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Letter L

L is for…

NASA’s Picture Dictionary

Check out what L stands for …

Laboratory
Latitude
Launch
Life Support System
Lift
Longitude
Lunar Eclipse

Laboratory

A room or building where scientific work is done.

Three engineers dressed in white lab clothes prepare a spectrometer for tests
Three engineers prepare a tool for testing. They are in a NASA laboratory.
NASA

Sentences:
NASA scientists always wear safety goggles when they work with chemicals in a laboratory.
Someday I will work in a laboratory and make important discoveries.

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Latitude

A measurement of distance, given in degrees north or south from the equator.

Map with lines of latitude labeled
The lines of latitude run in the same direction on a map as the equator.
NASA

Sentences:

The North Pole is at 90°N (90 degrees North) latitude.
We use the lines of latitude on the map to see how far north or south a place is from the equator. 

Related Links:
What’s a Solstice?

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Launch

To send something on its way, such as when a rocket’s engines are ignited to send it from Earth into space.

Space Launch System Block 1B in flight
NASA is building a rocket called the Space Launch System. It will launch to carry people to Mars someday.
NASA

Sentences:
While on vacation in Florida, my family saw a rocket launch into space.
My older brother likes to launch rockets with his rocket club.

Related Links:
Rocket Launch Animation Video

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Life Support System

Equipment that creates a comfortable environment by providing oxygen and by controlling temperature and air pressure.

Steven Swanson completes a spacewalk outside the International Space Station while wearing a spacesuit
A spacesuit is an astronaut’s life support system when outside the spacecraft.
NASA

Sentences:
An astronaut wears a spacesuit that contains a life support system while working outside the space station.
Aircraft are designed with life support systems so that people are safe and comfortable.

Related Links:
Life Support System on a Spacesuit Video

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Lift

The upward force that keeps an aircraft in flight. Lift is created by the aircraft’s wings moving through the air.

A drawing of an airplane in flight with arrows labeled Lift pointing upwards
The wings of an airplane help create the lift that keeps it in the air.
NASA

Sentences:
Lift is the force that holds an aircraft in the air.
An airplane must have enough lift so gravity cannot pull it down.

Related Links:
What Is Aerodynamics? (Grades K-4)
What Is Aerodynamics? (Grades 5-8)

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Longitude

A measurement of distance, given in degrees east or west of the prime meridian. The prime meridian is a line that runs through the Greenwich Observatory in London, England. On a map or globe, lines of longitude are drawn from the North Pole to the South Pole.

Map with lines of longitude labeled
On a map, longitude is shown by lines that go from north to south.
NASA

Sentences:
Denver, Colorado, is at 105°W (105 degrees West) longitude.
The lines of longitude on the map tell us if a city is east or west of the prime meridian.

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Lunar Eclipse

During a lunar eclipse, Earth comes between the sun and the moon so that all or part of the sun’s light is blocked from the moon.

A reddish-orange picture of our moon during a total lunar eclipse
During a lunar eclipse, the moon turns a reddish-orange color.
NASA

Sentences:
People can see pictures of a lunar eclipse on the NASA website.
Last night, we watched a lunar eclipse from our backyard.

Related Links:
What Is an Eclipse? (Grades K-4)
What Is an Eclipse? (Grades 5-8)

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Explore More Letters

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