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exoplanet
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a planet orbiting a star other than our Sun
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giant molecular clouds
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large, cold interstellar clouds with diameters of dozens of light-years and typical masses of 10
5
solar masses; found in the spiral arms of galaxies, these clouds are where stars form
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Herbig-Haro (HH) object
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luminous knots of gas in an area of star formation that are set to glow by jets of material from a protostar
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mini-Neptune
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a planet that is intermediate between the largest terrestrial planet in our solar system (Earth) and the smallest jovian planet (Neptune); generally, mini-Neptunes have sizes between 2.8 and 4 times Earth’s size
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protostar
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a very young star still in the process of formation, before nuclear fusion begins
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stellar wind
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the outflow of gas, sometimes at speeds as high as hundreds of kilometers per second, from a star
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super-Earth
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a planet larger than Earth, generally between 1.4 and 2.8 times the size of our planet
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transit
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when one astronomical object moves in front of another