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College > Astronomy Midterm > Flashcards

Astronomy Midterm Flashcards

1
Q

Whaat is the current age of the Universe?

A

13.8 Billion Years

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2
Q

How many known planets does our Solar System have?

A

8

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3
Q

Which is older, the Sun or the Milky Way?

A

Milky Way

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4
Q

Which is the most massive planet between Venus, Earth, Mercury, & Mars

A

Earth

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5
Q

An Astronomical Unit (AU) is

A

the distance from the Earth to the Sun

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6
Q

Exoplanet/ extrasolar planet

A

Planet that orbits a start other than our sun

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7
Q

Raidal Velocity Method of detecting Exoplanets

A

Subtle rocking of a star back and for the as an unseen orbiting planet pulls on it

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8
Q

Doppler effect

A

Changes the wavelength (color) of the star’s light as is moves

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9
Q

Transit Photometry method

A

Look for the dimming of a star’s light as an unseen planet moves in front of it.

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10
Q

The doppler effect will

A

Change the wavelength (color) of light emitted by a star

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11
Q

A “face-on” planetary system will

A

not be detectable by transit or radial velocity methods

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12
Q

For a given sized star, the larger the planet the

A

larger the transit dip

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13
Q

Most planets today have been detected with

A

NASA’s Kepler sattelite

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14
Q

T/F The transit photometry method of detecting extrasolar planets is an indirect method of detection

A

True

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15
Q

Kupier Belt

A

Sea of icy bodies, like Pluto

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16
Q

Oort cloud

A

resoivoirs for comets

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17
Q

Comets

A

leftover after the construction of our solar system’s planets

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18
Q

Halos

A

As a result of their icy composition, when comets come close to the Sun and get hotter, they become “active” as their ice sublimates (changes from solid to gas), releasing gas and dust, creating the distinctive fuzzy halo (known as a coma) and tails that we associate with comets.

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19
Q

Main belt comets come from the

A

asteroid belt

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20
Q

Comets come from

A

Kuper belt, icier parts

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21
Q

Star nearest to the sun

A

Proxima Centauri

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22
Q

Sun’s nearest neighbors

A

Brown Dwarfs, balls of gas too big to be called planets but too small to be called stars.

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23
Q

What two planets have ammonia clouds in the upper atmosphere

A

Jupiter and Saturn

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24
Q

Which compound gives Uranus and Neptune their bluish appearance?

A

Methane (CH4)

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25
Q

It’s the movement of objects in ______ that cause scientists to predict the presence of a “planet 9” in our Solar System.

A

Kuiper belt

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26
Q

The Planet 9 citizen science project has already discovered

A

a Brown dwarf

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27
Q

Sublimation is the process where a

A

solid turns into a gas

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28
Q

Mars’ atmosphere is mostly

A

carbon dioxide

29
Q

Fans and blotches are caused by gas sub-surface gas erupting through a layer of ___ ice.

A

carbon dioxide

30
Q

T/F Mars was not able to have liquid water (H20) on its surface at any point in the past due to its very low pressure atmosphere.

A

False

31
Q

If Earth, Mars, and Mercury all started out at the same temperature, which do you think would cool off faster?

A

Mercury

32
Q

What objects cool off faster

A

Smaller ones

33
Q

How do Spiders form on Mars

A

Like a geyser through sublimation

34
Q

How does swiss cheese form on mars

A

Repeated cycles of condensation and sublimation of CO2

35
Q

What is the approximate age of the Earth?

A

4.5 billion years

36
Q

Where is Earth’s magnetic field created?

A

Outer core

37
Q

In what layer of Earth’s atmosphere does the majority of our weather occur?

A

Troposphere

38
Q

The Dvorak Technique

A

is used to estimate the intensity of a tropical storm

39
Q

Sporadic meteors are created

A

by asteroids.

40
Q

Major layers of Earth

A

Core, mantle, crust

41
Q

Astenosphere

A

upper layer of mantle, allows for slow convection currents to form as heat to surface, varied topography

42
Q

Trophosphere

A

Layer closest to surface,

43
Q

Stratosphere

A

Layer above Trophosphere, source of heat is above

44
Q

Ozone Layer

A

absorbs dangerous UV light from SUn , heats the starosphere

45
Q

Mesosphere

A

Convection because it’s heated from the ozone layer above

46
Q

Thermosphere

A

Space, Meterors feel friction

47
Q

meteoroid

A

solid object moving in interplanetary space

48
Q

meteor

A

visible phenomenon resulting from the passage of a meteoroid into the Earth’s atmosphere

49
Q

meteorite

A

solid piece of debris which has survived the passing of a meteoroid through the Earth’s atmosphere and falls on the ground

50
Q

Which layer of the Sun is closest to the surface?

A

Convective zone

51
Q

What is the source of the Sun’s energy?

A

Nuclear fusion

52
Q

What is the name of the visible surface of the Sun?

A

Photosphere

53
Q

Approximately how many times more massive is the Sun than the Earth

A

300,000

54
Q

Sunspots are warmer than the surrounding gas.

A

False

55
Q

root source of all of the energy sources that we use to power our civilization

A

Sun

56
Q

uminosity of the Sun

A

38 with 25 zeros after it!

57
Q

radiative zone.

A

all of the hydrogen gas is ionized, meaning that the protons and electrons are not bound together

58
Q

Most of the mass in the Universe was in the form

A

Dark Matter

59
Q

cosmic microwave background (CMB).

A

At this time, the cosmic light, which before then would get continuously scattered off of the charged particle, could not travel freely throughout the Universe. We can still see this light today as a faint glow of microwaves called the

60
Q

dark ages

A

gas was pulled into larger and larger clumps by the gravitational force of Dark Matter

61
Q

largest of these terrestrial planets,

A

Earth

62
Q

e second largest terrestrial plane

A

Venus

63
Q

the third largest terrestrial planet)

A

MArs

64
Q

Jovian planets, or gas giants,

A

Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune

65
Q

Sunspots exist on the surface of the Sun called the

A

Photosphere

66
Q

what kind of ice forms on Mars’ northern and southern poles?

A

CO2 or “dry ice”

67
Q

what kind of gas erupts from the ice to create ‘fans’ and ‘blotches’?

A

CO2 gas

68
Q

what season does the gas erupt? on mars

A

Spring

69
Q

rue/False, Swiss Cheese terrain are channels carved into the surface of Mars that are revealed when the surface is ice-free

A

False, this is what Spiders are

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