Astronomy Flashcards
what are the three types of satellites?
- low earth orbit satellites
- medium earth orbit satellites
- geostationary orbit satellites
what are low earth orbit satellites used for?
- monitor icebergs
- monitor agriculture
- monitor the impact of natural disasters
what are medium earth orbit satellites used for?
- GPS
what are geostationary orbit satellites used for?
- communication
- weather
what’s the life cycle of a low-mass star?
at the end of their lives, the outer atmosphere is blown away. They then become white dwarves, which eventually cool to non-luminous bodies
what’s the life cycle of a high-mass star?
at the end of their lives, these stars explode (supernova). These stars collapse into a dense core, capable of sucking light towards it. These dense cores are called black holes
what is the order of planets closest to farthest from the sun?
mercury, venus, earth, mars, jupiter, saturn, uranus, neptune
what planet has the smallest diameter?
mercury
what planet has the largest diameter?
jupiter
what planet has the least gravity?
mercury
what planet has the most gravity?
jupiter
what planets have no moons?
mercury, venus
what plants have no atmosphere?
mercury
what planet has the hottest temperature?
venus
what planet has the biggest temperature range?
mercury
what are the layers of the sun?
core, radiative zone, convective zone, photosphere, chromospheres, corona
what is the core of the sun?
centre of the sun where nuclear fusion occurs. The core averages a temperature of 15 million degrees celsius
what is the radiative zone of the sun?
section of the sun that surrounds the core
what is the convective zone?
section of the sun where hotter substances rise from the radiative zone and where cooler substances descend towards the radiative zone
what is the photosphere?
section of the sun where light and other forms of radiation escape the sun. this section of the sun averages 5500 degrees celsius
what is the chromosphere?
the inner atmosphere of the sun. it is 60,000 degrees celsius
what is the corona?
the thin layer of the atmosphere. looks white and halo-like. extend millions of kilometres out into space
what are the pros of travelling to mars?
- research purposes
- future home
- curiosity (is there life on mars?)
what are the cons of travelling to mars?
- expensive
- long time away from family
- radiation exposure
- hard on the body
what is the definition of a planet?
a celestial body that is round in shape, dominates its orbit and orbits a star
what is the definition of a dwarf planet?
a celestial body that meets most of the criteria of a planet: however it doesn’t dominate its orbit
what is the definition of an asteroid?
a small celestial body made of rock and metal which orbits the sun
what is the definition of an asteroid belt?
a collection of asteroids that orbit between mars and jupiter
what is the definition of a meteoroid?
a small piece of rock or metal that is travelling through space
what is the definition of a meteor?
a meteoroid as it enters our atmosphere
what is the definition of a meteorite?
the remains of a meteor once it hits the surface of the earth
what is the definition of a terrestrial planet?
a planet closer towards the sun, which is small and primarily made of rocky elements
what is the definition of a gas giant?
a planet farther from the sun which is large and primarily made of gases (ex. hydrogen and helium)
what is the definition of a solar eclipse?
when the moon blocks the suns light from reaching a certain part of earth
what is the definition of a lunar eclipse?
when the earth blocks the suns light from reaching the moon
what are the four effects that a microgravity environment can have on the human body?
- can cause dizziness, disorientation and nausea
- can cause blood to pool up in the upper body (puffy face look) which can lead to loss of water regulation and eventually dehydration
- can cause blood cells to change shape which in turn affects their function
- causes muscles and bones to weaken, causes the spinal column to expand by about 2-4 cm
