A regolith is a collective term referring to the blanket of powdery materials that cover the surface of several celestial bodies such as the earth, moon, and asteroids among many others. This blanket has a powdery appearance and texture because it is composed of fine debris such as soil, shattered rock, dust, and other small objects that tend to land on the surface of these celestial bodies.

Prominence refers to the sun sending out tongues of fire that reaches a great distance. It is usually called solar prominence. It is defined as a large and bright extension from the sun. It extends from the sun’s surface, usually in the shape of a loop. It is found that a prominence is usually starting from the sun’s visible layer called the photosphere, and then extends to the outer layer called the corona. Though the corona is composed of different [...]

Thanks to Viktor Ambartsumian, a Soviet physicist, who proposed the existence of a protostar. Because of that much is known today about how stars are formed, dispelling unfounded beliefs of their origin.

A short-period comet is a comet that has a relatively short lifespan for any observation can be made for comparative studies. That period is known to be shorter than two hundred years. Recently, short-period comets have been subdivided into the Jupiter-type comets, like that of Temple 2 and Encke, which typically have periods of just twenty years; and the Halley-type comets, with intermediate periods of between twenty to about two hundred years.

The prime meridian is considered as the middle point of earth. It is also commonly known as the Greenwich Meridian and is a component that forms the International Date Line, which then divides the Western and Eastern Hemispheres of the Earth.

The plasmasphere is that region of dense, cold plasma surrounding the Earth. It is a part of the plasma-containing magnetosphere and is located just outside the upper ionosphere, extending to about 8000 to 25,000 miles into space. This donut-shaped volt of energy around our planet is the result of a process jumpstarted by the Sun’s ultraviolet light.

A polar ice cap is that region at either poles of a planet or natural satellite that is permanently covered in ice. It is different from an ice cap in that there are no specifications on the size or composition of a body of ice for it to be considered a polar ice cap. Whereas an ice cap needs to be found over land that has a specific surface area, a polar ice cap just has to be a body [...]

The Sun, Moon, stars and other celestial objects are beyond the reach of any instrument that can be used by observers here on Earth. Measuring the distance of a celestial object from the Earth might seem to be complicated. But measuring the distance of these remote entities have been simplified by the concept of parallax.

Comets are spectacular sights in the night sky. Despite their burning appearance, comets are actually made of ice, small rock particles, and dust. But comets, unlike meteors, are rarely seen in the night sky. Comets have different orbital periods, which can range from several years to hundreds of thousand years. Comets are classified according to the range of their orbital periods, namely long and short period comets. Short period comets are collectively known as periodic comets with orbital periods of [...]

There are many terms in astronomy, and there is no doubt about that. One of which is the concept of Obliquity, more commonly known as the axial tilt. The angle between a certain rotational axis of an object and the specific perpendicular line in regards to the object’s orbital plane is better known as its obliquity.