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Astronomy

Key Terms

AstronomyKey Terms
accretion
the gradual accumulation of mass, as by a planet forming from colliding particles in the solar nebula
exoplanet
a planet orbiting a star other than our Sun
iron meteorite
a meteorite composed primarily of iron and nickel
meteor
a small piece of solid matter that enters Earth’s atmosphere and burns up, popularly called a shooting star because it is seen as a small flash of light
meteor shower
many meteors appearing to radiate from one point in the sky; produced when Earth passes through a cometary dust stream
meteorite
a portion of a meteor that survives passage through the atmosphere and strikes the ground
stony meteorite
a meteorite composed mostly of stony material, either primitive or differentiated
stony-iron meteorite
a type of differentiated meteorite that is a blend of nickel-iron and silicate materials
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