Brainscape's Knowledge GenomeTM

Browse over 1 million classes created by top students, professors, publishers, and experts.


See full index

astronomy quiz > astronomy quiz > Flashcards

astronomy quiz Flashcards

1
Q

solar flares

A

Areas near sunspots caused by rapidly changing magnetic fields of sunspots. Do not last long.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

Granules

A

Convective cells formed by heated matter rising, cooling, and sinking on the sun’s surface

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

sunspots

A

darker, cooler areas on the sun caused by a disturbance in the sun’s magnetic field.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

Solar prominences

A

Slow ejections of gas that travel through the corona

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

Core

A

Hottest part of the sun, centre, up to 15 million degrees C, particles collide with each other and join together (nuclear fusion)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

nuclear fusion

A

particles colliding and joining in the sun’s core

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

radiative zone

A

area surrounding the core, energy from nuclear fusion goes here first

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

convective zone

A

area surrounding radiative zone. energy from nuclear fusion goes here next, but it can take up to a million years to move between the two zones. hotter substances rise, colder ones fall, energy continues to move outward to next layer

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

photosphere

A

outermost, coolest area of the sun (after convective zone). temp. 5500 degrees celcius

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

chromosphere

A

warmer inner atmosphere of sun

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

corona

A

cooler, white-coloured outer atmosphere of sun

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

cluster

A

a group of galaxies pulled together by gravity

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

supercluster

A

a group of galaxy clusters

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

galaxy

A

an enormous, rotating collection of gas, dust, planets, stars, and other celestial objects

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

satellite

A

celestial object orbiting a planet

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

name 3 things that come from space exploration

A

freeze-dry tech, GPS, exercise equipment, protective padding on sports uniforms (designed for spacecrafts), air purification systems

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
17
Q

pros and cons of studying space (2 each)

A

P: products, resources, information
C: cost, dangerous, environment

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
18
Q

How does the sun cause the auroras?

A

particles from solar wind interact with our atmosphere to form the light

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
19
Q

solar wind

A

the continuous flow of charged particles from the sun that flows through the solar system

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
20
Q

rotation vs revolution

A

rotation: on it’s own axis
revolution: obriting around somethng else

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
21
Q

geocentric model of solar system

A

sun and other planets travel around the earth

22
Q

heliocentric model of solar system

A

solar system revolves around the sun

23
Q

orbital radius

A

average distance between a celestial object of the sun (orbital radius of Earth is 1 AU)

24
Q

orbital period

A

time to complete one revolution

25
Q

why do we have seasons

A

Earth’s tilt - for half the year, the north gets more direct sun rays, so it is summer there. For the other half, north is facing away, so it is winter there (summer in south)

26
Q

explain the phases of the moon

A

For a full moon, the Earth is between the moon and the sun so that for the side of the Earth where it is night, they can see a fully illuminated moon. one half of the moon is always fully illuminated, but we cannot always see that half. When the moon is between the earth and the sun, it is a new moon because the illuminated half is the half we cannot see at all.

27
Q

high tide (what moon phase)

A

full moon

28
Q

solar eclipse

A

can’t see the sun (moon blocks)

29
Q

lunar eclipse

A

Can’t see the moon (it’s in earth’s shadow)

30
Q

how far is one AU

A

earth to sun, 150 million km

31
Q

how far is one lightyear

A

how far light can travel in a year, 10 trillion km

32
Q

nebula

A

giant cloud of gas and dust in space. sometimes, new stars form here, and sometimes they die to form nebulas

33
Q

how do planets form

A

materials in a nebula (gas and dust) keep colliding until the gravitation pull is strong enough for it to be a planet

34
Q

protoplanet

A

planet smaller than 10 km in diameter

35
Q

do planets move clockwise or counter clockwise

A

counter clockwise

36
Q

two kinds of planets and which planets fit into each category

A

terrestrial planets: earth, mars, mercury, venus

Gas giants: Jupiter, neptune, saturn, uranus

37
Q

what gases make up the gas giants

A

hydrogen (H2) and helium (He)

38
Q

what is a dwarf planet

A

planet: dominates its orbit, enough gravity to pull it into a sphere shape, orbits a star

39
Q

what and where is the kuiper belt

A

it is where the dwarf planets are, it lies beyond neptune’s orbit

40
Q

asteroids

A

celestial bodies too small to be considered planets, but that still orbit the sun

41
Q

what and where is the asteroid belt

A

it is composed of metals (asteroids), between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter

42
Q

meteoroids

A

any piece of rock or metal smaller than an asteroid

43
Q

meteors

A

meteoroids that have been pulled into the earth’s atmosphere (burning up)

44
Q

meteorite

A

a meteor that did not completely burn up and that was able to hit the ground

45
Q

apparent vs absolute magnitude

A

both brightness of the star: apparent vs actual

46
Q

spectograph

A

splits light energy into patterns of colours to determine the elements in a star

47
Q

how old is the solar system

A

approx. 5 billion years

48
Q

what is the solar nebule theory

A

theory that the solar system was formed when the solar nebula, a massive cloud of dust and gas, began to contract.

49
Q

evidence of the solar nebula theory

A

This theory explains why planets orbit the sun in the same direction, why they are all on the same plane surrounding the sun, and why the terrestrial planets are closer to the sun than the gas giants.

50
Q

red shift

A

Red Shift is the phenomenon where the light emitted from planets becomes red, telling us that the planet is moving away from us.

51
Q

big bang theory

A

all matter and energy in the universe expanded from an area that was smaller than the period at the end of a sentence.

52
Q

evidence for big bang

A

Hubble’s discovery in the 1920s of a relationship between a galaxy’s distance from Earth and its speed; and • the discovery in the 1960s of cosmic microwave background radiation

astronomy quiz (1 decks)

Brainscape helps you reach your goals faster, through stronger study habits.
© 2025 Bold Learning Solutions. Terms and Conditions