The Nearby Star System Might Be Guiding Our Journey

Year: An adjective used to describe events occurring annually.

asteroid: A rocky celestial object that orbits the sun, primarily found in the region between Mars and Jupiter, known as the asteroid belt.

Astronomer: A scientist who specializes in the study of celestial bodies, space, and the physical universe.

atmosphere: The layer of gases surrounding the Earth, or the enveloping gases of another planet or moon.

comet: A celestial entity composed of a nucleus of ice and dust. As a comet approaches the sun, it releases gas and dust, forming a distinctive “tail.”

I’ll eject it: The act of forcefully removing or discarding something from its position, container, or housing.

element: A component or role in a specific situation or event; a contributor.

Soccer Field: An area designated for playing American football. Its dimensions often serve as a benchmark for measuring other sizes. The official length (including the end zones) is 360 feet (approximately 110 meters) and 160 feet (about 49 meters) wide.

gravity: The force that attracts objects with mass toward one another; the larger the object, the stronger the gravitational pull.

Interstellar: Pertaining to the space between stars.

Light year: The distance light travels in one year, approximately 9.46 trillion kilometers (about 6 trillion miles). To visualize this, imagine a rope long enough to circle the Earth, measuring just over 40,000 km (24,900 miles). If you add 236 million of those ropes end-to-end, it equates to one light year.

meteor: (adj. Meteoric) A fragment of rock or metal from outer space that enters the Earth’s atmosphere. In space, it’s called a meteoroid; in the sky, it’s known as a meteor; and upon landing, it becomes a meteorite.

month: A natural satellite of any planet.

Observatory: A structure or building (such as a satellite) containing one or more telescopes for astronomical observations.

OORT Cloud: A region of small, icy, rocky bodies located far beyond Pluto’s orbit, extending up to 1.5 light years from the Sun, serving as a source for many comets.

Orbit: The curved trajectory of a celestial object or spacecraft as it revolves around a star, planet, moon, or galaxy. A single complete traversal around a celestial body.

particle: A small quantity or fragment of something.

planet: A sizable celestial object that orbits a star and does not emit visible light like stars do.

Pluto: A distant celestial body located in the Kuiper Belt, beyond Neptune. Known as a dwarf planet, Pluto is the ninth largest object orbiting our Sun.

Solar System: Comprising eight major planets and their moons, orbiting our Sun, along with smaller bodies like dwarf planets, asteroids, meteorites, and comets.

solar: Referring to the Sun at the center of the Earth’s solar system, situated approximately 27,000 light years from the Milky Way’s center; also used to describe stars similar to our sun.

Flock: A collection of animals gathered and moving together. The term is also used to describe large groups of bees in a hive.

system: An interconnected network of components working collectively to achieve a specific function. For instance, the components of the human circulatory system or various elements of a nation’s railway system. The term also applies to processes or methods followed to accomplish tasks.

telescope: An apparatus designed to gather and magnify distant objects, utilizing lenses and curved mirrors. Certain telescopes can also detect radio emissions through an array of antennas.

The sign: A numeral representing one trillion (1,000,000,000,000).

West: An adjective that describes the nations of Western Europe and North America, characterized by industrialization and shared lifestyles, economic development levels, and social attitudes.