductory Astronomy Glossary - No. 14 - Spring 1990","","Introductory Astronomy Glossary defines key astronomical terms for readers and educators, arranged as reference entries drawn from an educational newsletter issue. The glossary explains foundational concepts such as asteroids, the astronomical unit, the Big Bang, binary star systems, black holes, comets, constellations, cosmology, eclipses, equinoxes, and galaxies, including basic mechanisms and common examples. Permission is granted for noncommercial reproduction for teaching, lecturing, and study assignments.",{"@graph":14,"@context":73},[15,34,56],{"@type":16,"itemListElement":17},"BreadcrumbList",[18,23,27,31],{"item":19,"name":20,"@type":21,"position":22},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",1,{"item":24,"name":25,"@type":21,"position":26},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/","Document",2,{"item":28,"name":29,"@type":21,"position":30},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/exam/","Exam",3,{"item":32,"name":10,"@type":21,"position":33},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/introductory-astronomy-glossary-no-14-spring-1990/409023/",4,{"url":32,"name":10,"@type":35,"image":36,"author":41,"headline":10,"publisher":44,"fileFormat":47,"inLanguage":8,"description":12,"dateModified":48,"datePublished":49,"encodingFormat":47,"isAccessibleForFree":50,"interactionStatistic":51},"DigitalDocument",{"url":37,"@type":38,"width":39,"height":40},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/introductory-astronomy-glossary-no-14-spring-1990/409023.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":42,"@type":43},"Mia  ","Person",{"url":19,"name":45,"@type":46},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-29","2026-09-28",true,{"@type":52,"interactionType":53,"userInteractionCount":55},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":54},"ViewAction",9,{"@type":57,"mainEntity":58},"FAQPage",[59,65,69],{"name":60,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":62},"What does the glossary cover in this issue?","Question",{"text":63,"@type":64},"It provides definitions for foundational astronomy terms such as asteroids, astronomical unit, Big Bang, binary stars, black holes, comets, constellations, cosmology, eclipses, equinoxes, and galaxies.","Answer",{"name":66,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":67},"How are eclipses and equinoxes defined?",{"text":68,"@type":64},"An eclipse is described as one object blocking light from another, with separate explanations for lunar and solar eclipses. An equinox is defined as the two yearly instants when the Sun is directly over the Earth’s equator.",{"name":70,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":71},"Can educators reproduce the glossary material for teaching?",{"text":72,"@type":64},"Yes. The editor grants unlimited permission to reproduce the resources for any noncommercial purpose, including teaching, lecturing, and study assignments.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":32,"og:type":75,"og:title":10,"og:site_name":45,"og:description":12},"article",{"robots":77,"canonical":32},"index,follow",{"doc_id":79,"site_id":7},409023,1790694864,{"code":4,"msg":82,"data":83},"success",[84,88,92,95,100,105,110,115,119,122,126],{"id":22,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":85,"show_sort_weight":86,"slug":87},"Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":26,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":89,"show_sort_weight":90,"slug":91},"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":33,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":29,"show_sort_weight":93,"slug":94},70,"exam",{"id":96,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":97,"show_sort_weight":98,"slug":99},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":101,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":102,"show_sort_weight":103,"slug":104},6,"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":106,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":107,"show_sort_weight":108,"slug":109},7,"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":111,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":112,"show_sort_weight":113,"slug":114},8,"Research & Report",30,"research-report",{"id":55,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":116,"show_sort_weight":117,"slug":118},"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":117,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":120,"show_sort_weight":117,"slug":121},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":123,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":124,"show_sort_weight":123,"slug":125},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":127,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":128,"show_sort_weight":96,"slug":129},19,"General","general",{"code":4,"msg":82,"data":131},{"doc_id":79,"user_id":132,"nickname":42,"user_avatar":133,"doc_module":4,"category_id":33,"category_name":29,"doc_title":10,"doc_description":12,"doc_content":134,"file_id":135,"file_url":136,"file_type":137,"file_size":138,"view_count":55,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":22,"is_downloadable":22,"audit_status":22,"page_count":139,"language":140,"language_code":8,"site_id":7,"html_lang":8,"table_of_contents":141,"faqs":142,"seo_title":143,"seo_description":12,"update_tm":144,"read_time":145,"preview_page_count":4},687207024478,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_a8503ba1806abce46bf441b54a3ca4cd","[www.astrosociety.org/uitc](www.astrosociety.org/uitc)  \nNo. 14 & 15-Spring 1990  \n© 1990, Astronomical Society of the Pacific, 390 Ashton Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94112  \nIntroductory Astronomy Glossary  \nEditor's Note: In response to requests from a number of readers, we have put together two resource lists that educators at all levels can use in their teaching, lecturing, and study assignments: an Introductory Astronomy Glossary and a Basic Astronomy Library. Like everything else that appears in this newsletter, we are happy to grant you unliminted permission to reproduce these resources for any noncommercial purpose. We welcome requests from our readers for other resource materials you would like to see us assemble.  \n— Andrew Fraknoi, editor  \nAsteroid: Any of the thousands of small rocky objects that orbit around the Sun, most of them between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter (although some pass closer to the Sun that Earth does and others have orbits that take them well beyond Jupiter) . The largest asteroid is one called Ceres; it's about as wide as the state of Texas.  \nAstronomical Unit: A unit of distance equal to the average spacing between the Earth and the Sun. Usually abbreviated A.U., it is equal to about 150 million kilometers (93 million miles), and is a distance that light takes about 8 minutes to cover. It is a handy size for use for expressing distances in the solar system. For example, the diameter of the orbit of the most distant planet, Pluto, is about 80 A.U.  \nBig Bang: The primeval explosion which most astronomers think gave rise to the universe as we see it today, in which clusters of galaxies are moving apart from one another. By \"running the film backward'' — projecting the galaxies' motions backward of time — astronomers calculate that the Big Bang happened about 10 to 15 billion years ago.  \nBinary Star: A system of two stars, orbiting around one another. Binary (and triple and even higher multiples) stars are very common; astronomers estimate that about half of all stars are members of multiplestar systems. The nearest star to our solar system, Alpha Centauri, is actually our nearest example of a multiple star system — it consists of three stars — two very similar to our Sun and one dim, small, red star —orbiting around one another.  \nBlack Hole: An object whose gravitational pull is so strong that — within a certain distance of it — nothing can escape, not even light. Black holes are thought to result from the collapse of certain very massive stars atthe ends of their lives, but other kinds have been postulated as well: \"mini black holes,'' for example, which might have been formed in turbulance shortly after the Big Bang. \"Supermassive black holes'' — with masses millions of times the Sun's — may exist in the cores of large galaxies.  \nComet: A small chunk of ice, dust, and rocky material (only a few miles across) which, when it comes close enough to the Sun, can develop a tenuous \"tail. '' Tails of comets are made of gas and dust that have been driven off the comet's surface by the Sun's energy and they always point away from the Sun (no matter what direction the comet is moving) . Comets spend most of their time very far from the Sun, and are active only for a short period (a few months at most) as they move quickly around the Sun on their elongated orbits.  \nConstellation: A pattern of stars on the sky, named for a person, animal, or object (usually from mythology) . Astronomers use constellations to designate directions in space; for example the great galaxy \"in Andromeda\" lies in the direction from us marked by the pattern of stars we call Andromeda (the Princess of Ethiopia in Greek mythology) . Just as patterns we see in the clouds are not permanent, neither are the starpatterns of constellations, since the stars move (albeit very slowly on the timescale of a human lifetime) . The constellations of 100,000 years ago were quite different from today's. Astronomers now divide the sky into 8","cbCaijCGlxuv80Ne","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaijCGlxuv80Ne","pdf",182833,11,"English","# Introductory Astronomy Glossary\n## Key Terms and Definitions\n## Reference Use in Teaching","[{\"question\":\"What does the glossary cover in this issue?\",\"answer\":\"It provides definitions for foundational astronomy terms such as asteroids, astronomical unit, Big Bang, binary stars, black holes, comets, constellations, cosmology, eclipses, equinoxes, and galaxies.\"},{\"question\":\"How are eclipses and equinoxes defined?\",\"answer\":\"An eclipse is described as one object blocking light from another, with separate explanations for lunar and solar eclipses. An equinox is defined as the two yearly instants when the Sun is directly over the Earth’s equator.\"},{\"question\":\"Can educators reproduce the glossary material for teaching?\",\"answer\":\"Yes. The editor grants unlimited permission to reproduce the resources for any noncommercial purpose, including teaching, lecturing, and study assignments.\"}]","Introductory Astronomy Glossary - No. 14 - Spring 1990 | PDF",1790581149,28]