Astronomy Test Flashcards
3 reasons why knowledge of celestial motion was important to our ancestors
- stars helped explorers navigate there ships
- calendars were created using the motion of stars
- stars warned of the annual flooding of the Nile
4 ancient civilizations that valued their understanding of the heavens
Indians, Aztecs, mians, Egyptians
Definition of astronomy
Definition of astrology
Study of the universe
Study of celestial movements
Definition of retrograde motion
The apparent motion of a planet to move in an opposite direction to that of other bodies within its system
What is the angle of the tilt of the earth
23.50
How long does it take the earth to orbit the sun once
1 year
How long does it take the earth to revolve around its axis once
24 hours
What are 2 major things that affect daylight
Orbit location
Latitude location
What is the name for the day with the longest daylight
Summer, June 21
What is the name for the day(s) with 12 hours of daylight
Equinox
The angle of an object in the heavens above the horizontal is called its……
Altitude
The angle measure away from North on the horizontal plane is called the….
Azimuth
Definition of zenith…
Point perfectly above the observer
Definition of meridian
Line that stretches n-s, passes through zenith
What are the colours of hot stars
Blue
What are the colours of cold star
Red
What process causes the stars to emit so much light and energy
Nuclear fusion
What is a neutron star
Remains of a high mass star
What is a black hole
What massive stars become when they die
Name the terrestrial planets. Why are they given this name
Mercury, Venus, Mars, earth
Because they resemble earth
Name the gas planets. Why are they given this name
Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune
Because they are composed of mostly gas
Define moon
A celestial body that orbits a planet
What’s the name of the Galaxy we live in
Milky Way
How many galaxies were believed to exist in the 20th century
One hundred billion
What’s a galaxy
A system of millions or billions of stars held by gravitational attraction
describe 4 main ways galaxies can be classified
1-spiral
2-barred spiral
3-elliptical
4-irregular
When did space age begin, what was launched that day
1957
The first satellite was launched into space
When did neil Armstrong land on the moon
July, 1969
Which 3 countries have launched manned space flights
Soviet Union, U.S, China
Who was the American president during the start of the space race
President John F. Kennedy
What are pros and cons of sending out space probes into space
They don’t need food or water or oxygen but they might break down in space
Define the following terms astronomical units and light year
The mean distance from the center of the earth to the center of the sun
The distance light travels in a year
