18 Terms
Home > Industry/Domain > Astronomy > Planetology
Planetology
A branch of astronomy that deals with planets of the solar system.
Industry: Astronomy
Add a new termContributors in Planetology
Planetology
saturnian oxygen
Astronomy; Planetology
NASA's Cassini spacecraft has revealed an oxygen atmosphere exists around Saturn's moon Dione. Dione is only one of Saturn’s 62 moons. However, the fact that other Saturn moons may also have ...
Late Heavy Bombardment
Astronomy; Planetology
A period of time approximately 4.1 to 3.8 billion years ago during which a large number of impact craters were formed on the Moon, and by inference on Earth, Mercury,Venus, and Mars as well.
extremophile
Astronomy; Planetology
An organism that thrives in physically or geochemicallyextreme conditions that are detrimental to most life on Earth.
Enceladus
Astronomy; Planetology
The sixth-largest of the moons of Saturn, discovered in 1789 by William Herschel, which seems to have liquid water under its icy surface.
exoplanet
Astronomy; Planetology
Also called an extrasolar planet, a planet outside the Solar System, not only occurring around stars but also as free-floating planetary-mass bodies; the nearest known exoplanet is Alpha Centauri ...
parent star
Astronomy; Planetology
A star that produces a planet's heat and light, around which the planet orbits, generally sharing the same origin.
ground-based telescope
Astronomy; Planetology
A telescope that is built on the surface of the Earth, as opposed to functioning in space.
