Astronomy Flashcards
How long can light energy take to travel through the radiative zone and be emitted?
100,000
Convective zone (3)
Plasma bubbles, currents
Chromosphere (5)
Red, visible during eclipse
What does a nebula contain?
Contains a force of gravity that causes gas particles to collapse
What can the remains of a supernova form?
Neutron star or black hole
What happens once all of the hydrogen is used up in a star?
The star will collapse
Nuclear reaction
The squeezing of hydrogen atoms into helium atoms
Mars contains…
Craters, canyons, and dry river beds
Venus
-rotates east to west
-called the morning/evening star
-hottest and brightest planet
-thick atmosphere; Carbon dioxide
Mercury
-smallest planet
-closest to the sun
-no moons
-thin atmosphere
Mars
-2 moons; Phobos & Deimos
-very thin atmosphere of CO2 making it much cooler than earth
-polar ice caps made of frozen water and CO2
Saturn
-second largest
-ring system made of ice and dust
Neptune
-blue
-ring system
Uranus
-3rd largest planet
-vertical rotation
-blue& white clouds due to methane
Jupiter
-great red spot
-numerous moons; Io, Europa, Ganymede, & Calisto
Where is the Asteroid Belt located?
Between the planets Mars and Jupiter
Meteoroid
Lump of rock/metal pulled down by earths gravity
Meteor
Piece of rock in the atmosphere that glows white hot, also called a shooting star
Meteorite
Remains of a meteor after impact
Origin of the solar system (5 marks)
-started out as a nebula (h/he)
-gravity pulls the nebula together to create the sun
-clumps from the nebula form the planets surrounded by a gaseous layer
-when the sun ignites, the outer layer of gas evaporates from the 4 terrestrial planets
-outer gas giants keep their gaseous atmosphere
What happened after the Big Bang?
The universe coded and allowed the formation of subatomic particles and simple atoms
How are an astronomical unit and a light year similar in terms of what they measure? Which is the longer distance?
They both are used to measure distance in space, light year is the longer distance.
Layers of the sun in order
Core, radiative zone, convective zone, photosphere, chromosphere, corona
Core (1)
15 million degrees Celsius
Radiative zone (2)
Dense plasma
Photosphere (4)
Yellow, 5500 degrees Celsius
Corona (6)
Produces solar winds
What influences both the formation of the Aurora’s and comets?
Solar wind
What is the type of reaction that powers the sun?
Nuclear fusion
