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Kelvin (K)
K
Kelvin (K)
A measurement of absolute temperature. Zero K is called absolute zero and is only approached in deep space; ice melts at 273K (0°C); water boils at 373K (100°C). Named after British scientist Lord Kelvin (1824-1907).
Kennedy Space Center (KSC)
A NASA facility at Cape Canaveral, Florida, responsible for launching spacecraft.
Kepler, Johannes
A German astronomer (1571-1630) and the first person to calculate
the orbit of Mars and to find that planets move in elliptical (oval) orbits. He developed three laws that tried to explain the way that planets moved. The first law states that the planets move in an ellipse, with
the Sun at one focus of the ellipse. The second law shows how the speed of a planet must vary, being fastest at the ends of the ellipse— perihelion—and slowest near the center—aphelion (see: Apse). The third law relates the distances of the planets from the Sun and the time it takes them to orbit the Sun.
Kuiper belt
A belt of “dirty snowballs” in the outer region of the Solar System. It may contain ten million million million “snowballs.” It is believed to be the source of comets.
L
Light-year
The distance light travels in
a year at the rate of nearly 300,000 kilometers per second; one light-year is equivalent to 9,460,000,000,000km, or 63,240 AU (astronomical units).
In 1054 a.d. the Crab Nebula (7,000 light-years away) was seen to explode, although, in reality, it had exploded 7,000 years before— the light from the explosion had taken all that time to reach Earth.
Local group
The group or cluster of galaxies that contains our galaxy. It contains 31 galaxies. The closest to us is the Andromeda Galaxy.
Luna
The name for a series of spectacularly successful Soviet probes launched at the Moon. Luna 1, launched in 1959, was the first space probe ever, and Luna 2
(also 1959) was the first man-made object to reach another body in space. Luna 3 (also 1959) took
the first pictures of the far side of the Moon. Luna 9 (1966) made
the first soft landing on the Moon and sent back the first pictures from its surface.
Lunar eclipse
An eclipse that occurs when the Moon passes through the Earth’s shadow.
Lunar module
The name of the spacecraft used by the Apollo project astronauts to land on the Moon. It contained two astronauts, who were the
first humans to land on a body
in space.
Lunar orbiter
A series of probes that came before the Apollo project and were designed to orbit and photograph the Moon to find suitable landing sites for the Lunar module.
M
M
Short for Messier object. In 1771 C. J. Messier catalogued all of the celestial objects he could see. Each was given a number (for example, M31). It was later discovered that some were galaxies, some stars, and some were nebulae. The M numbering system is still widely used because it is a good shorthand description for the most prominent objects in the night sky.
Magellan
A NASA space probe designed to investigate Venus. It photographed the entire surface using radar.
The probe later burned up in the Venusian atmosphere.
 Kennedy Space Center—Main center for the launch of the Space Shuttle and other spacecraft.
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