Astrophysics Flashcards
What is a galaxy?
A large collection of stars- made of billions of stars rotating about a central point
What type of orbit does a comet have?
Very ellipitcal- with the Sun or star at one focal point.
What type of orbit does a satellite have?
Circular orbit around the Earth
What is the name of our galaxy?
The Milky Way
What is the universe?
A large collection of billions of galaxies
How many galaxies are found in the universe?
billions of galaxies
Name one natural satellite orbiting the Earth
The Moon
In the image of a planet orbiting the Sun, how would you label the gravitational pull acting on the planet?
An arrow downward pointing towards the Sun
Which type of orbit does a planet have?
circular, slightly ellipitcal or very elliptical
Nearly circular, slightly elliptical
Which orbital path shows the orbit of a comet?
Blue or red?
- Blue orbital path
- Comets have elliptial orbits with time period of many years
What force keeps the stars together in a galaxy?
Gravitational pull
Approximately how many stars are found in a galaxy?
billions of stars
Which of the following units is gravitational field strength measure in?
A. N/m2
B. N/kg
C. m/s
B. N/kg
What is the symbol for gravitational field strength
g
Why does the Earth have a larger gravitational field strength than the moon?
The Earth is more massive
How does the orbit of a comet differ from the orbit of a moon?
comet orbit is elliptical, moons orbit is circular
comet orbits a star, moon orbits a planet
How does the orbit of a comet differ from the orbit of a planet?
comet orbit is very elliptical, planet orbit is only slightly elliptical.
