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The Universe is a big place, and to find our way around we're going g to need specialized terms. Some of these terms are specialized units of measuring the immense distances between stars. If we were to use normal Earthly measurements for these purposes, we would always be working in the billions, trillions and beyond. And that's a lot of zeros!
Light Year: A measure of distance. A light year is the distance that light travels in a vacuum in one entire year, which is just under 10 trillion kilometers or 6 trillion miles.
AU: Astronomical Unit. Astronomers often measure distance in Astronomical Units. One AU is equal to the distance between the Earth and the Sun, or roughly 93 million miles.
Solar Wind: A stream of charged particles that are ejected from the outer layer of the Sun. These particles blast off the Sun are ejected out into space anywhere between 400 and 750 km/s
Comet: Small stellar bodies composed mainly of volatile ices. When they near the Sun, its radiation causes their ice to ionize, creating a coma, the long tail of dust and gas that comets are known for.
Interstellar Medium: The gas and dust that pervade interstellar space.
Parsec: A parsec is a unit of length used in Astronomy that is equal to just under 31 trillion kilometers, or 19 trillion miles. It is short for "parallax of on arcsecond."
Dark Matter:A theoretical substance that is thought to account for roughly 80% of all the matter in the Universe. Its existence was hypothesized because of unexplained gravitational effects on visible matter and background radiation. If Dark Matter exists, it cannot be detected by emitted or scattered electromagnetic radiation.
Neutron Star: A collapsed star remnant that is the result of a supernova. Some Neutron Stars spin very rapidly and emit a beam of electromagnetic radiation. These are called Pulsars.
Spacetime: In physics, spacetime is a mathematical model that groups space and time into a single continuum. In this model, space makes up three dimensions, with time acting as a fourth.
General Relativity: Albert Einstein's general theory of relativity states that gravitational attractions between objects are caused by disruptions in spacetime. This is not to be confused with his theory of Special Relativity which states, among other things, that time is not a constant, but instead is dependent on the observer's movement through space.
Photon: Photons are elementary particles in the Universe and are the basic unit of light. Because they have no mass, they can display both the properties of a particle and of a wave, which is why light can be treated both ways.
And now, on with the tour!
Are there any terms you don't understand on this website that aren't covered here? Are there any terms here that aren't properly explained? Type them below, and we'll update them for you!