Astronomy Flashcards

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1
Q

define asteroids

A

small celestial objects in the solar system composed of rock and metal that orbits the sun

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2
Q

define comets

A

large chunks of ice, dust and rock that orbit the sun

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3
Q

define meteoroids

A

piece of metal or rock in the solar system that is smaller than an asteroid

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4
Q

define meteors

A

meteors are streaks of light/space rocks that crash through earth’s atmosphere

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5
Q

define meteorites

A

a meteor that survives its passage through the earth’s atmosphere

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6
Q

define planets and dwarf planets

A

planets dominate there orbit where as dwarf planets do not

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7
Q

what’s the difference between terrestrial planets and gas giant planets

A

terrestrial are closer to the sun and made up of a rocky shape where as gas giants are furthest from the sun and are made up of gasses and liquids

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8
Q

describe the organization of our solar system. what does heliocentric mean?

A

our solar system has 7 planets that revolve around our sun. heliocentric describes how the sun stays stationary while the planets revolve around it

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9
Q

Define and provide examples of satellites

A

A satellite is a body (either natural or man made) that orbits around another body in space. for example the moon is a satellite

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10
Q

What is earth’s orbit?

A

The path an object follows as it moves around another object

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11
Q

What is Earth’s orbital period?

A

One complete orbit is 365.256 days

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12
Q

What is Earth’s rotation?

A

Rotation of planet earth around it’s own axis

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13
Q

What is Earth’s revolution?

A

The revolving of the earth around the sun, producing the number of days in the year

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14
Q

How many phases of the moon are there

A

There are 8

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15
Q

What are the phases of the moon (in order)

A
  • New moon
  • Waxing crescent
  • first quarter
  • waxing gibbous
  • full moon
  • waning gobbous
  • Third quarter
  • waning crescent
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16
Q

Describe the phases of the moon

A

The amount of sunlight shining on the moon at different times of the month

17
Q

Describe Astronomical phenomena (including seasons, eclipses, and tides)

A

Astronomical phenomena happens because of the motions of the earth, moon, planets, and satellites

18
Q

What is a light year?

A

A light year is the distance that light travels in a year

19
Q

What is the formula to convert light years to KM, and KM to light years

A

1ly = 9.46 x 10(to the power of 12)km

20
Q

How many KM in one light year

A

9,460,528,405,000KM

21
Q

What are the characteristics of stars and what do their colours mean?

A

Characteristics:
- Self luminous (radiate light and heat energy)
- Stars rotate about their own galaxy
- Stars rotate about the center of a galaxy

The colors of a star indicates the temperature

22
Q

What is red shift

A

The phenomenon of light from galaxies shifting toward the red end of the visible spectrum, indicating the galaxies are moving away from earth.

23
Q

What is an astronomical unit

A

The average distance between the earth and the sun.
It can be used to measure distances within our solar system

24
Q

Convert astronomical units to km and km to astronomical units

A

1 AU = 150 000 000 km

25
Q

How many km in 1 astronomical unit

A

150 000 000 KM

26
Q

What are the characteristics of the sun and what are its elements

A
  • 75% hydrogen & 25% helium
  • Core temp is 15 million K
  • Pressure is 200 billion times earth’s surface pressure
27
Q

What important reaction happens at the sun’s core

A

Nuclear fusion

28
Q

What is the H-R Diagram? What information can we get about stars from it?

A

It shows the relationship between a stars temperature and its luminosity

29
Q

Define luminosity

A

Total amount of energy produced by a star each second

30
Q

What is the solar nebula theory? What is the big bang theory

A

Solar nebula theory: is the theory on the formation of our solar system from a nebula cloud from a collection of dust and gas.
Big bang theory: The theory that the universe began in an incredibly hot, dense expansion approx 13.7 billion years ago.