Astronomy Flashcards
Name the planets in order.
Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune.
Name and describe Jupiter’s prominent moons.
Io, which has volcanos, Europa, which is covered in ice and holds the highest potential of holding intelligent life, Ganymede, Jupiter’s largest moon, and Callisto, a large moon.
What does Mars being prominent in the sky signify?
Mars is the bringer of battle. Prominence in the sky signifies the wizarding world being between two wars.
Name the four stars most visible in the daytime.
Sirius, Canopus, Vega, Arcturus
Name and describe some prominent constellations.
Aquila, located on the celestial equator and best seen in the northern summer, Bartholomeus, discovered in 1997, Cetus, the monster of the deepens, Crater, which looks like a cup, Orion, located on the celestial equator and visible throughout the world, and Ursa Major, which looks like a bear.
What are the phases of the moon?
New, crescent, quarter, gibbous, and full.
How does the full moon affect potion-making and werewolves?
Only fluxweed picked during a full moon is acceptable to brew the Polyjuice Potion and the Animagus potion requires a Mandrake leaf to be struck directly by the moonlight of a full moon in a crystal phial. Veritaserum requires one full moon cycle to mature. Werewolves will transform into savage beasts on the full moon.
How can the weather in outer space be predicted on Earth?
By observing sunspots and starspots.
What is a meteor shower?
The debris left in the wake of a comet. Also known as a shooting star.
What is a dark cloud constellation?
A constellation made of vast cosmic clouds. They contain tiny dust particles that blocked visible light. Dark cloud constellations can be most easily seen in the Southern Hemisphere.
What is a rogue planet?
An interstellar object of planetary-mass, therefore smaller than fusors (stars and brown dwarfs) and without a host planetary system. Rogue planets do not orbit stars and thus can move freely around space, and are difficult to locate. Billions of rogue planets exist in the Milky Way.
Describe dark energy and dark matter.
Dark energy and dark matter make up 95% of the universe. Dark energy is thought to be what drove the expansion of the universe, and the existence of dark matter explains the galaxy’s structural integrity.
What is a black hole?
A black hole is a region of spacetime featuring a gravitational field so strong that not even light can escape. They are the product of extremely massive stars collapsing into points dense enough to warp the fabric of spacetime.
What is a wormhole?
A wormhole is a speculative structure linking disparate points in spacetime.
