Earth and the Solar System - High School

Review these words related to Earth and the solar system, and you'll be a vocabulary star. Learn about the planets, different kinds of celestial bodies, gravity, eclipses, and much more. This list is out of this world!
119 words 177 learners

Learn words with Flashcards and other activities

Definition First
Print Flashcards

Other learning activities

Answer a few questions about each word. Use this to prep for your next quiz! Compete with other teams in real time to see who answers the most questions correctly! Test your spelling acumen. Read the definition, listen to the word and try spelling it!

Teaching tools

Create and assign quizzes to your students to test their vocabulary. Assign learning activities including Practice, Vocabulary Jams and Spelling Bees to your students, and monitor their progress in real-time.

Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. apogee
    the farthest point in an orbit around the Earth
  2. asteroid
    a small celestial body composed of rock and metal
  3. asteroid belt
    the region of interplanetary space between Mars and Jupiter where most asteroids are found
  4. atmosphere
    the envelope of gases surrounding any celestial body
  5. axis
    the center around which something rotates
  6. Big Dipper
    a group of seven bright stars in the constellation Ursa Major
  7. carbon dioxide
    a colorless, odorless greenhouse gas essential for photosynthesis
  8. Cassiopeia
    a W-shaped constellation in the northern hemisphere near Polaris
  9. celestial body
    a natural object visible in the sky
  10. Celsius scale
    a temperature scale that defines the freezing point of water as 0 degrees and the boiling point of water as 100 degrees
  11. chromosphere
    a gaseous layer of the sun's atmosphere (extending from the photosphere to the corona) that is visible during a total eclipse of the sun
  12. comet
    a small frozen mass that travels around the sun
  13. constellation
    a configuration of stars as seen from the earth
  14. core
    the central part of the Earth
  15. corona
    the outermost region of the sun's atmosphere
  16. crater
    a depression formed by the impact of a meteorite or bomb
  17. cycle
    a periodically repeated sequence of events
  18. cyclical
    recurring in a repeated sequence of events
  19. density
    the amount per unit size
  20. direction
    relation between something and the course on which it moves
  21. distance
    the size of the gap between two places
  22. earth
    the third planet from the sun
  23. eccentricity
    a circularity that deviates from a circular path
  24. eclipse
    the phenomenon when one celestial body obscures another
  25. ellipse
    a closed plane curve with an oval shape
  26. elliptical
    rounded like an egg
  27. energy
    any source of usable power
  28. eternity
    time without end
  29. extraterrestrial
    originating, located, or occurring outside Earth
  30. Fahrenheit
    of or relating to a temperature scale proposed by the inventor of the mercury thermometer
  31. Fahrenheit scale
    a temperature scale that defines the freezing point of water as 32 degrees and the boiling point of water a 212 degrees
  32. force
    influence that results in motion, stress, etc. when applied
  33. galaxy
    a collection of star systems
  34. Galileo Galilei
    Italian astronomer and mathematician who was the first to use a telescope to study the stars; demonstrated that different weights descend at the same rate; perfected the refracting telescope that enabled him to make many discoveries (1564-1642)
  35. gas
    state of matter distinguished from solid and liquid states
  36. gas giant
    any of the four outermost planets in the solar system
  37. geocentric
    having the earth in the middle
  38. gravitational force
    the force of attraction between all masses in the universe
  39. gravity
    the force of attraction between all masses in the universe
  40. greenhouse effect
    warming due to solar radiation trapped by the atmosphere
  41. heliocentric
    having the sun as or in the middle
  42. hemisphere
    half of the terrestrial globe
  43. inertia
    the tendency of something to stay in rest or motion
  44. Jovian planet
    any of the four outermost planets in the solar system
  45. Jupiter
    the largest planet and the 5th from the sun
  46. Kepler's first law
    a law stating that the orbit of each planet is an ellipse with the sun at one focus of the ellipse
  47. Kepler's law
    (astronomy) one of three empirical laws of planetary motion stated by Johannes Kepler
  48. Kepler's second law
    a law concerning the speed at which planets travel
  49. Kepler's third law
    a law stating that the ratio of the square of the revolutionary period (in years) to the cube of the orbital axis (in astronomical units) is the same for all planets
  50. leap year
    a year with 366 days that occurs every four years
  51. Leo
    a zodiacal constellation in northern hemisphere between Cancer and Virgo
  52. light year
    the distance that light travels in a vacuum in 1 year
  53. Little Dipper
    a cluster of seven stars in Ursa Minor
  54. lunar
    of or relating to or associated with the moon
  55. magnetic field
    the lines of force surrounding a permanent magnet or a moving charged particle
  56. Mars
    a small reddish planet that is the 4th from the sun and is periodically visible to the naked eye; minerals rich in iron cover its surface and are responsible for its characteristic color
  57. mass
    the property of a body that causes it to have weight
  58. Mercury
    the smallest planet and the nearest to the sun
  59. meteor
    a mass that enters earth's atmosphere, becoming incandescent
  60. meteorite
    a stony or metallic object from space that hits the earth
  61. meteoroid
    a small piece of rock or metal moving through outer space
  62. meteor shower
    a transient shower of meteors when a meteor swarm enters the earth's atmosphere
  63. Milky Way
    the galaxy containing the solar system
  64. moon
    the natural satellite of the Earth
  65. NASA
    an independent agency of the United States government responsible for aviation and spaceflight
  66. nebula
    an immense cloud of gas and dust in interstellar space
  67. Neptune
    a giant planet with a ring of ice particles
  68. Nicolaus Copernicus
    Polish astronomer who produced a workable model of the solar system with the sun in the center (1473-1543)
  69. nitrogen
    a common nonmetallic element that is normally a colorless odorless tasteless inert diatomic gas; constitutes 78 percent of the atmosphere by volume; a constituent of all living tissues
  70. North Star
    the brightest star in Ursa Minor
  71. nuclear fusion
    a nuclear reaction in which nuclei combine to form more massive nuclei with the simultaneous release of energy
  72. Oort cloud
    (astronomy) a hypothetical huge collection of comets orbiting the sun far beyond the orbit of Pluto; perturbations (as by other stars) can upset a comet's orbit and may send it tumbling toward the sun
  73. orbit
    the path of a celestial body in its revolution about another
  74. Orion
    a constellation on the equator to the east of Taurus
  75. outer planet
    a major planet whose orbit is outside the asteroid belt
  76. oxygen
    a colorless, odorless gas that is essential for respiration
  77. Pegasus
    a constellation in the northern hemisphere near Andromeda and Pisces
  78. phase
    the particular appearance of a body's state of illumination
  79. photosphere
    the intensely luminous surface of a star
  80. photosynthesis
    formation of compounds in plants aided by radiant energy
  81. planet
    a celestial body that revolves around the sun
  82. planetesimal
    one of many small solid celestial bodies thought to have existed at an early stage in the development of the solar system
  83. Pluto
    a dwarf planet with an elliptical orbit
  84. pole
    either of the two endpoints of the Earth's axis of rotation
  85. Ptolemy
    Alexandrian astronomer (of the 2nd century) who proposed a geocentric system of astronomy that was undisputed until the late Renaissance
  86. reflection
    the phenomenon of a wave being thrown back from a surface
  87. retrograde
    move backward in an orbit, of celestial bodies
  88. revolution
    a single complete turn
  89. ring
    a toroidal shape
  90. rotation
    the act of turning as if on an axis
  91. satellite
    any celestial body orbiting around a planet or star
  92. Saturn
    a giant planet that is surrounded by three planar concentric rings of ice particles; the 6th planet from the sun
  93. scale
    an ordered reference standard
  94. solar
    relating to the sun or utilizing the energies of the sun
  95. solar eclipse
    when the moon interrupts light from the sun
  96. solar flare
    a sudden eruption of intense high-energy radiation from the sun's surface; associated with sunspots and radio interference
  97. solar system
    the sun with the celestial bodies that revolve around it
  98. solar wind
    a stream of protons moving radially from the sun
  99. space
    any location outside the Earth's atmosphere
  100. space probe
    a rocket-propelled guided missile that can escape the earth's atmosphere; makes observations of the solar system that cannot be made by terrestrial observation
  101. space shuttle
    a reusable spacecraft with wings for a controlled descent through the Earth's atmosphere
  102. space station
    a manned artificial satellite in a fixed orbit designed for scientific research
  103. speed of light
    the speed at which light travels in a vacuum
  104. star
    a celestial body of hot gases that radiates energy
  105. stationary
    standing still
  106. Sun
    the star that is the source of light and heat for the planets in the solar system
  107. sunspot
    a cooler darker spot appearing periodically on the sun's photosphere; associated with a strong magnetic field
  108. telescope
    a magnifier of images of distant objects
  109. terrestrial
    of or relating to or characteristic of the planet Earth
  110. terrestrial planet
    a planet having a compact rocky surface like the Earth's
  111. tide
    the periodic rise and fall of the sea level
  112. tilt
    property possessed by a line that departs from the vertical
  113. universe
    everything that exists anywhere
  114. Uranus
    a giant planet with a ring of ice particles
  115. Ursa Major
    a constellation outside the zodiac that rotates around the North Star
  116. Ursa Minor
    a constellation outside the zodiac that rotates around the North Star
  117. Venus
    the second nearest planet to the sun
  118. weight
    the vertical force exerted by a mass as a result of gravity
  119. year
    the period of time that it takes for a planet (as, e.g., Earth or Mars) to make a complete revolution around the sun
Created on Thu Feb 02 16:00:51 EST 2017 (updated Tue Apr 18 09:37:52 EDT 2017)

Sign up now (it’s free!)

Whether you’re a teacher or a learner, Vocabulary.com can put you or your class on the path to systematic vocabulary improvement.